Flexera Software and IDC do a yearly software licensing survey to Enterprises and Publishers. I recently completed an in-depth analysis of these surveys and will be blogging several articles on some interesting findings. I selected 3 and 4 year spans to avoid “short-term” trends.
One of the questions I explored was “What are the trends around software license enforcement from the Publishers’ perspective” and “How does that compare with Enterprises’ perspective”.
Publishers Perspective
|
|
2009 |
2011 |
Delta |
|
Does not do licensing enforcement |
28% |
7.8% |
-20.2% |
|
Uses dongles |
20% |
27% |
+7% |
|
Uses internet activation |
28% |
48% |
+20% |
|
Uses floating licensing |
28% |
55% |
+27% |
Some analysis:
- More enforcement is growing (none+serial only – 64% in ’09 vs. 35% in ’11 –a 45% delta)
- Dongles are not dead—they are growing (35% growth—perhaps due to combating virtualization and more intelligent device manufacturers)
- Ease of use is a big driver in the changes
-Internet activation: 71% increase in 2 years
-Floating licenses: 96% increase in 2 years
Enterprises’ Perspective
|
Preferred licensing models |
2008 |
2011 |
Enterprise Delta |
Producer |
Enterprise/Producer Delta |
|
Floating licenses |
71% |
48% |
-23% |
+27% (’09-‘11) |
50% |
|
Trust-based licensing |
9% |
16.3% |
+7.3% |
-12.2% |
20% |
|
Vendor supplied automated monitoring mechanism with annual true-up |
3.8% |
12.2% |
+8.4% |
Not asked |
|
|
Dongles |
2.5% |
0.0% |
-2.5% |
+7% |
9.5% |
|
Product activation over internet |
9% |
22% |
+13% |
+20% |
7% |
Contrast
- Publishers are increasing use of floating licenses but enterprises are liking them less and less
- Root cause of this is unclear
- Publishers are increasing software licensing but Enterprises want more “trust-based licensing” or “automated monitoring with annual true-up”
- Enterprises want the flexibility to ramp up and down licensing as their business changes
- Publishers probably dislike that option as (a) they don’t have the tools or (b) they don’t trust enterprises to stay compliant
- Both Enterprises and Publishers like the “ease of licensing” that product activation provides
Flexera Software is working on a compliance automation solution—which we believe will significantly improve the producer/enterprise divide.
