① Guide · Syncsort (Precisely)
IBM DFSORT ships with z/OS at no additional license charge. Every dollar a paid sort product such as Syncsort (Precisely) MFX charges has to be earned above that free baseline. This guide works the math: the sort cost comparison, the zIIP offload economics, and the credible fallback that gives a renewal its floor.
A paid product priced against a free one has to justify the gap.
Sort is one of the few mainframe functions where a fully capable product, IBM DFSORT, ships inside z/OS at no additional license charge. That changes the negotiation entirely. A Syncsort (Precisely) MFX renewal is not a question of whether you need sort, you already have it, but whether MFX delivers enough above DFSORT to justify a separate license. The advantages MFX commonly claims are higher performance on heavy workloads and, through the ZPSaver feature, offload of a large share of sort processing to zIIP specialty engines. Those are real, but they are measurable, and a renewal is the moment to measure them.
The pattern we commonly observe is that buyers renew MFX out of habit without ever pricing the DFSORT alternative. The vendor relies on that. The counter is a sort workload inventory and a costed fallback, even a partial one. For the full contract level review, see our Syncsort (Precisely) contract review page.
Illustrative model · replace the assumptions with your own figures
| Sort workload band | Runs fine on DFSORT | Genuinely needs MFX | Renewal implication |
|---|---|---|---|
| Light and moderate batch sorts | Most of the volume | Little to none | Strong fallback candidate; MFX premium hard to justify here |
| Heavy multi gigabyte sorts | Functionally yes, slower | Where elapsed time hits SLAs | Performance case is real but must be quantified in saved hours |
| zIIP eligible sort via ZPSaver | Not offloaded on DFSORT | Where realized offload is high | Keep only if MLC saving exceeds MFX plus ZPSaver license |
The ZPSaver test, in one line of logic.
The ZPSaver economics reduce to a single comparison. The feature offloads sort work to zIIP, and because zIIP consumption does not count toward the general purpose MSU peak that drives the IBM Monthly License Charge, a high offload rate lowers your MLC. Keep the feature only when the monthly MLC reduction it actually delivers is larger than the combined MFX and ZPSaver license cost for the same period. Two numbers decide it: the realized offload percentage on your workloads, not the brochure figure, and your marginal MLC per MSU at the peak. We model both on your SCRT data before any renewal commitment. The sub-capacity mechanics behind that MSU peak are explained in our sub-capacity vs full capacity guide.
Every sort job, its volume, its elapsed time sensitivity, and whether it uses an MFX specific feature. Most estates have never catalogued this, which is why the renewal runs on habit.
You cannot price what you have not listed.
The workloads that run fine on DFSORT separated from the few that genuinely earn MFX. A partial fallback, moving the portable majority, is usually leverage enough.
You rarely need a full exit to move the price.
ZPSaver priced on the offload you actually achieve, against your real MLC per MSU. The feature stays only if it pays for itself, and that gets proven on your numbers.
Realized, not brochure, is the only rate that counts.
The renewal reframed from all or nothing to a price for the genuinely differentiated sort volume. The free baseline anchors the conversation, and the vendor justifies the gap or loses the portable share.
A floor under the price changes the whole talk.
④ What changes with us in the room
Most MFX renewals run on habit. A free baseline and a costed fallback break the habit. Then the price has to argue for itself.
Typical reduction negotiated on renewal spend
Mainframe spend negotiated on the buyer side
Engagements delivered since 2019
It ships with z/OS at no additional license charge. A paid sort product is only worth its premium above that free baseline. A costed, credible plan to fall back to DFSORT puts a floor under the renewal price that the vendor must justify against.
It can, where its measurable advantages exceed its license. The strongest case is heavy workloads where ZPSaver offloads sort to zIIP and cuts MLC. On lighter estates the saving can be smaller than the license, which the renewal should force into the open.
It offloads sort to zIIP, and zIIP cycles do not count toward the general purpose MSU peak that drives MLC. Keep it only when the realized MLC saving exceeds the MFX plus ZPSaver license. We model the realized offload, not the brochure rate.
Inventory the sort workloads, separate the portable majority from the few that need MFX, and cost the migration of the portable share. A partial fallback usually gives leverage enough to reframe the whole renewal.
Related: Syncsort (Precisely) licensing hub · contract review · Precisely Elevate licensing · sub-capacity explained
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