Every login counts
Under Complete Collaboration Business (CCB), service IDs, admin IDs and test IDs count as users as well as staff.
HCL Domino licensing, without the guesswork
We supply HCL Domino licences and have run Domino for two decades. We help organisations buy the licences they actually need, at a competitive price, whether we host your Domino estate or not.
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Why licensing catches people out
Licensing catches people out because HCL now licenses Domino per user rather than per server. Every login counts, the old server licences have gone and some features now come only with term licences, so an estate that has not been reviewed can easily overpay or fall out of compliance at renewal.
For the detail, see how Domino licensing works. The most common issues are:
The old server licences have gone
Utility Server and the older processor-based licences are no longer sold, so those estates move to CCB or CCX at renewal.
External users are licensed differently
Partners who edit your applications need CCX. Anonymous visitors and read-only registered users do not need a paid licence.
Perpetual and term licences now include different things
Since Domino 14.5, some features, including Domino IQ and unlimited Domino Leap, come only with term licences.
Support has to be all or nothing
You cannot renew support on only part of a perpetual estate, and without active support you are not entitled to run newer versions.
What a licence review covers
A licence review is an independent check of how many Domino licences you need and of which type. It takes a few working days, needs no changes to your servers and ends with a written report, a recommended licence position and a quote in good time before your renewal date.
Baseline your users
We run HCL's own licence analysis utility (DLAU) with you, or read the built-in licence dashboard on Domino 14.5, to get an accurate count of authorised and external users.
Clean up the count
We find people who should not be counted: leavers, duplicate entries, functional mailboxes, read-only guests and users who still hold web passwords they do not need.
Map users to the right licence
Internal staff to CCB, external editors to CCX, read-only and anonymous users to the free Guest and Known Guest tiers.
Compare perpetual and term
We set out what each would cost you and what each includes, so the choice is clear.
Plan the renewal
You get a short written report, a recommended licence position and a quote, in good time before your renewal date.
How much does it cost?
You can start with a free 30-minute call about your estate and renewal date. If a full review is worth doing, it costs a fixed £500 + VAT, and that fee is credited in full against your licence order if you buy your HCL Domino licences through Blue Sky.
Free initial call
Free
A 30-minute call to talk through your estate, your renewal date and whether a full review is worth doing. No obligation.
Licence review
£500 + VAT, fixed fee
The full review: user baseline, clean-up, licence mapping, perpetual versus term comparison and a written report with a quote. Credited in full against your licence order if you buy through us.
Who it is for
A licence review suits any organisation that runs HCL Domino and has a renewal, upgrade or licence change coming up. You do not need to host with Blue Sky. We review estates on premises, with other providers and in the cloud, and the most common situations are listed below.
- Organisations with a Domino renewal in the next six months
- Estates still on Utility Server or older processor-based licences
- Anyone running Domino 9, 10 or 11 who is planning an upgrade
- Organisations with external partners or customers using Domino applications
- Domino customers of other providers. You do not need to host with us.
Why buy your licences through Blue Sky
Blue Sky supplies HCL Domino licences and runs Domino estates every day, so we understand how licences map to real systems. You can buy licences on their own or alongside hosting, upgrades and support, from a certified UK supplier that sets its own margin and can often sharpen a quote.
Domino specialists
We run Domino estates every day, so we understand how licensing maps to real systems.
One supplier
Licences, hosting, upgrades and support in one place if you want it, or licences alone if you do not.
Certified and audited
ISO 9001, ISO 27001 and Cyber Essentials, and a G-Cloud 15 supplier.
Competitive pricing
We set our own margin on HCL licences, so we can often sharpen a quote.
UK based
With no offshoring.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do we have to host with Blue Sky to buy licences from you?
No. We supply HCL licences and licence reviews to organisations wherever their Domino servers run, whether that is on premises, with another provider or in the cloud.
What is the difference between CCB and CCX?
CCB (Complete Collaboration Business) licenses your internal users, such as employees and contractors, and covers unlimited servers. CCX licenses external users, such as partners or customers, who need to edit content in your applications. CCX users cannot have a mailbox or create applications, and CCX needs a CCB environment alongside it. See CCB and CCX explained.
Do anonymous or read-only users need a licence?
No. Anonymous web visitors are covered as Guests and registered read-only users as Known Guests. Neither needs a paid licence.
Should we choose perpetual or term licences?
It depends on how long you plan to run Domino and which features you need. Perpetual licences need annual support renewal to stay current. Term licences include support and newer features such as Domino IQ, but must be renewed to keep using the software. We set out both options in the review.
Is a licence review the same as an HCL audit?
No. A review is our independent check of your position, done for your benefit, so you renew with the right numbers and no surprises.
How much does a licence review cost?
The initial 30-minute call is free. A full licence review is a fixed £500 + VAT, credited in full against your licence order if you buy through us.
How long does a review take?
Usually a few working days from getting access to the analysis report. Allow at least a month before your renewal date so there is time to act on the findings.