IBM Application-Specific Licensing

December 10 2010

In a recent blog discussion, I happened to mention an IBM license construct called Application-Specific Licensing.  A few people have emailed or pinged to ask what I was talking about, and I figured this was quickly becoming an FAQ.

ASL is a way to bundle IBM software with an IBM Business Partner solution.  It is different than an OEM agreement (we have those too) because in an OEM agreement, the IBM software is more like an embedded approach, while in an ASL, the IBM software runs like it always does, just bundled together with the partner solution.

As our website says:

Integrate it...Bundle it...Sell it...All as part of a single solution to your customer. One contract. One face to your customer. One agreement that allows you to ship the IBM software as part of your solution to your customers around the world.
An ASL would therefore be attractive to someone who created, for example, a Domino application that runs on XPages, but isn't otherwise tied to a customer investment in Notes/Domino.  The ISV wouldn't have to convince the customer to separately buy Domino, the ISV sells a solution inclusive of the Domino license needed to run that solution.

ASL for Domino is something we've only recently been doing, though the ASL concept is not new for Software Group overall.  Over the years, many partners have approached me about a way to do exactly what an ASL does, and now we have it... and while I do not wish to negotiate pricing through the blog, the pricing for an ASL is different than the Passport Advantage price.  Maybe this will make it easier to explore the concept of selling Domino-based solutions into organizations that are not using Notes/Domino today.

Link: ibm.com/Partnerworld: IBM Application-Specific Licensing >

Ed Brill | Highland Park, IL USA Category:  IBM  Add/View Comments [34]

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  1. 1  Chris Miller http://www.IdoNotes.com | 12/10/2010 2:42:43 PM

    Can you cover a couple things outside of pricing? Is it fixed price or tiers? Is it inclusive of any necessary server license?

  1. 2  Ed Brill http://www.edbrill.com | 12/10/2010 2:48:13 PM

    @1 it's inclusive of any necessary server license - that's the point of doing an ASL. I don't know the pricing structure at the level of detail to answer your first question, but if I can try to answer it through the blog I will (if not mail me or your channel sales rep)

  1. 3  Carl Tyler http://www.epilio.com | 12/10/2010 2:56:32 PM

    Is this good for SaaS too? So I have a solution that I host, customers have registration details and sign in. The server is shared by many customers, not on separate servers.

  1. 4  Ed Brill http://www.edbrill.com | 12/10/2010 3:21:14 PM

    That sounds more like xSP licensing.

    We have that, too.

    { Link }

  1. 5  Ben Langhinrichs http://www.geniisoft.com/showcase.nsf/GeniiBlog | 12/10/2010 3:58:06 PM

    Very encouraging, Ed. I'm a bit afraid to delve into the details in case they are as complex as most IBM plans, but the fact that you are doing this is very good to know. I will keep it in mind.

  1. 6  Sean Cull http://www.seancull.o.uk | 12/10/2010 4:14:44 PM

    Ed,

    I have just got an ASL agreement four our Delivery Toolkit Solution ( { Link } ) and it was much harder work than it needed to be.

    I had 4 meetings with IBM ( one physical and 3 teleconferences ), loads of paperwork, another meeting with the distributer and the reams of paperwork generated in the first half of the process seemed to have no relevance to the second half of the process.

    Having obtained the agreement I now also have a huge task to incorporate the IBM terms into our terms but I suppose that is understandable.

    I also found that IBM on the ground do not know how ASL or similar can be used to provide SAAS. At one point an experienced IBM architect asked me to blog about the process to try and elicit a response from other people as to how it had been done elsewhere. This was not deemed to be a good idea by some other people - in the end I gave up on SAAS for now and am just looking at on premise appliance solutions.

    Some people ( in IBM or connected to IBM ) said that I can do SAAS if I have a licence per customer ( running a server on their behalf as it were ) whereas others have expressed doubt.

    I really got the impression that people would rather you used your initiative and didn't ask to much.

    Xsp is totally irrelevant. To get started I believe you need a 25K + server ( before clustering ). None in IBM could explain how I could take a small solution to market with Domino SAAS.

    There should be a simple web page with steps 1 > 5 of getting licensed to do Domino SAAS ( or ASL ) and not the vague processes and unanswered questions that I experienced.

    For anyone else looking at ASL I found it works best if your distributer initiates the process.

    Oh - and now potential customers think that PVUs are a pricing structure that we invented ! Embarrassing really.

    It really does feel as though we have been given a new opportunity with the fantastic development platform that is Domino and XPages but no-one has thought about the licensing with a view to SAAS applications .

  1. 7  Jeremy Hodge http://www.hodgebloge.com | 12/10/2010 6:00:47 PM

    We just started discussing this with an IBM rep this past week. So far, after asking this question specifically, the understanding is we can use it for an SaaS solution. My understanding (admittedly "so far") is that IBM is essentially licensing the solution provider, not the end client. Our licensing then extends the terms of IBM's license on IBM's products (through the license terms integration Sean mentioned) to the end user, the method and mode of extending that license was up to us, as long as we in some way covered each use with the appropriate license. Since the licenses are "owned" by us (as the provider) then the client would not require, for example, their own domino license in an SaaS arrangement, as long as the use was covered. (I.e. if we had users logging into a Domino Utility Express License and authenticating against that for an SaaS application, everyone is covered. The restriction on this license is that the IBM Products can only be used for the solution provided by the solution provider. (Ie No Email, no third party apps, etc).

    @Sean, I'd like to discuss your experience with this if you are up for it.

    So far the ASL Licensing model seems like a very very good opportunity (and cost effective way) to take products to market .. it basically creates a role for domino as an application platform like putting in IIS and MS Sql Server in the MS World....

  1. 8  sean cull http://www.seancull.co.uk | 12/10/2010 7:31:43 PM

    @jeremy,

    that would be great. I would be very keen to share experiences and understandings.

  1. 9  don van zijtveld http://www.auditcase.nl | 12/11/2010 3:11:26 AM

    We were advised by our IBM rep to take a look at this instead of Xsp which I thought was the only option. It seems a perfect fit for our Domino based solution. Currently we are in the process with our distributor and IBM to get this contract. Would be happy to share experiences also.

  1. 10  sean cull http://www.seancull.co.uk | 12/11/2010 4:17:23 AM

    I'm happy to do a lotus live / skype web conference in the second half of the week and take you through what we had to do.

    It would be great if someone who understood ASL and SAAS could be involved.

    It is a great model in many ways as it shields the customer from the complexity and issues of dealing with ibm/lotus although as i said PVUs are still a real pain unless you are doing pure hardware appliances.

    If anyone else is interested in a web conference please let me know. Lotus Live for screenshare (no reg required ) and skype for audio would be my preference, otherwise it would have to be a uk phone number - can't do both i'm afraid.

    Skype sean.cull.focul

    Sean

  1. 11  Thomas Adrian http://www.notessidan.se | 12/11/2010 7:07:58 AM

    Developers, if you store login credentials within your application instead of using DD. you only need one Domino express license and you can serve millions of logged in users.

    Thomas Adrian

    { Link }

  1. 12  Ed Brill http://www.edbrill.com | 12/11/2010 8:20:05 AM

    @11 what do you mean? Domino licensing is pretty clear that any authenticated user, regardless of where the authentication comes from, requires each user to have some kind of license -- either Express, CAL, or Utility.

  1. 13  Thomas  | 12/11/2010 2:19:25 PM

    Ed,

    are you telling me I cannot build a web application targeting specific content to specific users without buying a license for them?

    please define an authenticated user?

    - Thomas

  1. 14  Ed Brill http://www.edbrill.com | 12/11/2010 2:30:31 PM

    "An Authorized User is a unit of measure by which the Program can be licensed. An Authorized User is a unique individual inside or outside of Licensee's Enterprise with a specific identity that is validated when accessing a IBM Lotus Domino server. The Authorized User's unique identity could be defined by his or her Notes ID/password ("PW") combination, his or her IBM Lotus Domino HTTP Name/PW combination, or any other third party authentication source that defines the Authorized User's unique identity. The Program may be installed on any number of computers or servers, but Licensee must obtain PoE for every user authorized to access the Program. Licensee must have entitlements for each Authorized User accessing the Program in any manner directly or indirectly (for example: via a multiplexing program, device, or application server) through any means. Entitlements for Authorized Users may not be shared, nor may they be reassigned other than for the permanent transfer of the Authorized User entitlement to another individual."

    { Link }

  1. 15  Thomas  | 12/11/2010 2:38:09 PM

    continued....

    Let's say I develop a webshop, All "buyers" are stored within the application through an internal application registration procedure, users can enter some kind of "login data" using a username that are stored within the application in order to see their buying history, users are never logged in to Domino.

    how many Domino licenses do I need, one I hope?

    - Thomas

  1. 16  Jeremy Hodge http://www.hodgebloge.com | 12/11/2010 3:38:34 PM

    @15 Every user that accesses the system in any manner that would allow you to identify the user in any way different than any other user is an "authenticated user" ... You either need to have a Enterprise license for that user, or your server needs to be licensed as an Utility server (which allows as many unlimited authenticated users as the system can handle) ... If your organization is under 1000 employees you can purchase a Utility server express starting at approx $2,500 for 100 PVUs ($25 per PVU for basically either a single or dual core, single processor server, up to 1600 PVUs per organization) ... beyond 1000 employees or 1600 PVUs, Utility Server is your go to, but is about 10x the cost)

  1. 17  Stuart McIntyre http://blog.collaborationmatters.com | 12/11/2010 3:50:55 PM

    @15 & @16 And there hangs the problem with the whole Utility licensing scheme - it writes off a huge set of viable Domino apps in one fell swoop. Shame, as the platform is perfect for the kind of use case you mention.

  1. 18  Ed Brill http://www.edbrill.com | 12/11/2010 5:26:18 PM

    @17 so what would another approach to licensing be that wouldn't undermine the value of authenticated users that buy Domino CALs and yet expand the opportunity pool for apps where the user is essentially an occasional user? I have been looking at this but am open to ideas. I think ASLs are a good approach for ISVs that have such solutions, but not as practical for a corporate or custom developed app.

  1. 19  Keith Brooks http://www.vanessabrooks.com | 12/11/2010 8:41:04 PM

    ASL is a great approach. My blog post, was sort of about this, but more about rebranding Domino entirely in a White Box. Will post a new entry elaborating.

    My sales team and distributor knew about this but I want to take it a step further.

    Good job getting the ASL out!

  1. 20  Ben Poole http://benpoole.com | 12/12/2010 4:04:03 AM

    I get a "504 - Gateway timeout" trying to open the link at the end of the post. Anyone else seeing that?

  1. 21  Sean Cull http://www.seancull.co.uk | 12/12/2010 7:11:22 AM

    @20 yes

  1. 22  Ed Brill http://www.edbrill.com | 12/12/2010 8:14:03 AM

    Great. The PartnerWorld deities have fought against my attempt to showcase them in a positive light. I'm sure that part of the site will be back up later today...

  1. 23  Mike Robinson http://www.invcs.com | 12/12/2010 9:22:24 AM

    Forgive my ignorance on this but Thomas's question is interesting. It appears he has some sort of application accessed via http. At that point since it's a web app how he looks up unique customer information (and how you want to consider authentication) doesn't/shouldn't involve a CAL right? So if an domino app mimics a forum (say something like phpBB) where you have to register to participate, are you saying each user of such an app needs a CAL? Again, sorry I thought apps in this realm were excluded, else the fiscal model is pretty much cost-prohibitive.

  1. 24  Michael Sobczak  | 12/12/2010 12:28:57 PM

    I'm trying to follow this, but I think my ignorance of licensing in general is blocking my understanding.

    Is ASL contingent on the solution running on my (Business Partner) server hardware with Domino running on it? What licenses do the end users buy? Client collaboration CALs? If these are registered Notes users, does it matter what domain they are registered to?

  1. 25  John Turnbow http://www.recondite2.com | 12/12/2010 1:45:33 PM

    This will help everyone selling a Lotus product! So, the customer does not have Notes, will not have to buy notes,all you do is sell your product which includes notes.. The client company might not be a Notes shop, but will be a "my widget" shop. Is that right?

    If so, that helps break down a lot of barriers! Even more if Notes directory can hook to AD or others without additional products!

  1. 26  Sean Cull http://www.seancull.co.uk | 12/12/2010 3:55:26 PM

    @25 yes apart from the AD bit because you are probably basing it on express which will not do AD, well actually it will do AD but you need to know not to do AD because it is prohibited.

  1. 27  Scott Mayo  | 12/13/2010 6:59:25 AM

    Can LotusLive Notes be rolled into an ASL yet? Last we checked, you could not.

    Any way to migrate or convert an existing CAL into the ASL? So we get existing customers on the same licensing.

  1. 28  Ed Brill http://www.edbrill.com | 12/13/2010 9:55:24 AM

    @27 no and no that I know of. It's not a perfect model yet.

  1. 29  Pete McPhedran  | 12/13/2010 3:07:46 PM

    @23

    In that case, each individual will need to be licensed. IBM changed the license agreement some time ago to close that "loop hole" I knew of many apps that had "3rd party" authentication that were rendered dead as a result of the license change. It used to say something along the lines of the user being in the names.nsf

    Basically, if your application can identify one user from another one, regardless of how you accomplish that, each identifiable user needs to be properly licensed.

    In the situation of a shopping cart, some of my clients have gotten around it by building their store in Domino and then taking the end result, before login/authentication and sending the cart to an HTML site on Wordpress, Joomla, plain old html, etc... to authenticate and complete the sale. No data is stored in Domino and no user is authenticated or identifiable.

    A phpBB type Domino app would certainly require each user to have a valid license. XSP, ASL or Express would probably work in most of those situations.

    --Pete

  1. 30  Michael de Haas  | 12/15/2010 6:07:47 AM

    @All, was Domino Comunity Edition not touted somewhere?

    120 day trial / academic pricing level /free and no support offered?

    This edition could then include some of the "non corporate acceptable" extension libraries and expand the community innovating with the latest and greatest? (DDE home page to comunity forum / openntf / xpages.info?)

    Together with the ASL, would this not finally give the flexibity in licencing?

    Best.

    MdH

  1. 31  Simon Baker  | 12/20/2010 6:31:14 AM

    SaaS is possible with ASL using an ASP amendment.

    See { Link }

  1. 32  Tony Rorai  | 12/20/2010 5:15:08 PM

    Good stuff Ed! I can't wait to show off how we are leveraging ASL at Lotusphere.

  1. 33  Steve Churchill http://www.preferredpartner.com | 2/7/2011 3:49:09 PM

    There is an alternative to the traditional IBM ASL process. My company recently signed an agreement with IBM as what is officially called a Master ISV. Essentially, we act as a distributor acts in a resell model. In our model, your ASL Contract would be with PreferredPartner, not with IBM. We provide the ASL license to you for integration into your solution. We also provide Level 1 and Level 2 support for your customers, which is a requirement in the traditional model (unlike Passport Advantage where IBM provides the support). We will also support Lotus integration into your ISV solution if that has not been completed.

    Overall what you get is an ASL model without the "hassle" of managing IBM contracts and process. We act as the interface so you can do what you do best - sell your solution.