Re: Advice on renewing maintenance?

[Pete Helgren <pete@xxxxxxxxxx>]

My advice would be directed at IBM: Eat your own dog food!  They can 
create a platform that can win at Jeopardy! but they can't create a 
software application than can monitor for SWMA expirations and send a 
notice with a link to an eCommerce site that will allow to to renew and 
pay for that SWMA online.  In my case (I am a BP - ISV) *I* have to send 
IBM a notice that my SWMA is going to expire and would they *please* 
work up a quote for my renewal.  Then there is a flurry of paperwork and 
finally I am invoiced, I still have to pay by check.

For regular customers, the distributor usually sends out notices to 
their BP's that SWMA is coming up for renewal (at least mine did when I 
was able to sell hardware).  The BP, in turn, should notify the 
customer.  It would be so much easier if IBM would just send out the 
notices but I think they are so huge now and have outsourced some of the 
functions to the point of where the left hand doesn't know what the 
right hand is doing...

I am not familiar enough with Passport Advantage to know if using that 
vehicle makes it easier to get notices of renewals and to renew, but if 
it is any consolation, you aren't alone in the "Surprise! No SWMA!" 
arena....

Pete Helgren
www.petesworkshop.com
GIAC Secure Software Programmer-Java

On 7/3/2014 10:55 AM, Justin Taylor wrote:
> We bought our RDP licenses when we got our POWER7, and apparently have never been billed for the maintenance.  Now we're wanting to get 9.1, but we have to get our maintenance current first.  Our BP has been on it for two weeks but hasn't been able to find anything.
>
> Anyone have any advice?