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① Commercial desk · Syncsort (Precisely)
Syncsort sort and integration tools ride on the same MSU capacity IBM bills. We move sort CPU to zIIP, reconcile the licensed capacity tier against the machines that actually run the software, and pull the baseline down before Precisely sets the renewal anchor.
Audit notice or renewal under 18 months out? We mobilize within 48 hours.
Get expert help →Syncsort, now part of Precisely since the 2020 rebrand, licenses its mainframe estate mostly by capacity. Syncsort MFX, the high performance sort, copy, and join utility, is typically scaled to the MSU or MIPS rating of the machine or LPAR group it runs on, and Ironstream integration is sized to the feeds it moves. Because MFX is tied to the same capacity metric IBM bills, the cost moves with your general purpose MSU peak, which means the levers that reduce capacity based charges across the estate also move the Precisely number.
The lever that matters most here is the zIIP. Precisely's own ZPSaver states it can offload up to 90 percent of sort, copy, and SMS compression CPU cycles to the IBM zIIP engine, and zIIP work does not count toward the general purpose rolling four hour average that drives both IBM and capacity based vendor billing. Heavy sort workloads left on general purpose engines inflate the very peak your licenses ride on. The MSU optimization work exists to find and close that gap before renewal prices it back in.
Five steps, in order
Directional only, to show the mechanic. Assume a peak hour where sort, copy, and compression contribute a meaningful share of the general purpose MSU peak that capacity based licenses ride on. Moving eligible sort CPU to zIIP removes it from the general purpose rolling four hour average.
| Peak hour component | Before offload | After zIIP offload |
|---|---|---|
| General purpose MSU peak | 1,200 MSU | 1,020 MSU |
| Of which sort / copy / compression | 200 MSU | 20 MSU |
| Eligible CPU moved to zIIP | 0 | up to ~90% |
| Peak the capacity license rides on | 1,200 MSU | 1,020 MSU |
A 180 MSU reduction in the peak is a 15% cut to the baseline that both IBM MLC and capacity based vendors bill against, before any rate negotiation. Your actual eligible share and offload rate must be measured on your workload; the point is that the optimization is technical first and commercial second. See MSU consumption optimization for the full lever set.
Across 500+ engagements and $180M+ of negotiated mainframe spend, disciplined MSU work on a proper runway typically produces renewal reductions of 20 to 35% against the initial quote, with the deepest cuts coming from a lowered capacity baseline rather than rate concessions alone.
Mainframe spend negotiated
Engagements delivered
Typical renewal reduction
Mobilization on audit notice or renewal
Syncsort MFX is commonly licensed by mainframe capacity, scaled to the MSU or MIPS rating of the machine or LPAR group it runs on. That ties the cost to the same capacity metric IBM bills, so the same MSU baseline discipline that cuts IBM charges also moves the Precisely number.
Precisely states ZPSaver can offload up to 90 percent of sort, copy, and SMS compression CPU cycles to the zIIP processor. zIIP work does not count toward the general purpose MSU rolling four hour average, so heavy sort workloads moved to zIIP can lower the peak that both IBM and capacity based vendors bill against. The actual offload depends on your workload mix and must be measured.
In our engagements the largest reductions typically come from two levers: validating that the licensed capacity tier matches the machines the software actually runs on, and offloading sort CPU to zIIP so the general purpose peak the license rides on comes down. Retiring Ironstream feeds no longer consumed is a frequent third.
Yes, and you typically should. zIIP offload, capacity reconciliation, and SCRT validation build the evidence base the renewal negotiation later runs on, and the MSU reduction starts compounding immediately. We mobilize within 48 hours.
Related desks: Syncsort (Precisely) license negotiation, Syncsort (Precisely) cost optimization, and the firm wide MSU optimization service.