By: John Lipsey
IDC's licensing guru, Amy Konary, has just released a report entitled "How Software Licensing Helps Manufacturers Generate Value from Embedded Software," in which she showcases manufacturers' use of licensing as a means of monetizing intelligent devices. As manufacturers face the prospect of thinner margins in global markets, pressure to reduce manufacturing costs, and the need to react more quickly to changing market conditions, embedded software is emerging as the answer.
However many manufacturers are not familiar with how to license the software in their products to achieve competitive advantage. And they do not all understand the different value propositions that embedded software can deliver. In her report, Amy outlines several examples, including how Siemens' Building Technologies Division is using license-enabled embedded software to reduce physical inventory costs; how Midmark Corp's Cummings Machine Company is monetizing the value of its embedded software; and how CPU Technology Inc. is delivering increased pricing flexibility while protecting its intellectual property.
This is an especially compelling report, because, according to Konary, software will continue to be an important way for intelligent device manufacturers to better monetize their products. Importantly, Konary includes guidance for manufacturers looking to leverage licensing to harness more value. She discusses such issues as cultural change, third party licensing technologies versus home-grown solutions, internal expertise and more.
