BMC Software licensing is the set of terms under which BMC Software sells its workload orchestration software (Control-M), its mainframe portfolio (BMC AMI) and, historically, the service and operations management products now sold under the BMC Helix name. Current BMC contracts use one master agreement, the BMC Technology Solutions Master Agreement (TSMA). It covers On Premises Subscriptions, Subscription Services and Consulting Services, each under its own attachment.[1] A separate End User License Agreement (EULA) governs Products licensed by Order. Under the EULA the licence is non-perpetual unless the Order grants a perpetual licence.[2] Whatever the vehicle, the right to use is capped at a quantity in the Order. The EULA calls it the Licensed Capacity, and “Any Units of Measure and License Restrictions related to the Licensed Capacity will be set forth in the Order”.[2] BMC publishes the definitions of those units of measure, and the product-specific restrictions, on a documentation page titled “Standard license entitlements, restrictions, and units of measurement”.[3] For the general models behind these metrics, see named user licensing, concurrent and device licensing and subscription and consumption licensing.
Editions
BMC does not sell one platform licence. Each product family has its own metric family, and the Order lines name the unit of measure.
| Product family | How BMC licenses it | Deeper article |
|---|---|---|
| Control-M (self-hosted) | Per task, per Control-M server endpoint or per MIPS, depending on the product[4] | BMC Control-M licensing |
| Control-M SaaS | Per execution - SaaS; Starter Pack (SaaS) “Starting at $2,400 /month”, billed annually; Enterprise by quote[4][5] | BMC Control-M licensing |
| BMC AMI mainframe products | Per MSU, per MIPS, per MIPS (LPAR), per engine, per LPAR or per sysplex[3] | BMC AMI mainframe licensing |
| BMC Helix ITSM and Service Management | Per named user and per concurrent user, on premises and as SaaS; Standard and Advanced suites[3][11] | BMC Helix ITSM and Discovery licensing |
| BMC Helix Discovery | Per asset or per resource unit[10] | BMC Helix ITSM and Discovery licensing |
BMC Helix products are now contracted with “the BMC Helix contracting entity set forth on the applicable Order”. The BMC Helix Cloud Services Master Agreement, published on helixops.ai, governs them.[9] The unit-of-measure definitions that BMC still publishes on docs.bmc.com continue to name Helix products.[3] An existing Order therefore has to be read against the agreement it references, which may be a BMC or a BMC Helix agreement.
The only public price recorded in the catalog is Control-M Starter Pack (SaaS). The Enterprise plan is “Contact for pricing”.[5] Other catalog SKUs, such as BMC Helix Discovery (per asset) and BMC Helix Service Management Advanced - Named User, record Order line names without public prices.
Metrics
BMC’s unit-of-measure page lists several dozen measures. Each is defined as a sentence beginning “A license is required for…” for Products, or “A subscription is required for…” for Subscription Services.[3] The measures that matter most for an effective license position are recorded as catalog rows.
| BMC unit of measure | Catalog row | Typical products | What BMC counts |
|---|---|---|---|
| per task | per task | Control-M | Peak Tasks in the Control-M Active Jobs databases in any 24-hour period[3] |
| per execution - SaaS | per execution - SaaS | Control-M SaaS | Highest monthly average of jobs executed during a quarter[3] |
| per managed asset - Control-M server endpoint | Control-M server endpoint | Control-M | Peak Server Endpoints managed in any 24-hour period[3] |
| per MSU / per MIPS | per MSU, per MIPS | BMC AMI, mainframe Control-M | Aggregate rated capacity of each Computer, including every Computer coupled in a parallel Sysplex[3] |
| per named user / per concurrent user | per named user, per concurrent user | BMC Helix ITSM, Remedy | Every individual granted access, or the peak number of simultaneous users[3] |
| per asset | per asset | BMC Helix Discovery | Unique server operating system instances (hosts)[10] |
| per resource unit | per resource unit | BMC Helix Discovery, BMC Helix ITOM | Highest monthly average of weighted Resource Units[3] |
| per active user | per active user | Products sold per active user | Users with a unique ID who log in or call an API at least once in a calendar month[3] |
| per CPU | per CPU | CPU-licensed distributed products | Active physical CPUs, where “A CPU is defined as a socket”[3] |
Three patterns recur across the definitions. The first is peak measurement. Many BMC measures count the maximum in a 24-hour period or the highest monthly average, not an end-of-period snapshot.[3] The second is managed scope. Device and capacity measures usually count what the Product is installed on, and also what it manages or monitors, directly or indirectly.[3] The third is that all environments count. The per task definition expressly includes development, staging, QA, pre-production, production and test environments.[3]
Counting / floors
Licensed Capacity (TSMA last updated 2026-09-09). Under the TSMA, the On Premises Subscriptions licence runs for the term on the Order. It is granted “by Authorized User(s)”, “up to the Licensed Capacity” and “for Customer’s and its Affiliates’ internal business operations”.[1] The customer may not use the software “in excess of the applicable Licensed Capacity”.[1] Subscription Services are provided up to the Capacity, which is “counted in accordance with the Unit of Measure described in the Order”.[1] Catalog proof: On Premises Subscriptions may not be used above Licensed Capacity; On Premises Subscriptions are licensed for internal business operations by Authorized Users; Subscription Capacity is counted by the Unit of Measure in the Order.
Computer classification. For licences based on the power of a computer, the customer agrees to use BMC’s then current computer classification scheme, which BMC provides on request.[3] Catalog proof: Power-based licences use BMC's computer classification scheme.
Floors. None of the retrieved BMC documents publishes a general minimum purchase quantity. Product-specific inclusions appear in the License Restrictions instead. Examples are one LPAR included with BMC AMI DevX Code Pipeline, and Digital Workplace Basic users included with each BMC Helix ITSM user.[3] The only public entry point is the Control-M Starter Pack. BMC describes it as full functionality in which “Only execution volume is capped”.[5]
Virtualization & partitioning
BMC does not publish a hard or soft partitioning policy of the kind covered in virtualization and partitioning. Instead, the unit-of-measure definitions decide how virtual estates count:
- Distributed systems. For per asset and Server Endpoint measures, “each virtual machine regardless of the environment it is hosted in (data center, private cloud, public cloud, hybrid cloud), it is considered a server endpoint”.[3] Catalog proof: Every virtual machine is a Server Endpoint.
- CPU measures. The per CPU measure counts sockets. It has Full Capacity and Subcapacity variants, which count all active physical CPUs in each Computer or only those the Product manages.[3]
- Mainframes. MSU and MIPS licences include “all Computers coupled in a parallel Sysplex environment”. The per MIPS (LPAR) variant counts the capacity of each logical partition.[3] See BMC AMI mainframe licensing.
Cloud / BYOL
BMC’s retrieved documents contain no bring-your-own-licence mapping to named public clouds. Customer-managed BMC software running in a public cloud is counted by the ordinary measures. A cloud virtual machine is a server endpoint, and cloud services are counted as Cloud Resources or Serverless Assets where a Product uses those measures.[3] Control-M SaaS is hosted by BMC. BMC commits to a monthly availability of 99.95% for it, with Service Credits as the remedy.[12] The Starter Pack is listed as available on the AWS marketplace, and the Enterprise plan on the AWS and Google Cloud Platform marketplaces.[5] Marketplace terms are outside the retrieved documents.
Programs
- On Premises Subscriptions and Subscription Services are the two licence types of the TSMA. They are term licences for customer-installed software and access rights to BMC-hosted SaaS.[1]
- Perpetual license (EULA). Available only where an Order provides it. A customer that stops Support on a perpetual licence and later re-enrolls may be charged a reinstatement fee.[2]
- Trial and proof of concept. Trials, proofs of concept and proofs of value are limited to internal evaluation “for no more than a 30-day period”. They cannot be put into productive use.[1] The Online Trial Agreement also limits Authorized Users to the evaluator’s employees.[8]
- Statement of Capacity and Usage Reporting. These are the two programs of the BMC License Compliance Office. The first covers Enterprise Agreement customers. The second covers customers that bought ITSM/Remedy, ADDM, BladeLogic or Control-M outside an Enterprise Agreement.[6]
- Solution Provider purchases. When BMC Offerings are bought through an authorized reseller or distributor, the customer has no direct payment obligation to BMC.[1]
- IT Services provider authorization. An outsourcer counts as an Authorized User only if it “ha[s] an appropriate agreement in place with BMC”.[1]
Enterprise Agreements are named on BMC’s legal pages, but their terms are not published.[6] BMC’s Tailored Fit Pricing FAQ says that the effect on a BMC contract of a move to IBM Tailored Fit Pricing “will be discussed on a case by case basis”.[13]
Audits and compliance
BMC’s standard agreements contain an explicit audit clause. At most once a year, BMC may ask for the prior 12 months of product usage reports, delivered within 30 days. These include third-party reports such as SCRT reports. Also at most once a year, and on at least ten days’ notice, BMC may audit the locations where the software is installed.[1][2] If use above the Licensed Capacity is found, BMC issues a quote for the additional capacity through the end of the Order term.[1] For Subscription Services, BMC may monitor usage instead. Excess use leads to an Order for additional Capacity.[1] The BMC Helix master agreement contains equivalent verification and audit clauses.[9] BMC treats “using more capacity than licensed” as licence non-compliance.[7] Catalog proof: BMC may request 12 months of usage reports once a year; On-site audit once a year on ten days notice; Excess capacity found in an audit is quoted to the end of the Order term; BMC may monitor Subscription Services and require an Order for excess Capacity; Using more capacity than licensed is licence non-compliance. The report formats and contract mechanics are covered in BMC Software agreements, audit and compliance. For the general discipline, see software license audit.
Out of scope
This page does not cover BMC consulting and education terms (TSMA Attachment C), the Data Processing Agreement, the AI Terms of Use or country-specific additional terms.[1] It also does not cover the content of negotiated Enterprise Agreements, which BMC does not publish. Products outside the Control-M, BMC AMI and BMC Helix families that appear in the unit-of-measure page, such as TrueSight and FootPrints, are named there but not analysed here.[3] IBM mainframe software licensing is a separate subject; see IBM sub-capacity licensing and ILMT.