Has anyone heard that the way BigFix is licensed is changing when it becomes an HCL product?
As of this point, neither IBM or HCL has publicly (or otherwise) indicated any changes are slated. As with many other SEC-regulated transfers of business, the buyer is [typically] not permitted to discuss their plans/changes until the sale is complete (except where agreed upon by both parties). HCL doesn’t own BigFix yet, so unless IBM chooses to change the licensing before close of sale, don’t expect to hear anything on the matter before mid-June/July.
Both IBM and HCL have however stated they believe very much in the product, that HCL will be excellent caretakers of BigFix (and based upon recent history this appears to holds true), that HCL is publicly going far above and beyond what many companies would do in terms of putting things in place and committing resources to address the cares and concerns of their current user communities (major Kudos HCL!!!), and that HCL is committed to the long-term success of both BigFix and those who use it. My personal opinion is licensing may be made more streamlined moving forward as HCL is not as encumbered by legacy requirements and/or rigid massive-scale corporation policies/procedures. The BigFix team being assembled by HCL is very much alike the pre-IBM BigFix of yore (in fact, many of the core BigFix [as in company] team are already on-board and working). Based upon public disclosures and other information in the wild, this purchase represents a truly significant investment for HCL and I highly doubt they would [intentionally] do anything to [negatively] impact or otherwise alienate their customer base.
Thanks for the reply. That is what I understand also. I have no doubt that HCL intends to support BigFix well. After all, its goal is to make money on it.