Predictika · IBM software licensing quotes

An AI sales agent's software licensing quote, checked before it goes out

An AI sales agent prepares an IBM software licensing quote for a customer: program, license metric, how much capacity is counted, the tracking tool behind sub-capacity, and support terms. Before it goes out, the agent sends it to Predictika, which checks it against a declarative model of the public licensing rules and returns a verdict, every reason, and the units it computed. This model has no prices: IBM does not publish Passport Advantage prices, so the page produces no price build-up.

Scope: IBM software licensing quotes: PVU and VPC license metrics, sub-capacity eligibility, Cloud Pak entitlements and support renewal, reinstatement and co-term. See everything this validator covers

This validator models IBM software licensing quotes (Passport Advantage style) — not just the scenarios shown below.

  • License metrics — Processor Value Units (PVU) from the processor family and core count, using the published PVU per core table (Intel Xeon by socket count, AMD EPYC and Opteron, Intel Core, POWER, IFL and z families), and Virtual Processor Cores (VPC) with GPUs counted for Cloud Pak for Data.
  • Sub-capacity — Eligibility by program, an approved license-tracking tool (such as ILMT, or License Service for containers), installation within 90 days of the first deployment, quarterly reports kept for two years, ILMT Lite limits, and full-capacity licensing when the conditions are not met.
  • Cloud Paks — Cloud Pak for Data (VPC, GPU, bundled OpenShift restricted to the Cloud Pak, 3 OpenShift VPC per Cloud Pak VPC) and Cloud Pak for Integration API Connect (production 1 to 1, non-production 2 to 1), and non-production use on production licenses.
  • Software Subscription and Support — Renewal versus reinstatement after a lapse, support covering every installation at a site, co-terming added support to the site anniversary, and the 30-day notice to change the renewal option on a monthly license.
  • Quote checks — The quote states a metric and a quantity; the validator recomputes both and compares them.

Any IBM software licensing quote that touches these metrics, sub-capacity terms, Cloud Pak entitlements or support terms is in scope — not only the scenarios pictured here. Not covered: list prices and discounts (IBM does not publish them, so this validator produces no price build-up or line-item quote), IBM Power hardware quotes (a separate validator), other metrics such as user-based and RVU, SaaS offerings, and IBM's own ordering systems. Assumptions: the PVU-licensed program is a generic stand-in; the Cloud Pak for Integration ratios come from a public IBM community blog and should be confirmed in each product's license terms; hyper-threading adjustments and the older processor rows are not modeled.

The AI sales agentBuilds the licensing quote from the conversation and says it is ready.
Predictika validatorChecks every rule at once and returns the verdict, each finding, and the computed units.

7 scenarios in 3 groups · each group runs from the agent’s first attempt to the outcome · click one to switch

What the agent proposes

The AI sales agent says

Illustrative agent statement. The validator receives the structured request below.

Proposing agent: AI sales agent (scripted)

Before sending, the agent must call Recorded run

Predictika validator


      

        
        
        
      

      
Waiting for the call.

      
    

  

  
  

    
Where rules-based CPQ gets it wrong
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Our assessment of what a typical rules-based CPQ (product rules, price rules and validation rules, as in Salesforce CPQ) does with the same cases. It is a judgment about effort and reliability, not a claim that nothing can be built.

    
What the validator caughtTypical rules-based CPQPredictika
Units for the same estate differ by metric: PVU from the processor family and cores, VPC with GPUs countedOnly with care
The PVU per core rating is a lookup keyed by processor family and socket count, and VPC follows other formulas. It works with a product table and a formula per metric, kept in step as IBM updates the tables.		Both metrics are computed from the model records on every call, and the quoted metric is compared with the program’s metric.
Whether the quote may use sub-capacity depends on a tracking tool, when it was installed and how often reports runOnly with workarounds
None of that lives on the quote. A rule can check it only if those compliance facts are copied onto the quote as fields, and a miss changes the quantity (full capacity) rather than raising an error.		The facts travel with the request; without them the validator counts full capacity and flags the difference from the quoted units.
Cloud Pak entitlements: bundled OpenShift limited to the Cloud Pak, non-production ratios, GPUs as VPCOnly with care
One product rule per entitlement term. Works, but each Cloud Pak has its own terms and someone must keep the rules aligned with each license document.		Each term is a rule tied to the program record, checked together with all the others.
Support renewal versus reinstatement after a lapse, site-wide coverage, co-term to the anniversaryOnly with workarounds
Lapse history and site installs live in the customer record, not the quote, so a rule needs them copied onto the quote, and a co-term length must be recomputed for each add-on.		The lapse, installed units, support units and months to the anniversary are fields of the request and are compared directly.
A quote that states units different from what the estate requiresOnly with care
A validation rule can compare a stated figure with a calculated field, but only if the stated figure is a field on the quote, which it rarely is.		The stated units travel with the quote and are compared with the computed units on every call.
Every problem returned in one answerOnly with workarounds
Rules tend to fire as the quote is saved or a step is completed, so a rep often fixes one error and meets the next.		All findings come back together, whatever order the choices arrived in.

  

  

    
What this validator catches: findings from its test cases
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Every rule is checked on every call, in any order the choices arrive; one problem never hides another. Blocking findings stop the quote; approval findings need a person to sign off; everything else is computed.

    
1the quote states 4,800 units; counting the licensable capacity gives 9,600.
2sub-capacity licensing needs an approved license-tracking tool such as ILMT; the quote uses manual counts, so full capacity of the host must be licensed.
3the tracking tool must be installed within 90 days of the first sub-capacity deployment; the plan has 120 days.
4sub-capacity reports must be prepared at least once per quarter; the plan has 2 a year.
5sub-capacity reports must be kept for at least 2 years; the plan keeps them 12 months.
6WebSphere MQ product (PID 5,724A39 or 5,724A38) is not eligible for sub-capacity licensing; every core of the host must be licensed.
7the quote is written in PVU but IBM Cloud Pak for Data is licensed per VPC.
8the Red Hat OpenShift entitlement that comes with IBM Cloud Pak for Data can run only that Cloud Pak; the quote also runs other workloads on it.
9production licenses can cover non-production use only if licenses remain after production is covered; the license record must be checked.
10ILMT Lite with the Disconnected Scanner is pre-approved for fewer than 5,000 virtual machines; this estate has 6,000.
11support that has lapsed (14 months) cannot be renewed; it must be reinstated.
12continuing support for a program means covering every use and installation at the site; the quote covers 400 of 450 installed units.
13added support must end on the site anniversary; the quote runs 12 months and the anniversary is 7 months away.
14changing the renewal option on a monthly license needs 30 days notice; the request gives 20 days.

  

  

    
Scenarios and results
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The recorded result of the validator for each scenario on this page: the request the AI agent sent, the verdict, and every finding, in the order they appear above.

    
1. Sub-capacity licensing: Sub-capacity quote counted by hand

    
The agent's request. Please quote a PVU-licensed middleware program for a customer running it in virtual machines on four-socket Intel Xeon servers: 96 cores in the hosts, 48 cores in the virtual machines, and 1,200 virtual machines. This is a sub-capacity quote. Usage will be counted manually from spreadsheets. The quote states 4,800 PVU. It is ready to send.

    
Verdict: Blocked.

    
    
      
  • Quoted units do not match. The quote states 4,800 units; counting the licensable capacity gives 9,600.
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  • Approved tracking tool missing. Sub-capacity licensing needs an approved license-tracking tool such as ILMT; the quote uses manual counts, so full capacity of the host must be licensed.
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2. Sub-capacity licensing: The agent resubmits after fixing the errors

    
The agent's request. Please quote a PVU-licensed middleware program for a customer running it in virtual machines on four-socket Intel Xeon servers: 96 cores in the hosts, 48 cores in the virtual machines, and 1,200 virtual machines. This is a sub-capacity quote. The IBM License Metric Tool will be installed 45 days after the first deployment, with reports prepared quarterly and kept for two years. The quote states 4,800 PVU. It is ready to send.

    
Verdict: Allowed.

    
    
      
  • Licensing basis. 48 cores counted on the Intel Xeon (post-Nehalem) 4-socket server at 100 PVU per core give 4,800 PVU.
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3. Cloud Pak for Data on OpenShift: Cloud Pak quoted in the wrong metric

    
The agent's request. Please quote IBM Cloud Pak for Data, sub-capacity, for a cluster of 128 vCPUs where the workloads run on 64 vCPUs and 4 GPUs, tracked with IBM License Service. The quote is written in PVU and states 4,480 PVU. The OpenShift entitlement will also host the customer’s other applications. It is ready to send.

    
Verdict: Blocked.

    
    
      
  • Wrong license metric. The quote is written in PVU but IBM Cloud Pak for Data is licensed per VPC.
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  • Quoted units do not match. The quote states 4,480 units; counting the licensable capacity gives 68.
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  • OpenShift used outside the Cloud Pak. The Red Hat OpenShift entitlement that comes with IBM Cloud Pak for Data can run only that Cloud Pak; the quote also runs other workloads on it.
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4. Cloud Pak for Data on OpenShift: Metric corrected, GPUs and OpenShift still wrong

    
The agent's request. Please quote IBM Cloud Pak for Data, sub-capacity, for a cluster of 128 vCPUs where the workloads run on 64 vCPUs and 4 GPUs, tracked with IBM License Service. The quote is written in VPC and states 64 VPC. The OpenShift entitlement will also host the customer’s other applications. It is ready to send.

    
Verdict: Blocked.

    
    
      
  • Quoted units do not match. The quote states 64 units; counting the licensable capacity gives 68.
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  • OpenShift used outside the Cloud Pak. The Red Hat OpenShift entitlement that comes with IBM Cloud Pak for Data can run only that Cloud Pak; the quote also runs other workloads on it.
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5. Cloud Pak for Data on OpenShift: The agent resubmits after fixing the errors

    
The agent's request. Please quote IBM Cloud Pak for Data, sub-capacity, for a cluster of 128 vCPUs where the workloads run on 64 vCPUs and 4 GPUs, tracked with IBM License Service. The quote is written in VPC and states 68 VPC. OpenShift will run only Cloud Pak for Data. It is ready to send.

    
Verdict: Allowed.

    
    
      
  • Licensing basis. 64 cores and 4 GPUs count as 68 VPC for IBM Cloud Pak for Data.
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6. Support renewal: Renewal of support that has lapsed

    
The agent's request. Please renew support for the PVU-licensed middleware program at the customer’s site. Support lapsed 14 months ago. The site has 450 installed units and the quote renews 400. It is ready to send.

    
Verdict: Blocked.

    
    
      
  • Lapsed support cannot be renewed. Support that has lapsed (14 months) cannot be renewed; it must be reinstated.
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  • Support must cover the whole site. Continuing support for a program means covering every use and installation at the site; the quote covers 400 of 450 installed units.
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7. Support renewal: The agent resubmits after fixing the errors

    
The agent's request. Please reinstate support for the PVU-licensed middleware program at the customer’s site. Support lapsed 14 months ago. The site has 450 installed units and the quote covers 450. It is ready to send.

    
Verdict: Allowed.

    
    
      
  • Result. License metric, counted capacity, sub-capacity terms and support terms are consistent.
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Narration transcript
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The text of the narrated walkthrough, step by step.

    
    
      
  1. Welcome to a demo of Predictika's Validator. An AI sales agent prepares an IBM software licensing quote for a customer: program, license metric, how much capacity is counted, and more. Before it goes out, the agent sends it to Predictika, which checks it against a declarative model of the public licensing rules and returns a verdict, every reason, and the units it computed. This model has no prices: IBM does not publish Passport Advantage prices, so the page produces no price build-up.
    2. 
      
  2. I will start with the first request by the agent.
    3. 
      
  3. The agent says. Please quote a PVU-licensed middleware program for a customer running it in virtual machines on four-socket Intel Xeon servers: 96 cores in the hosts. This is a sub-capacity quote. The rest of the request is on screen. The quote states 4,800 PVU.
    4. 
      
  4. Before it goes out, the agent calls the validator.
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  5. Blocked, with two findings, all in one answer. The quote states 4,800 units; counting the licensable capacity gives 9,600. Sub-capacity licensing needs an approved license-tracking tool such as ILMT; the quote uses manual counts, so full capacity of the host must be licensed.
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  6. The validator returned two blocking findings in one answer. A check that reads one field at a time would pass most of this; it shows only when the choices in the quote are checked against each other.
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  7. What this shows: for whether the quote may use sub-capacity depends on a tracking tool, when it was installed and how often reports run, a rules-based CPQ can do this only with workarounds.
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  8. Now the agent resubmits.
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  9. The corrected request. It changes the tracking tool to IBM License Metric Tool (ILMT) and the days from first deployment to tool install to 45.
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  10. It calls the validator again.
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  11. This time the validator clears it.
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  12. Both earlier findings are cleared, and the validator's figure matches the quote.
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  13. Two problems caught in one call, fixed in one pass, and a clean quote. That is the value of Predictika's validator: catching mistakes before they reach the customer. Now you can try the other scenarios yourself.
    14.