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Broadcom Audit Notice: The Buyer Response Protocol.

A Broadcom (CA) audit notice starts a clock and a scope. Respond well and it caps at your actual peak; respond loosely and full capacity becomes the default. Here is the seven step protocol we run, and where the leverage sits.

48 hour mobilization

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

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№ 01

Why the notice matters

ScopeSub-capacityBack-billing

Since Broadcom acquired CA Technologies, the compliance posture buyers commonly report has tightened. Broadcom typically relies on IBM SCRT output and frequently requests an ISV specific SCRT report that lists peak MSU consumption for Broadcom products. The risk is rarely the products you forgot you had; it is the method. Where sub-capacity reporting has lapsed or cannot be reconstructed, exposure commonly defaults toward full capacity, the most expensive possible basis. The protocol below exists to keep any claim anchored to your actual peak and to convert the moment into renewal leverage rather than a standalone bill. For the wider picture see the Broadcom (CA) publisher guide.

№ 02

The seven step protocol

AcknowledgeScopeValidateSettle

Run these in order

  • Acknowledge, do not act. Confirm receipt in writing within the contractual window, commonly 30 days, and route all contact through one named owner. Do not begin pulling reports before scope and method are agreed.
  • Pin the scope. Which legal entities, which products, which period, which method. Every data request defines scope; an open ended request quietly widens it. Hold scope to the contract.
  • Reconstruct your sub-capacity record. Before any data leaves your side, rebuild a defensible sub-capacity position from your SCRT history. This is the step that caps a claim at actual peak rather than installed capacity.
  • Validate the SCRT independently. The peak MSU figure Broadcom proposes becomes the basis for any true up. Reconcile it against your own LPAR and workload mapping before you accept it.
  • Reconcile entitlement to deployment. Match what is installed and executing against what is entitled, separating active products from shelfware that inflates a headline finding.
  • Frame the response. Present a documented position, not a confession. Disputed method, over scoped products, and reconstructed sub-capacity all reduce the claim before money is discussed.
  • Settle into the renewal. Wherever possible fold the resolution into the next renewal so it trades against caps, term, and the products you keep, rather than being paid as pure cost.
№ 03

What changes with us in the room

Buyer side only

The audit stops being a data scramble against a clock the vendor controls. Scope gets held to the contract, the SCRT peak gets validated before it becomes a number, and the sub-capacity record gets reconstructed before full capacity can be asserted as the default. Most important, the finding gets handled as part of the commercial relationship: a settlement framed into the renewal is leverage, while a settlement paid alone is just loss. We have run this sequence across hundreds of engagements and mobilize within 48 hours of a notice.

№ 04

The directional outcome

Locked numbers

Across 500+ engagements and $180M+ of negotiated mainframe spend, disciplined audit response paired with renewal sequencing typically holds claims to actual peak and produces renewal reductions of 20 to 35% against the initial quote, with 48 hour mobilization the moment a notice lands.

№ 05

Frequently asked

FAQ

How long do we have to respond to a Broadcom audit notice?

The contract sets the window, commonly 30 days to acknowledge and a defined period to produce data. Acknowledge in writing, confirm scope, and do not start pulling reports until scope and method are agreed. The notice starts a clock; an unmanaged response typically widens it.

What data will Broadcom (CA) ask for?

Broadcom typically relies on IBM SCRT output and may request an ISV specific SCRT report listing peak MSU consumption for Broadcom products. Treat every data request as defining scope. Validate the SCRT data independently before it leaves your side, because the peak it reports becomes the basis for any true up claim.

What happens if our sub-capacity reporting lapsed?

Where sub-capacity reporting is incomplete or unreliable, exposure commonly defaults toward full capacity, which is the most expensive position. Reconstructing a defensible sub-capacity record before responding is usually the single highest value step, because it caps the claim at actual peak rather than installed capacity.

Can an audit settlement be folded into the renewal?

Often, yes, and it usually should be. A standalone settlement is pure cost; folded into a renewal it becomes a negotiation chip, traded against caps, term, and the products you intend to keep. We mobilize within 48 hours of a notice.

Related: Broadcom (CA) audit defense, Broadcom (CA) cost optimization, and the firm wide audit defense service.

The notice started their clock. Take back the scope.

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