Manual Software Classification in ILMT: A Field Guide

ILMT frequently miscategorizes IBM installs. Left uncorrected, those misclassifications inflate your PVU position or void your sub-capacity claim. Manual classification is the fix, and it is your responsibility, not IBM's.

Why ILMT misclassifies

ILMT discovers software signatures and maps them to products, but the mapping is imperfect. The same binary can belong to different products, a component can be bundled inside another entitlement, and a discovered signature can be charged against the wrong product entirely. Out of the box, ILMT routinely reports more chargeable PVU than you actually owe. Correcting that is manual work the buyer must do.

Bundling relationships

Many IBM components are licensed only as part of a parent product. A database engine bundled with an analytics product, for example, is entitled within that product's license up to the bundled scope. If ILMT charges that engine as a standalone install, your reported position inflates. Modeling the bundling relationship correctly tells ILMT to attribute the component to its parent, not to a separate entitlement.

Confirming the part number to product mapping

Every chargeable install should reconcile to an entitlement by part number and metric. Walk the ILMT inventory against your Passport Advantage entitlements and confirm each install is mapped to the product you actually licensed, under the correct metric. Mismatches here are the most common source of inflated findings.

Suppressing and excluding instances correctly

Some discovered instances should not be charged: non production copies covered by your terms, components within a bundle, or signatures that are not the licensable product. ILMT allows these to be excluded or reassigned, but every exclusion must be deliberate and justified. Careless suppression is as dangerous as none, because it looks like concealment under audit.

Keeping an audit trail

Every manual classification decision needs a documented reason: which entitlement supports it, which bundling rule applies, and who made the call. An accurate ILMT report with no rationale behind its adjustments is fragile. A report whose every correction is evidenced is defensible. The audit trail is what converts a manual edit into a position IBM cannot simply reverse.