Entitlement and Compliance Management

Why Producers Need a Proven Commercial License and Entitlement Management System to Support the Full Software Lifecycle Process

By Bashyam Anant

Last time we discussed Why Salesforce.com Isn't Suited for Complex License and Entitlement Management Processes. In this post we will share why in our experience, mature software producers need several product, entitlement, license, machine and software delivery lifecycle processes – well beyond what can be reasonably built in Salesforce.com. While not exhaustive, these processes include (note that these processes apply to producer users, end customers and channel partners, which adds additional complexity):

Product lifecycle workflows

• Defining and managing product versions, with release and end-of-life (EOL) dates
• Managing "feature-clipped" editions of products
• Maintaining relationships between products (e.g. licensed product related to maintenance product)
• Defining and maintaining license models (e.g. trial, perpetual, term license/subscription)

 

Entitlement lifecycle workflows

• Supporting "try-before-you-buy" flows
• Renewal of maintenance entitlements
• Update notifications for software updates available for customers current on maintenance
• Partial renewals (e.g. Acme renews maintenance for 400 units out of 1000)
• Entitlement transfers within an enterprise (e.g. transferring 30 units from Acme San Jose to Acme Chicago)
• Identifying upsell (e.g. "Base" to "Premium") and cross-sell opportunities

 

License lifecycle workflows

• Fulfilling licenses from an entitlement. For example, Acme could fulfill 50 licenses initially and install them on a license server 1, 100 licenses on a different day on install them on license server 2 and so on, but can never exceed the 1000 units they bought
• Fulfilling licenses for online, offline and occasionally connected users
• Renewal of subscription licenses
• Enforcing licensing rules for version upgrades (e.g. do not allow more than 1000 units of EZ-Calculator to be fulfilled across all version)
• Auto-fulfill licenses for product versions that are available to customers on maintenance
• License transfers from one machine to another
• License returns

 

Machine lifecycle workflows

• Registering machines that contain licensed apps or license servers
• Displaying the application stack with associated licenses on a machine
• Viewing the licenses available on a license server machine
• Moving machines from one business unit to another
• Returning defective machines back to the manufacturer and processing credit for associated licenses

 

Electronic software delivery workflows

• Electronic software delivery based on entitlements (e.g. allow software downloads only for customers on maintenance)
• Managing files associated with a downloadable product
• Archiving EOL products and files
• Automated export compliance checks
• Reporting on software download activity

 

Entitlement management systems deliver on these processes. Ideally, they should co-exist with Salesforce.com; each system serving business processes they are good at and with appropriate data sharing between them. Salesforce.com is ideal for managing customers and sales opportunities, sales forecasting, support contracts and support entitlements. Entitlement management systems complement Salesforce.com by taking care of product, entitlement, license, machine and software delivery lifecycle workflows as defined above.

What do you think?

App Stores for B2B Application Producers are Simply eCommerce Sites

By Mathieu Baissac

Recently I've been asked by several application producers (and newspapers) how we can help them with their App Stores. As someone who worked on an eCommerce site since early 1995 for a software reseller, I find myself scratching my head a little.

Components of an App Store

Typically –when I hear "App Store" I think about the traditional sites like Google Play, App World, Nokia Store, Windows Store  and a few others,  Amazon  and of course the "App Store" -  provided by Apple.

App Store components include:

• Registration/User account creation process
• A catalog with icons/images, various search/listing mechanisms (free vs. paid, application categories, most purchased/highest rated, content segmentation (e.g., app vs. video), wizards based on past purchases), and a detailed page per application with ratings, reviews, additional images, etc.
• Pricing. Typically it's just 1 single price, but with Windows Azure, that's changing (and other producers will follow) 
  
  
  
   
• Purchasing process. Credit card or PayPal.
• Delivery process. Often pretty simple (download link in the UI). Amazon does allow PUSH to a number of registered devices.
• Update automation. Notifying when new versions are available and providing the download mechanism.

Why App Stores as Defined Today Won't Work for Most Application Producers

The App Stores that I've surveyed (see above links) do some things quite well:

• User account creation and device registration
• Catalog, search, list management
• Detailed catalog screen shots
• Delivery
• Update automation

 However, I cannot see most application producers using the current App Stores. They lack:

• Pricing complexity
• B2B-oriented payment models (e.g., POs, wire transfers etc.)
• Enterprise-style bulk purchasing (e.g., 100 copies of an app that can then be delivered to 100 different users)
• Incorporation of channels and channel partners

 In addition, today the App Stores are very "perpetual" oriented:

• Apps are cheap
• Users get all new versions of the app for "free"
• Users do not have to purchase "maintenance"

Why eCommerce Solutions are Still what Producers Need

eCommerce producers such as Oracle (ATG), IBM (Websphere/ Sterling Commerce),  Hybris (mostly in Europe), Digital River, Zuora (for subscription/pay-for-use billing) and many others provide all the things needed to make eCommerce occur (e.g., catalog, pricing, payment processing).

They can also achieve that "easy-to-use" model that App Stores provide, even on mobile devices:

• Shopping is done in the eCommerce site
• Customers get "Activation IDs" or other unique identifiers for each item purchased
• Customers are redirected to an Electronic Software site to download the software (FlexNet Operations On-Demand with FlexNet Electronic Software Delivery)
• Using FlexNet Licensing  – users activate in the product
• Customers get emails when new releases are made available OR using FlexNet Connect – updates are automatically pushed to the device

What am I missing? Any reasons why we can't just say for B2B application producers: App Store = easy eCommerce+Delivery+Update?

 

Agile Product Development or to Develop Agile Products?

By Matthew Dunkley

Since starting out as an embedded software engineer nearly 20 years ago, I have worked with teams using a variety of software design methods, from Structured Design, to Object Oriented Analysis (OOA) and Object Oriented Design (OOD) – evolving to Unified Modelling Language (UML) and using both waterfall and iterative development processes.  More recently, 'Agile Methodologies' have facilitated a development lifecycle that is both adaptive and evolutionary with the key aims of minimizing delivery times for working software, responding to on-going change (incorporating new or refined requirements much later in the development lifecycle than was traditionally acceptable) and minimizing what can be cumbersome development process.

There are obvious benefits to the business of an Agile approach.  Developments will to a greater degree keep pace with evolving product requirements, whilst demonstrating earlier than usual progress in the form of 'working software' delivered at regular intervals.  This in turn means earlier revenue streams after a shortened time to market, all-be-it for a product that will not have full functionality from day 1.  For many devices, the time spent in development in terms of effort, cost and duration is still considerable.  Once the device reaches the market there are on-going challenges similar to those experienced during the development process.  Product requirements will continue to evolve post launch along with the rising expectations of consumers anticipating updates and enhancements.  For the consumer, the experience of adopting software updates and enabling new features is expected to be clean, fast and immediate.  Poor customer experiences including failed updates, lock-out from authorised applications / features, prescriptive use of a device can quickly turn them off!

Therefore, as important as the trends towards an Agile Product Development Lifecycle are, the requirements for Agile Products that get to market quickly, continue to change and adapt seamlessly and at an ever increasing pace to meet consumers' evolving requirements including changing buying patterns, is even more important.   In this context an Agile Product will exhibit strong traits of adaptability, flexibility, ease of configuration, rapid time to market and maximise real-time commercial opportunities.  This can be achieved by:

• Using a well-managed and automated field update process
• Implementing a configuration management process that can be used throughout the lifespan of a product
  • Note: Both of the above will require tolerance for ownership change

The combination of trusted software licensing (to protect and monetise software and device capabilities and capacity), entitlement management (to manage the license lifecycle) and software delivery/software update mechanisms integrated with business systems enables customers to experience the benefits of an Agile Product:

• Immediate access for those entitled to software updates
• Close to real-time feature upgrades (e.g. purchased via online store) enabling increased downstream revenues from existing customers and often utilising leading-edge licensing techniques
  • E.g. Commercial models such as feature trials, feature rental, metering, usage tracking, true up, pay as you go, etc…

These mechanisms greatly increases the opportunities for the device manufacturer to monetize features but also the chance for the consumer to try them and use as much as they like – when they like…resulting in providing customers with an Agile Product. 

Consumerization of Industrial Technology

By Bashyam Anant

Consumerization of IT is a recent phenomenon where enterprise IT departments are beginning to allow employees to access corporate applications from personal devices such as iPhones and iPads. In similar spirit, we are beginning to see consumer devices, in particular, smartphones like the iPhone, transform the way industrial technology is deployed and used. In this post, we will disscuss examples from medical devices and point-of-sale systems that illustrate the trend and the issues they pose for incumbents and new entrants in these markets.

In the medical equipment business, startups like Alivecor and CellScope are transforming smartphones into mobile diagnostic tools. Alivecor's heart monitor, for example, consists of a sensor, an iPhone app and a cloud-based application. The sensor snaps on to an iPhone (watch demo) and is placed on the patient. It then transmits heart signals to the iPhone app, which then transmits the data to the cloud application for associating the reading with the patient's medical record, for analysis or for printing an ECG. At this time, the device is commercially available as a veterinary heart monitor, pending FDA approval for humans.

Figure 1: Alivecor iPhone App for Heart Monitoring

CellScope uses optical attachments to turn smartphones into "diagnostic-quality imaging systems for healthcare, consumer skincare and education". One of their apps is a clip-on otoscope which helps pediatricians or parents take pictures of a child's middle ear and store or share the pictures, enabling ear infections to be diagnosed and treated remotely, all by using just a smartphone with an optical attachment and an associated app.

Square has transformed point-of-sale systems by following a similar pattern. Square allows a business to accept credit card payments using a card reader that plugs into a smartphone's headphone jack. Square's android or iPhone app then transmits the payment to the business' cash register in the cloud for reconciliation and analysis.

Alivecor, CellScope and Square are disrupting incumbents in their markets by disaggregating the value of industrial equipment (e.g. ECG monitors or point of sale systems) into sensors (e.g. card reader or heart sensor), smartphones and software. Incumbents that sell proprietary hardware devices in these markets are at a cost disadvantage (since they have to produce hardware while new entrants require only a smartphone) and will also be perceived as locking customers into proprietary hardware.

Because the new entrants make money on software and/or transactions, they now have to worry about protecting their IP against software piracy, managing the software lifecycle associated with their apps (e.g. software delivery and software updates), managing customer software entitlements (since each customer might have different rights to the software) and tracking and charging for usage, if they make money on transactions. Read these related posts for information on these topics:

Intelligent Hardware Manufacturers That Successfully Release Their Inner Software

Software Defined Data Center – Step Towards Utility-Based Business Models

The Internet of Things and Machine-to-Machine are on the Horizon—Are you Ready?

Share your stories of industrial use cases being transformed by smartphones.

Mobile Market Underscores the Criticality of Applications for Intelligent Device Manufacturers

By Bashyam Anant

Our analysis of the mobile phone market underscores the criticality of applications for the success of intelligent device manufacturers. The Table below compares two smartphones: Apple  iPhone and Nokia Lumia. The two phones cost about the same to manufacture. But, the iPhone is able to command a $200 price premium over the Lumia. While Apple’s brand is part of the reason, the iPhone’s application ecosystem, which dwarfs Lumia’s, is also a big contributor.

Besides differentiating mobile phones, mobile applications by themselves are a $10B market[v], further proof of their importance for mobile phone manufacturers.

As exemplified by Apple in mobile phones, it is essential for intelligent device manufacturers to develop an application strategy and ecosystem as hardware differentiators fade in favor of application-driven differentiators in many markets. Manufacturer attitudes such as those exemplified by “If it’s made out of steel, it has value. If it’s software, you give it away” are rapidly becoming not just outdated but disastrous to business success.

Read more blogs about Intelligent Device Manufacturers:

• The Year of the Ecosystem – Leveraging Software for Competitive Advantage and Revenue Growth
• Intelligent Hardware Manufacturers That Successfully Release Their Inner Software
• Smart Device, Smarter Services
• Embedded Systems Best Practice: Standardizing on a Common Software Licensing Platform
• Subscription and Pay-As-You-Go Software Licensing Models Better For Accommodating Peak Demand
• The Software-Driven Transformation of Intelligent Device Manufacturers—A Teachable Kodak Moment
• Supercharge your Software Licensing Revenue & Digital Goods Revenue Streams
• New IDC Report Highlights How Licensing Helps Intelligent Device Manufacturers Generate Revenue from Embedded Software

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[i] [ii] “Inside Nokia’s Struggle to Battle Against Apple’s iPhone”, Wall Street Journal, May 31, 2012

[iii] http://148apps.biz/app-store-metrics/

[iv] http://allaboutwindowsphone.com/news/item/14554_Windows_Phone_Marketplace_pass.php

[v] “Internet Trends 2012”, Mary Meeker, KPCB presentation, May 2012

 

If NASA can update the Mars Rover software, publishers should update their software too!

By Bashyam Anant

In a recent Wired article, NASA Pulls Off 160-Million-Mile Software Patch we learned that NASA had carried out a 4-day software update process for the software powering the Mars Curiosity Rover. According to the article, "the software required to help Curiosity land on the surface of Mars and the software it needs to drive around and avoid obstacles is completely different. Curiosity's hardware is pretty modest…it didn't have enough memory to hold the software for both the landing mission and the surface mission, so the software had to be swapped out remotely after landing." The article also explains how the NASA team carefully orchestrated the update process over 4 days and 160 million miles to ensure that the software update did not render the Rover useless.

NASA clearly has a sophisticated software update strategy. What are other software producers and device manufacturers doing to deliver software updates to end users? About 100 such publishers responded to our survey on this topic.

As the graph below shows, 12% of respondents do not produce software updates at all. Rather, they ship a full software release to address bugs and deliver enhancements for their products. We suspect that these respondents produce software which is updated infrequently or software for which the downtime associated with re-installing software is not an issue.

How do end users update your software today?

(N = 100)

 

 

47% of respondents deliver updates using rudimentary software download sites. These publishers are expecting end users to diligently check for software updates on their download site, make sure they find the correct software update for their product and version and be sure to install them. In short, these publishers are signing up for avoidable support calls and costs - a large fraction of support calls that publishers handle are eventually addressed by a software update. Clearly, an automated software update approach that delivers the right update to the right end user in a proactive fashion would avoid these costs. 17% of respondents and NASA got that idea – however, by building a homegrown solution for automated updates, publishers are veering into capabilities that are not their core competence.

Learn more about the software update process: Software Updates and the Customer Relationship – Eight Issues That Impact Retention, Profit and Your Ability to Compete

Simple is Beautiful--A Single System for Entitlement Management and Electronic Software Delivery

 By David Espindola

“Simplicity is the ultimate sophistication.”  ~Leonardo DaVinci

We live in a complex world.  Each day we are faced with more choices, more decisions, and more information to absorb and to process.  According to a 2011 Forbes.com article, every 60 seconds there are over 13,000 iPhone applications downloaded, over 70 domains registered, more than 60 new blogs launched, almost 700,000 searches on Google, and 168 million emails sent.  According to Google, all the content created by humankind from the beginning of times until 2003 is now replicated in volume every 48 hours.  It is mind boggling.

I am sure you have your own personal experience with increased complexity.  More apps to download, more sites to bookmark, more username and passwords to remember, and more emails to sort through.  In a world of increasing complexity and decreasing attention spans, we want to simplify the lives of our customers and make it as easy as possible to do business with Flexera Software.

To this end, the IT team at Flexera Software embarked upon a journey to consolidate, standardize and simplify our processes and systems.  Because of growth, both organic and through acquisition, our journey started with a plethora of isolated systems across business processes and product lines, and is taking us to our vision of a simplified environment with only three core platforms: Salesforce.com, Oracle and our own Flexera Software products.  Some call it eating your own dog food.  I prefer to call it drinking our own champagne. 

We looked at our entire Quote-to-Cash process, striving for consistency across geographies and product lines.  For example, the initial quote is created in Salesforce.com, and once it becomes an order, the entitlement and electronic software delivery is managed by FlexNet Operations On-Demand.  The customer then gets invoiced, and we collect cash in the Oracle eBusiness Suite.  All the required data flows from one platform to the next with no human intervention.

As part of this standardization process we are developing Master Data Management processes that assure we have a single source of the truth that provides a 360 degree view of the customer.  We want to make sure that when a customer inquires about any process across any of our product lines, anyone at Flexera Software can provide the same consistent answer.

Through the use of our very own FlexNet Operations On-Demand we can provide our customers the same single environment our ISV customers use for their own entitlement management and electronic software delivery needs.   By standardizing on our own products as a core platform, our customers can benefit from the same reliable, secure, and easy to manage environment that many of our customers’ customers are accustomed to.

One user interface.  One single sign-on.  One single process.  All Flexera Software product entitlements and downloads in a single location.

Simple is indeed beautiful.

Read the full success story: Flexera Software migrated their business systems to FlexNet Operations On-Demand, a web-based entitlement, license management and software delivery solution. In addition, they standardized on Salesforce.com for their CRM system and Oracle for their financial system.

Watch the video: Providing a Single System for Entitlement Management and Electronic Software Delivery

 

David Espindola, Vice President of Information Technology, Flexera Software

The Software Industry is Recovering from the Recession

By Bashyam Anant

As part of our on-going Application Usage Management Benchmarking Report series (Q2 2011 report: The Global Recession – Impact on Software Downloads), we analyzed data on new entitlements created in our FlexNet Operations On-Demand service for the years 2007-2011.

New software entitlements represent purchases of software by new and existing customers of the software companies and intelligent device manufacturers we serve. As shown in the accompanying figure, we plotted changes in new entitlements created in each year with 2007 serving as the baseline. Given the five year horizon, we only included software producers that have used FlexNet Operations On-Demand throughout 2007-2011. This eliminates the effect of new customer wins and attritions for Flexera Software. We also compared our data to the Dow Jones Industrial Average and NASDAQ Computer Index. The latter includes the many software producers in the US - many also use our service.

Our analysis shows that:

The software industry has rounded the corner, and is recovering from the recession. New software entitlements created in 2011 grew 3% compared to 2007. 2011 is the first year where new entitlements grew compared to 2007.

• Entitlement creation trends closely follow the ups and downs of the Dow Jones Industrial Average. However, the volatility of entitlements is less compared to the Dow Jones Index.
  
  
• While new entitlements seem to also follow the NASDAQ Computer Index trend, we found 2010 and 2011 to be intriguing. In 2010, the NASDAQ Computer Index was up 30% compared to 2007, where as new entitlements were down 13%. In 2011, new entitlements grew 3% over 2007 but the NASDAQ grew by 38%. Of the 394 companies included in the NASDAQ Computer Index, we recognized many of our customers, some SaaS providers and many semiconductor manufacturers, none of whom could explain the anomaly in 2010 and 2011. Only one company stood out – Apple! Its stock grew 151% in 2010 and 237% in 2011 compared to 2007, and likely has had huge impact on the index containing it.

 

  

SoftSummit 2011 Software Licensing Conference News and Twitter Chatter

By John Lipsey

SoftSummit is the industry's leading event for application producers, who come together once a year to discuss and share knowledge about software licensing, entitlement management, software delivery and enforcement.  More than 200  licensing and business professionals converged in San Jose for two days of educational sessions, networking and fun. It was also the venue for some exciting announcements from Flexera Software.

Weren't able to come to SoftSummit this year? Here's a sampling of what you missed:

2011 Key Trends in Software Pricing & Licensing Survey Reveals Continued Momentum Towards Virtualization and the Cloud -- and Challenges
Flexera Software, the leading provider of Application Usage Management solutions for application producers and enterprises, announced today at the SoftSummit Conference in San Jose, results from the 2011 Software Pricing and Licensing Survey, the seventh annual assessment of key issues and trends on the minds of software vendors, intelligent device manufacturers, and enterprise IT executives and managers. Read more.

Flexera Software Announces Industry's First End-to-End Software Asset Management Strategy Leveraging Software Tags
Flexera Software, the leading provider of Application Usage Management solutions for application producers and enterprises, today at the SoftSummit Conference in San Jose, unveiled extensive support of the ISO 19770-2 tagging standard to enable a more efficient software asset management and license optimization process. Flexera Software is the first company to empower enterprises to better manage their software assets by delivering a comprehensive tagging "ecosystem" for the creation and use of ISO 19770-2-compliant software tags established by the International Organization for Standardization (ISO). Read more.

#SoftSummit Twitter Chatter:  

@jca_spehar – 47% of vendors surveyed do not manage customer usage. #softsummit

@annreist – @mizkonary #softsummit 47% vendors surveyed are not monitoring customer usage today

@annreist – @mizkonary survey says today 79% software revenues come from perpetual, 15% subscription, in future subscription will increase #softsummit

@annreist – @mizkonary license not going way but there is a shift from perpetual to subscription #softsummit

@annreist – @mizkonary delivering final keynote remarks at #softsummit results of 2011 software licensing and pricing survey

@tagvault – @mizkonary closing presentation @softsummit. Started with Richard Dreyfus' dramatic reading of the Apple itunes EULA. Quite funny!

@ jca_spehar  – #softsummit Oraya used FNE to allow "overdrafts" that can be configured individually for each device to prevent treatment delays.

@jestrada1228 – #softsummit during due diligence, lots of simple questions are missed, do these should be in play book

@jestrada1228 – #softsummit if licensing integration is done well, no one notices bc customer experience is seamless

@ jca_spehar  – #softsummit Oraya used FNO (device mgt) FNE (entitlement generation & enforcement) combination to meet their business needs.

@annreist – #softsummit modular and simplified SKU structure + certified SWID tags can help with entitlement management and software asset management

@annreist – #softsummit data policy and standards need to be enforced to allow easy reconciliation, certified software ID tags can help

@jestrada1228 – #softsummit having good play book ensures that licensing integration gets visibility during an M&A

@annreist – #softsummit creating the right business model mix, drive growth in traditional, improve margins in new models, optimize business mix

@jestrada1228 – #softsummit 7 phases of software licensing/entitlement life cycle

@annreist – #softsummit Tim Willey, Symantec speaking about just in time licensing, the shift to usage-centric business models

@tagvault – In Tim Willeys presentation at @softsummit. Great job presenting the expansion of entitlement complexity and what's needed to simplify.

@jestrada1228 – #softsummit have a predefined set of actions and best practices for phase of M&A integration for licensing

@jestrada1228 – #softsummit know who your players will be in the event of a licensing integration effort

@jestrada1228 – #softsummit SW licensing policy is clear set of principles approved at executive level & governs entitlement, licensing, compliance tracking

@jestrada1228 – #softsummit 4 strategic steps for successful licensing M&A 1. Know strategy 2. Define SW licensing strategy 3. Know who the team will be

@jestrada1228 – #softsummit competition for resources, integration deadlines, rapid need to consolidate costs, overlay of duplicate roles

@jestrada1228 – #softsummit Licensing integration presents common challenges

@jestrada1228 – #softsummit M&A licensing integration, David Welch from NetApp

@ jca_spehar  – #softsummit FlexNet Publisher key feature was to add virtualization to trusted storage

@annreist – Opportunities in the cloud, user based licensing, keep up with competitors, promises elastic computing #softsummit

@ jca_spehar  – #softsummit EC2 license model allows you to quickly rent or lease out pre-configured software applications by leveraging cloud technology

@annreist – #softsummit CA, Alcatel-Lucent & CollabNet sharing thoughts on the differences between private & public clouds as it relates to licensing

@annreist – #softsummit industry experts sharing thoughts on how the Cloud impacts software licensing

@unitednetworker – Flexera Software kündigt die branchenweit erst (http://www.unitednetworker.com/?p=269574) #asset #flexera #paketierung #softsummit #Software

@jestrada1228 – #softsummit important to try to plan for future when laying put software entitlement approach

@jestrada1228 – #softsummit thru licensing, new markets open bc smaller customers can now afford to use harmonics products

@jestrada1228 – #softsummit companies can now make new offerings much faster.

@jestrada1228 – #softsummit software allows Harmonic to turn certain options on and off rather than replace hardware. No hardware purchase cycles.

@annreist – #softsummit 37 fields in the software tag...should digitally sign individual elements within the tag

@annreist – #softsummit Software tagging panel discussion with Symantec, Veritag, TagVault & Flexera--19770-2 standard

@jestrada1228 – #softsummit software is a differentiator for NetApp

@jca_spehar – #softsummit 40% of CollabNet customers have moved to the cloud.

@jestrada1228 – #softsummit David Welch from NetApp, Jim Peterman from Tekelec

@jestrada1228 – #softsummit starting entitlement management panel entitled "the Functional convergence of Devices" John Williams from Harmonic

@jca_spehar – #softsummit Limit piracy by collecting data, setting goals and investing in solutions.

@jca_spehar – #softsummit Listening to the compliance and piracy panel discussion and how unintentional piracy can be curbed by vendor management also.

@ jestrada1228 – #softsummit supply chain assessment approach, getting physical and digital supply chain framework established, roadmap created

@annreist – Creating value with pricing...Jim sharing pricing model hierarchy in his #softsummit session

@jestrada1228 – #softsummit important to try to plan for future when laying out software entitlement approach

Next time…highlights from the opening and closing SoftSummit keynote addresses.

SoftSummit 2011—The Premier Software Licensing, Entitlement Management, and Pricing Conference

By: Flexera Software

 

SoftSummit 2011 is shaping up to be a great event. SoftSummit is the only software licensing and entitlement management event designed exclusively for software vendors and intelligent device manufacturers. If you develop and/or sell software or intelligent devices, this is the event for you!

We are just 40 days away (October 24-26) from the annual SoftSummit software licensing and software pricing conference in San Jose, CA.  The agenda has come together and we are expecting a great group of industry experts from some of the world's leading software vendors and intelligent device manufacturers.

We're very pleased to have Chris Gahagan, Senior Vice President of Products and Solutions from Avid as our keynote this year. He will share his perspectives on the how software licensing and entitlement management plays a role in Avid's business objectives. 

This year's event will also feature speakers from CA, Symantec, NetApp, Tekelec, IBM, Accenture, IO Turbine, Oraya Therapeutics, Software Pricing Partners, IDC and Flexera Software.

Topics will range from discussions on the impact of Virtualization, the Could and SaaS to usage-based software licensing models, the convergence of hardware and software business models, software tagging and continuous software licensing compliance.  You can review the entire agenda for the event here.

SoftSummit promises to be a thought provoking event with lots of opportunities to network with some of the industry's best and brightest.  You can register for SoftSummit 2011 here.