Traditional Licensing Model

With a traditional IBM licensing model, known as Passport Advantage, customers can manage and purchase licenses for each individual Maximo user and product, or for concurrent users. This is based on the expected peak usage and may include a buffer for peace of mind. You also pay an annual maintenance fee called Software Subscription & Support.

For example, under this model your organization buys licenses for 100 Full Authorized Users, 50 Anywhere users and 10 Scheduler users to cover its usage. In this scenario, you are locked into the specific quantity of specific products which you originally purchased. When you need to add more users, you are required to purchase additional licenses to remain compliant. This offers little flexibility for your organizational needs and growth.

Changing Needs

With the COVID-19 pandemic we are currently facing, organizations are entering a period of greater uncertainty around Maximo usage and workforce. The needs for individual solutions will fluctuate in the short and long term:

• Short-term: Solution needs vary by project phase and immediate business priorities
• Long-term: Headcount, solution adoption, methods and approaches all change over time. New or additional solutions become needed, older solutions are gradually phased out

What are IBM Maximo Tokens?

IBM Maximo Tokens are a new flexible way of licensing and consuming Maximo. Tokens float across both users and the entire Maximo product suite, removing the need for specific product type and license count allocation.

Maximo 7.6.1 is the base requirement in order to use token licenses (also backfitted to versions 7.6.0.8 and 7.6.0.9).

I recently saw it put very simply in an IBM video using a bowl of balls! Most businesses need a variety of different Maximo products during their workday. A traditional license is like a bowl of balls… If I wanted to play football tonight (unlikely but go with me), I can’t combine my tennis ball, volleyball and cricket ball to give me a football.  And sometimes I want to play different sports other than just the few balls I have in my bowl. That’s the idea with tokens. I can take any variety of tokens and combine them to access a unique product at the right time.

A token is a common unit of value which can be repeatedly exchanged via the server for a mix of software licenses. The tokens are utilized each time a user logs into the Maximo system depending on their user setup.  When they log out the tokens are returned to the pool.

For example, a Work Supervisor logs in and will use 14 tokens logging into core Maximo. The 14 tokens are returned to the pool when they log out and the product is released. For a full user with an add-on, the server takes the predefined number of tokens for the license associated with the user’s access type – so if Y is the predefined number of tokens for Maximo, and X is the predefined number of tokens for the add-on, Y tokens are consumed when the user logs in to the Maximo system and X tokens are consumed when the user accesses an application that is part of an add-on. However, if the associated add-on is part of an industry solution, more tokens are not consumed for accessing that application. Read more on IBM Maximo token consumption.

The table below outlines the token consumption of common Maximo license types:

~A token is a common unit of value~

Are IBM Maximo Tokens right for my organization?

They are if you;

• Need the ability to limit access to avoid audit risk –  when all the tokens are exhausted and the next user logs on, they will be denied access because there are not enough tokens left in the pool to draw down on.
• Can take advantage of Concurrent users – many organizations run multiple shifts or use contractors meaning users don’t always need to be logged in at the same time. Named user entitlements are eliminated with tokens, so if 60% of your workforce could work from a shared pool, tokens are an option worth considering.
• Are a large or global organizations –  global deployments could benefit from adopting a Follow the Sun model where a user in one time zone effectively picks up the tokens that a user clocking off in another time zone is releasing.
• Are looking to rebalance licenses/change license types – if your usage changes year on year, tokens are sized for any environment for any solutions.  Perhaps you hit budget barriers for getting a Maximo add-on product like HSE Manager. With tokens, you can expand the usage of Maximo with no real risk by proving its worth then expanding once funding is secured.

IBM Maximo Tokens Benefits:

• FLEXIBILITY – leaving dynamic organizations free to innovate
• Whole feature set – try new things, easily move things in environment
• Automates license tracking for compliance
• Reduces management overhead/constraints
• Reduces license cost inefficiencies
• Increases flexibility and availability of different Maximo products
• Rightsizing / Changing Licence Types (Rebalancing) for today and for the future
• More consistent annual payments leveraging an OPEX budget

How can we help?

BPD Zenith can offer your organization a free licensing health check for you to help understand your existing user landscape and determine whether IBM Maximo tokens might be right for you. Contact us today.