The buyer side desk for mainframe software licensing

Mainframe agreements, negotiated from strength.

We sit on your side of the table for IBM, Broadcom (CA), BMC, Rocket Software, Software AG, Compuware (BMC) and Syncsort (Precisely) agreements, with the benchmarks, contract expertise and leverage your publishers hope you never bring.

SYSPLEX / PROD-01 · LICENSE POSITION Workloads live
20 to 35%
Typical renewal reduction
7
Publisher playbooks covered

Expertise across every major mainframe software publisher

48 hour mobilization Audit notice or renewal under 18 months out? We mobilize within 48 hours.

Get expert help

The imbalance

Your publishers negotiate mainframe agreements every week. You face them once every three years. We close that gap.

$0M+

Mainframe spend negotiated on the buyer side

0+

Engagements delivered since 2019

20 to 0%

Typical reduction negotiated on renewal spend

Publisher coverage

All seven playbooks →
01 IBM

MLC · IPLA · Tailored Fit PricingSub capacity reporting, R4HA peaks, SCRT validation and Tailored Fit Pricing baselines, benchmarked against the deals we see across the market.

02 Broadcom (CA)

Portfolio licensing · MCL · renewalsRenewal uplifts of 30 to 80 percent are commonly observed since the CA acquisition. We counter them and build credible alternatives for real leverage.

03 BMC

MSU based · zCL · suite agreementsFrom Control-M to MainView and the AMI portfolio, we untangle suite bundling and align consumption metrics with what you actually run.

04 Rocket Software

Micro Focus · ASG · terminal emulationAcquired portfolios carry inherited contract language that rarely favors you. We modernize terms and consolidate entitlements.

05 Software AG

Adabas & NaturalSpecialized metrics demand specialized review. We validate consumption measurement and negotiate sustainable terms for long lived estates.

06 Compuware (BMC)

Topaz · Xpediter · File-AID · StrobeTooling that changed hands often hides entitlement overlap and post acquisition uplift. We find it, document it, and turn it into savings.

07 Syncsort (Precisely)

MFX · Ironstream · capacity renewalsSort and data integration tooling priced on capacity grows with your hardware, not your usage. We separate the two at renewal.

What we do

All services →
№ 01

Mainframe audit defense

When the audit letter arrives, the clock favors the publisher. We manage scope, control data disclosure, challenge methodology and negotiate findings, so an audit ends as a settlement on your terms. How audit defense works →

Calm, controlled, concluded.

№ 02

Mainframe license negotiation

We lead or shadow support your renewals and net new negotiations, building the leverage story, pressure testing publisher claims, and holding the line on terms that matter for the next decade. How negotiation works →

Visible at the table, or invisible behind it.

№ 03

Cost optimization

A forensic review of entitlements, sub capacity reporting and MSU consumption. Most estates carry shelfware, double paid entitlements and mistiered pricing. We quantify it and convert it into negotiating capital.

Every line item, accounted for.

№ 04

Renewal advisory

You see one deal every three years; we see the market continuously. We benchmark your pricing against comparable agreements and build the renewal strategy 18 months before the pressure starts.

Know the market before they quote it.

Our method

Baseline · Reconcile · Leverage · Close.

1 Phase 01

Baseline

Full portfolio inventory: every product, every contract, MIPS or MSU per product, term expiry per agreement. One license position, defensible in any room.

2 Phase 02

Reconcile

Actual consumption against contracted capacity. SCRT and R4HA data validated independently, so the publisher never prices against its own assumptions.

3 Phase 03

Leverage

Alternative evaluation, metric transition options, timing, and the credible walk away, built before the publisher controls the clock.

4 Phase 04

Close

The renewal or settlement locked with caps, consumption protections, and exit rights. The gains survive the signature.

Get in touch

Start with a confidential conversation.

Tell us which publisher is on your desk and when the renewal lands. We will tell you, candidly, whether and how we can help.

Strictly confidential NDA first; nothing you share reaches any publisher
Senior advisors only No sales gatekeeping, direct to expertise
Independent by design Paid by clients only, never by publishers

The Mainframe Licensing Brief

Renewal patterns, audit moves and cost benchmarks across the seven publishers. No fluff, no spam.

Confidential. No newsletters unless you ask, no publisher sharing.