In an attempt to try and make it look as if it is not banging software out at knock-down prices, IBM Corp will start abandoning its list pricing strategy for large customers and resellers next week in favour of suggested retail prices, which will be closer to street prices. A list price of say $229 for OS/2, which resellers get at a discount, will appear on the street for $165, making it appear that the company is rushing to rid itself of OS/2. The IBM Software Advantage programme will create a standard two-year contract with what it calls common international discounts. The greater a customer, reseller or distributor’s future commitment over the period, the greater the discount offered (CI No 2,690). There will also be a single set of terms and conditions for licensing IBM software. In addition, new SystemView-based tools are being offered to enable users to manage their own software licence charges, terms and conditions. Gone are so-called user keys for IBM-owned software such as OS/400 and the International Program Licence Agreement for personal computer software is now being extended to Unix. Software Advantage affects workstation software, AIX and what runs on IBM iAPX-86-based boxes. Other measures apply to OS/400 and MVS. The move is considered to be revenue-neutral as IBM is not changing its prices or the way in which it charges for software.
