IBM License Metric Tool vs Matrix42 Asset Management

IBM License Metric Tool inventories IBM software measured by processor core and measures required licenses in full-capacity and virtualization sub-capacity environments. IBM recommends it for full-capacity licensing and requires it for sub-capacity licensing. It scans infrastructure for installed IBM software and version details that can support version management and security patching. For sub-capacity use, it produces audit reports, tracks license utilization thresholds, and sends email notifications when thresholds approach or exceed their limits. Installation options are License Metric Tool Lite, License Metric Tool with Ansible, and License Metric Tool with BigFix. It integrates with BigFix and provides a REST API for external systems, which must retrieve data through the API rather than directly from the database. The tool is free, with a listed price of free; customers supply hardware and installation services. Linux installations require DB2, included at no charge for use only with the tool. Windows installations require a customer-provided MS SQL Server instance; MS SQL Server Express is supported for environments under 500 endpoints. Sub-capacity audit snapshots must be generated quarterly and kept for at least two years.

Matrix42 Asset Management tracks IT assets, inventory, lifecycle history, and contracts in one system. Its inventory covers hardware, software, and virtual machines, and automatically discovers new assets across platforms. Continuous network discovery maps assets and dependencies and can identify devices that should not be present. The product manages physical and mobile devices, applications, and servers, retaining status and configuration history for each. Real-time infrastructure updates feed an automated configuration management database.

Contract management centralizes documents and data, sends renewal and deadline notifications, and provides interactive cost reports and risk assessments. Listed integrations include Microsoft SCCM, Intune, Azure, AWS, IBM License Metric Tool, Jamf Pro, and VMware Workspace ONE. Contract tracking and barcode scanning are supported. Deployment is hybrid, with platforms including Android, iOS, Linux, macOS, web, Windows, and self-hosted environments. Matrix42 is headquartered in Frankfurt am Main, Germany, and was founded in 1992. The product is paid, has no free plan, and offers a 30-day trial; pricing is tailored by quote.