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Adding metrics to your software

Adding metrics to your software

With IBM Cloud® Partner Center, you can measure various metrics for software with usage-based pricing plans. You can measure metrics on created instances and submit those measures to the metering service. The rating service aggregates the submitted usage into different buckets (instance, resource group, and account) based on the model that you choose. The aggregation and rating models for all the metrics in a plan are contained in the metering and rating definition documents for the plan.

To onboard your software to IBM Cloud, you are required to add metrics to your usage-based pricing plan to determine how customers are charged. When you add metrics to your pricing plan in Partner Center, you must request an initial approval. After your metrics are approved, you can test the pricing and usage from a customer's perspective and provide evidence from your testing to get the final approval for your pricing plan.

Before you begin

Before you can add metrics to your pricing plan, you must complete the following tasks:

  1. Submit tax and Electronic Funds Transfer documentation
  2. Export the Control Classification Number (ECCN)
  3. Enter the United Nations Standard Products and Services Code (UNSPSC)
  4. Add a paid pricing plan
  5. Confirm the digital platform reseller agreement

Adding metrics to your pricing plan

If you offer a paid integrated product and add a paid pricing plan that requires customers to pay for their usage, you must add metrics to your pricing plan to aggregate your product's usage. After you add metrics to your plan, you must request an initial pricing approval, so you can submit your resource usage and start reviewing your metrics.

To add metrics to your pricing plan, complete the following steps:

  1. In the IBM Cloud console, click the Navigation Menu icon Navigation Menu icon > Partner Center > My products.
  2. Select the product that you're onboarding, and click Pricing.
  3. Select a usage-based plan from the table and click Add metrics.
  4. In the Usage metrics section, click Add metrics.
  5. Complete the required fields.
  6. Click Done.
  7. To submit your pricing plan and metering for review, click Request approval > Yes in the Pricing approval section.

Review your metrics and provide evidence of your testing

After your plan is approved by IBM, you can start reviewing and testing how customers understand and experience your pricing plan.

To test and submit evidence for your pricing plan, complete the following steps:

  1. In the IBM Cloud console, click the Navigation Menu icon Navigation Menu icon > Partner Center > My products.

  2. Go to Pricing, and click Add metrics for the pricing plan that you want to gather usage information for.

  3. Click Test estimation and metering.

  4. Click Go to your catalog preview to preview your product in its draft state in the catalog and estimate a price that incorporates all the metrics that you added.

    1. Select virtual private cloud as your deployment target and select the pricing plan that you want to generate an estimate for.
    2. Select I have read and agree to the following third party terms:, and click Continue.
    3. Click Add to estimate and select and estimate. Then, click Save.
    4. Click View estimate. This step takes you to the cost estimator, where you can review your estimate.
    5. Take a screen capture of the usage data that is generated by the estimator.

  5. Click Add file to upload the screen capture of the usage data that was generated by the estimator.

    You can upload files in .jpeg, .pdf, or .png file format only.

  6. Create metered usage of the plan. Install the virtual server image in your account by provisioning it from the catalog. When the software is installed, VPC generates usage for all metrics of the plan and you can view that usage on the Usage page in your account. Then, you can take a screen capture of the rated usage.

  7. Click Add file to upload the screen capture of the rated usage.