License Fulfillment

Integrating licensing capabilities into a product is only the first hurdle faced when striving to develop a fully operational license management process. While many of the benefits of software protection are well known and documented, the complexities of license fulfillment are less understood. Some of these hurdles and expenses are documented in our white paper "Build vs. Buy: The Hidden Costs of License Management."

The fulfillment phase is possibly the most critical component of a licensing lifecycle management strategy. An electronic license impacts every aspect of an enterprise and a successful implementation involves collaboration between all affected departments.

Integration into operations
The license needs to follow the same lifecycle as the software with which it is associated. Systems must be updated to reflect this relationship, which may require updates to ERP and CRM. Streamlining and automating the license fulfillment process can significantly reduce operational costs. It also facilitates the tracking of licenses which has several benefits, such as the information about a software product that a publisher can obtain. Integrating licensing with all aspects of order-management and fulfillment allows other departments such as sales, customer service and IT to access and track licensing information.

Ease of fulfillment
The department responsible for fulfillment of licenses is often not highly technical. It is important to ensure that the process of fulfilling licenses synchronizes with the existing order process systems and does not create a hindrance to operations. An automated license fulfillment process can greatly simplify order entry tasks, leading to reductions in operating costs, reduced possibilities for error and improved customer service.

License Delivery Methods
With the proliferation of broadband, the internet is quickly becoming the primary choice for license delivery. The Internet offers many benefits as a delivery vehicle, including enabling self service and 24/7 license fulfillment support. Additionally, an internet connection allows the license to be bound to a client machine invisibly with little user interaction.

However, the ability to manually deliver licenses must remain an option to meet customer needs. Internally, both automated and manual fulfillments should update the same order entry applications. This can be achieved by creating an intranet and extranet that interfaces with back office systems as well as with the license generation and fulfillment applications.


Licensing Access Control and Authorization
There are two stages at which authentication is relevant. First, access to the license generation application needs to be controlled and limited to authorized users. The selection of authorized users depends on the enterprise and can be extended to allow partial access to third party fulfillment centers or channel partners. Secure, role-based management provided by Sentinel RMS easily allows stakeholders across the organization to maintain departmental responsibilities.

Second, authorizations should be created for users of licensed software. These authorizations can be used as proof of purchase should lost or damaged software need to be re-licensed. Authorizations can also be used to pre-generate licenses for delivery to valid users, channel partners or field service staff responsible for licensing.

For further information on evaluating, selecting, and implementing a license management scheme, please read our whitepaper.
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