① Journal · Syncsort (Precisely)
Syncsort (Precisely) MFX and Ironstream are commonly licensed against capacity. So when the box grows for reasons that have nothing to do with sort or streaming, the support line follows. Add a built in annual escalator and two clocks compound together, each renewal starting from a higher tier than the last.
A capacity tier that only goes up is an escalator by another name.
Syncsort, now part of Precisely, supplies some of the most widely installed third party software on the mainframe. MFX is a high performance sort, copy, and join product positioned against IBM DFSORT; Ironstream feeds mainframe operational and security data into platforms like Splunk and ServiceNow; the ZPSaver feature offloads eligible work to zIIP engines. These products are commonly licensed and renewed against capacity, which sets up a particular kind of quiet escalation.
The compounding comes from two clocks running at once. The first is capacity. When the license and support track total machine capacity rather than the workload the product actually uses, a hardware upgrade made for an unrelated reason lifts the support line even though the sort or streaming workload did not change. The second is the annual escalator many agreements carry on top. Each renewal then starts from a higher capacity tier and a higher rate than the one before, and because neither clock spikes on its own, the line climbs without ever looking like a negotiation item. Read this with our sub-capacity discipline piece and the subscription and support explainer.
Worked · support indexed to 100, capacity tier lifts the basis 3 percent a year, plus annual escalator
| Annual escalator on top of 3 percent capacity drift | Year 1 | Year 3 | Year 5 | Five year total vs flat 500 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 0 percent · capacity only | 103.0 | 109.3 | 115.9 | 547 · plus 9 percent |
| 4 percent escalator | 107.1 | 122.8 | 140.8 | 614 · plus 23 percent |
| 6 percent escalator | 109.2 | 129.7 | 154.1 | 650 · plus 30 percent |
Worked illustration, not a quote. The sort and streaming workload never grew; only total machine capacity drifted up 3 percent a year. Capacity alone adds 9 percent over five years. Layer a 6 percent escalator on the same basis and the line reaches the equivalent of 650 against a flat 500, nearly a third more, from two quiet clocks rather than any decision the buyer made.
When support tracks total machine capacity, a box upgrade for unrelated workload lifts the MFX or Ironstream line anyway. Tying the basis to the workload the product actually uses, where the contract allows, breaks the link between hardware events and sort cost.
The sort job did not get bigger. The bill did.
An annual increase applied on top of a capacity tier that only rises means two clocks compound together. Capping the escalator at a published index removes one of the two, so the line follows capacity alone rather than capacity multiplied by rate.
Two compounding clocks beat one every time.
For the core sort function, IBM DFSORT is a credible alternative, and that alternative is leverage at renewal even where you intend to stay on MFX. Pricing the sort workload against DFSORT puts a number on the walk away the capacity tier would otherwise erase.
A named alternative is a price you can hold.
The zIIP offload feature is sold on the savings it delivers, but those savings have to be measured against your actual eligible workload, not a vendor estimate. Where the realized offload is smaller than projected, the feature cost is a renewal lever rather than a settled line.
Pay for the offload you get, not the one quoted.
④ The tier that only climbs
Capacity rises, the escalator rises, the workload does not. Two quiet clocks, one growing bill. Align the basis, cap the rate, price the alternative.
Typical reduction negotiated on renewal spend
Mainframe spend negotiated on the buyer side
Engagements delivered since 2019
Two reasons usually combine. MFX and related products are commonly licensed and renewed against capacity, so as the box grows the support line follows even if the sort workload is flat. On top of that, many agreements carry an annual escalator. Capacity drift plus a built in increase is the condition under which support compounds quietly, because each renewal starts from a higher tier and rate than the last.
It can, when the license and support track total machine capacity rather than the workload the product uses. A capacity upgrade made for unrelated reasons can lift a capacity based support line for MFX or Ironstream even though the sort or streaming workload did not change. Reconcile what the product consumes against what the contract bills on before any capacity event. See our Syncsort (Precisely) MSU optimization page.
Yes. Cap the annual escalator at a published index or a low ceiling, and tie the capacity basis to the workload the product uses where the contract allows. Where the value case is borderline, IBM DFSORT is a credible alternative for the core sort function, and the ZPSaver zIIP offload should be measured against the savings it actually delivers rather than the projection.
Not necessarily. At renewal you can reconcile the workload basis, cap the escalator, and use the DFSORT alternative as leverage to reset the tier toward what the product actually uses. Even after a capacity event, a workload aligned and capped renewal lands below a tier that only ever ratchets up. Our Syncsort (Precisely) hub maps the levers.
Related: BMC support escalation · sub-capacity discipline · what subscription and support buys · Syncsort (Precisely) hub · Syncsort (Precisely) MSU optimization
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