Designating and maintaining your contact information is key to getting maximum value and benefit from Passport Advantage.

Use the links below to learn more

Designating your Site's Passport Advantage Contacts

Managing Passport Advantage Online Access

PAO access instructions for Primary Contact & Secondary Contacts

Managing access for existing PAO users

Setting PAO access privileges

Processing Self-nomination requests

Adding additional users

Self-Nomination for Additional Customer Sites

Locating your Primary Contact

Updating your Site's Passport Advantage Contacts

Designating your contacts

When you enroll in Passport Advantage or make a purchase under Passport Advantage Express and register your information, you give us the name of a Primary Contact. For Passport Advantage, you should also designate an Administrative Contact and a Site Technical Contact when you enroll. For Passport Advantage Express, we use the Primary Contact information you give us to populate all contacts. You can update the contact information for all roles under both Passport Advantage and Passport Advantage Express whenever you want and, in any case, you should ensure the information we have on file is kept accurate by updating them as necessary, such as when people change jobs.

Each of the contacts has defined roles and receives communications and instructions from IBM individually, tailored to their specific responsibilities, so it’s important that you seriously consider nominating specific people to fulfill each of the roles. Use the links below to learn more about the key Passport Advantage Online contacts

Primary Contact

Administration Contact

Site Technical Contact

The Primary Contact is your Site's designated contact for all IBM communications regarding changes to the Agreement or other contractual issues. This contact is mandatory. If the Primary Contact is the only contact specified, IBM will consider the Primary Contact to be the sole contact for all purposes and will deliver communications for all 3 contact types (Primary/Administrative/Technical) to your designated Primary Contact. Once IBM has processed your enrollment form, your Primary Contact will receive a Welcome Letter that provides important information and explains how to access Passport Advantage Online.

New to Passport Advantage Online?

Watch the Primary Contact and Passport Advantage Online Access video

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It explains

  • The role and responsibilities of the Primary Contact
  • How the Primary Contact grants PAO access to users
  • How the Primary Contact names Secondary Contacts

The Administration Contact [if different from the Primary Contact] is your Site's designated contact for all administrative documents including Software Subscription and Support Renewal notices, software upgrade availability notifications and Proofs of Entitlement. Your Administrative Contact is responsible for requesting and authorizing account information changes. If authorized by your Primary Contact, your Administrative Contact can manage Web and tool access for your organization and will have access to your Proofs of Entitlement online via Passport Advantage Online to confirm your authorized use of IBM software.

Note: Electronic Proofs of Entitlement will also be sent via e-mail to your Administration Contact and/or to your IBM Business Partner when you obtain new licenses or renew Software Subscription and Support.

The Site Technical Contact [if different from the Primary Contact] is responsible for overall support compliance for your Passport Advantage Site. Also known as the Primary Site Technical Contact [PSTC], your Site Technical Contact maintains authorizations for support-related Web and tool access. Once IBM has processed your enrollment form, the designated Site Technical Contact will receive a Support Welcome Letter that explains IBM support and how to use the IBM Support tools. Once you are enrolled and have designated your contacts, you should review and update your contact information regularly.

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Managing Passport Advantage Online Access

The manage access feature available from within Passport Advantage Online enables the Primary Contact to grant additional users access to Passport Advantage Online and to control which features of PA Online the user can use. Specifically, they can:

  1. Create Secondary Contacts who will then have all the same access management rights as the Primary Contact except for creating new Secondary Contacts.
  2. Manage access for existing users or delete existing users

    • Note: a new Manage access reporting function allows Primary and designated Secondary Contacts to find users and download a full user report for each Site. This new Manage Access Report view enables list search by:

      • email address
      • IBM ID
      • First name
      • Last name
      • Role
  3. Process self-nomination requests for new users
  4. Add additional users directly by entering the user’s IBM ID and e-mail address

The Primary Contact is the only contact who will have access to Passport Advantage Online immediately after enrollment. If other contacts need access to PA Online, the Primary Contact will have to grant access to them.

The Primary Contact can grant access by using the Manage access feature to add the contact’s IBM ID and e-mail or to approve any self-nomination requests that have been submitted.

  • The Primary Contact can designate up to 4 secondary contacts to assist with granting users access to PA Online and determining their access privileges.
  • PA Online is available to an unlimited number of users per Passport Advantage / Passport Advantage Express Site. An IBM ID and password is needed to access PA Online. If a user who needs access to PA Online does not already have an IBM ID one can be created by choosing the “register” link on the sign-in page.
  • The Primary Contact (or Secondary Contact) may choose to allow consultants or business partners access to PA Online for specific purposes.

If you have questions concerning updating your Site’s contacts and ensuring they can access PA Online, please contact eCustomer Care.

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Manage Access Instructions

Note: Only the Primary Contact and other users the Primary Contact has added as Secondary Contacts can see the manage access feature.

Managing access for existing PAO users

To manage access for existing users or delete access for existing users

  1. From the left navigator in PA Online, select ‘Account management’ and then choose ‘Manage access’.
  2. Select the IBM ID of the existing user where changes are needed.
  3. Choose a role. Determine whether the user is to be a Secondary Contact or a user, depending on what role you want them to have within PA Online. Up to 4 Secondary Contacts can be added while an unlimited number of users can be added.
  4. The next step is to make applicable changes to the existing user’s access privileges. You can make access changes as you believe necessary for that person’s job and function. Access privilege areas are outlined below.

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Passport Advantage Online Access Privileges

Software Download & Media Access / Purchase & Renewal—Provides you the ability to grant users access to all, some or none of the Software download, media access and purchase features of PA Online. In order to have access to software code and product upgrades for products for which you have active IBM Software Subscription and Support coverage, software download and/or media access (CD’s at no cost) access privileges are needed. Access to purchase (in countries where this capability is enabled) provides the possibility to browse and purchase new licenses from product catalogs and to view and order both quotes prepared by IBM Sales Representatives as well as Software Subscription and Support renewal quotes.

Reporting—Allows users to request reports on active entitlements, active renewal quotes, order history, migration history and downloads history.

Account Related Documents—Allows users to view Proofs of Entitlement and Technical Support Welcome letters.

Account Management:

  • ‘Contact update’ provides the Primary Contact and designated Secondary Contacts as well as any user with access to contact update, the ability to make contact information changes and submit those changes to IBM.
  • ‘eNotifications’ provides users with the ability to subscribe or unsubscribe to e-mail notifications that alert them when product upgrades become available. What eNotifications a subscriber receives are based entirely on users-defined preferences. Preferences include: language and the frequency of eNotifications delivery. Users may also specify content preferences, for example, the individual products, product groups and operating systems about which they wish to receive eNotifications.
  • Please note: only those products covered by active Software Subscription and Support will be contained in such notifications. Read more about the access privileges controlling which features of PA Online the user can use.

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Process Self-nomination requests

Self-nomination lets you register to access additional Passport Advantage or Passport Advantage Express Sites. If you are the Primary Contact for more than one Passport Advantage Site, use this tool to be authenticated for view access to each site. Note: It is your responsibility to notify IBM promptly of any changes of address, including e-mail address.

Use the Self-nominate functionality to request access to PA Online for a Site.

As the Primary Contact for a Site, you can grant or deny a user’s access request by clicking on the ‘select’ button for the user you which to work with.  In addition to the applicant’s name and email, an editable ‘Business Justification’ field enables you to modify information entered by the applicant in the ‘Self-nomination’ process.  This functionality is particularly helpful when there are two or more applicants with the same name or when the number of applicants who have requested or previously been granted access to PAO is extremely long.

  • If you opt to grant the user access to PA Online, select user type and access privileges and press the ‘Grant access’ button. An e-mail is generated to notify the new user that they are now authorized to access PA Online with their IBM ID and password.
  • If you opt to deny access, press the ‘Deny access’ button, provide a reason for the rejection and an e-mail is generated to notify the requestor.
  • You can also set up an additional user without the user having to submit a self-nomination request.

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Add additional users

  • Select the ‘Add a user now’ link from the ‘Add additional users’ section. You will need the user’s IBM ID and e-mail address .
  • You can then choose the user type and access privileges for the user.
  • Once you have added this user, they will automatically have access to use PA Online. An e-mail is sent as confirmation that they have been given access.

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Self-nomination for Additional Customer Sites

  • All users who need access to Passport Advantage Online for more than one Passport Advantage / Passport Advantage Express Site, need to associate their IBM ID with each of these additional Sites in order to be able to access PA Online for each of these Sites using the same IBM ID.
  • The self-nomination feature should be used. Fill in the Site number of the PA / PA Express Site for which you need to be able to access PA Online, indicate if you are the Primary Contact for that site or not and submit.

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Locating your Primary Contact

To locate the name of the Primary Contact for your Passport Advantage or Passport Advantage Express Site:

  • Go to Passport Advantage Online
  • Sign in using your IBM ID and password.
  • Select Account management from the left hand navigation. The name of your Primary Contact is displayed on your account page.

Note: If you have not been authorized by your Primary Contact to access Passport Advantage Online, the Self-nomination screen displays. Enter your customer information and submit your self-nomination request. The request will be forwarded to your Primary Contact who will notify you by e-mail when the request has been processed.

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Updating your contact information

Updating your contact information ensures that you receive communications that alert you to:

  • Changes to the tools, such as Passport Advantage Online, that support the Passport Advantage program
  • Upcoming renewal quotes for your IBM Software Subscription and Support, as well as renewal quotes for Fixed Term Licenses and Selected Support*
  • The availability of new versions or releases of your IBM Software products under active IBM Software Subscription and Support.*

*Note: Only the Primary Contact, and users the Primary Contact has added as Secondary Contacts to share this responsibility, can use the manage access feature.

Steps for updating Passport Advantage contacts

  1. Sign in to Passport Advantage Online.
  2. Select 'Account Management'. Then choose from the 'Contact update'. This is where the Primary Contact (and any additional user having been set up with contact update access privileges) has the ability to nominate and update contacts for their organization
  3. Update your contacts for the various contact types
  4. Press the ‘Continue’ at bottom of the Contact update page to submit. (You will be asked to identify yourself before submitting.)

Please note that making a change to the e-mail address for any of the contacts does not change the e-mail address for product upgrade eNotifications. If a contact needs to change the eNotification e-mail address, please visit the eNotification Preferences screen by choosing ‘Software download & media access’ and ‘eNotifications’ from the left navigation menu; then select the ‘Set my preferences’, ‘eNotification preferences’ and then select the ‘Subscribe Yes or No’ radio button.

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