Reprise Software
www.reprisesoftware.com
info@reprisesoftware.com
781-837-0884 |
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Know your Code: Automate Software
IP Compliance
Automating License Compliance in the
New, Mixed-IP Development World
by Black Duck Software
The software development industry is
undergoing a profound
transformation. Over the last ten
years new technologies and business
models like the Internet and open
source software have fundamentally
changed how companies develop
software.
Increasingly, globally distributed
teams of developers are
collaborating to assemble software
from reusable components and their
own proprietary code rather than
building applications entirely from
scratch. In this environment of
composite, mixed intellectual
property (IP), or 'mixed-IP',
software vendors are increasingly
concerned with keeping control of
their own IP and properly managing
the origins and obligations
associated with the components that
they reuse.
Manual methods for managing IP are
quickly proving to be insufficient,
so leading enterprises are turning
to new, automated IP management
platforms - called software
compliance management systems. These
systems help ensure enterprises
achieve the business acceleration
they want from software reuse, while
meeting the stringent requirements
of shareholders, regulators, and
customers for proper management of
company assets and obligations.
How
Does it Work?
The Protex platform is based on the
combination of Black Duck's advanced
Code Print™ technology, automated
license analytics, and the world's
most comprehensive code
KnowledgeBase. Our unique Code Print
technology breaks down larger
software components into smaller
code snippets for analysis. These
code snippets are then compared to
the Black Duck KnowledgeBase which
contains billions of Code Prints
representing many hundreds of
thousands of software projects - and
their corresponding licenses - that
have been amassed and are regularly
updated by Black Duck Software. By
analyzing user code and
automatically comparing it with the
KnowledgeBase, licensed software
elements can be quickly identified
and licensing obligations determined
and resolved before they become
issues for the business.
Development organizations use Protex
as an integral element of their
development environment and in many
cases have integrated it with their
build process, i.e., code is
automatically scanned when builds
are kicked off. In this way
developers identify issues up front
in the development process when they
are easier and less costly to
address. See the case study of how
Intel uses Protex at:
http://www.blackducksoftware.com/protex
To stay competitive in today's
software market, software vendors
must adopt these new methods for
software development. Software
compliance management systems are
helping to unlock the potential of
modular, collaborative development
to significantly enhance
profitability, reliability and ROI.
This allows companies to maximize
the value of their intellectual
property portfolios, while
minimizing the risks of exploiting
mixed-IP software development.
Benefits of Software Compliance
Management:
- Know what is in your code
base
- Control the introduction of
licensed materials
- Understand and manage
license obligations
- Identify compatibility and
collective obligations of
combined components
- Establish and manage IP
policy across software lifecycle
and global teams
To learn more about Black Duck
Software's product offerings, visit
the website at
www.blackducksoftware.com
Click here:
http://www.blackducksoftware.com/resources/whitepapers
to read the whitepaper, "Automating
License Compliance in the New,
Mixed-IP Development World" |
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An RLM Customer Story
Developers of powerful yet easy to use
engineering analysis software
LimitState software helps engineers to
rapidly evaluate the safety of bodies
and structures. We incorporate cutting
edge optimization technology in our
software to efficiently identify when a
loaded solid body or structure will
fail.
LimitState:RING is a
world-leading software application for
assessing the safety of masonry arch
bridges, the most common bridge type
found in Europe. LimitState:RING can
analyze single and multi-span bridges,
with or without defects, and subject to
highway or railway loading vehicles.
LimitState:GEO is an exciting new
software application for geotechnical
stability problems. Users can quickly
and easily analyze problems of almost
any type - including combined problems
simultaneously involving slope
stability, retaining walls, foundation
footings and tunnels. At the time of
writing the software is being used, for
example, by one customer to help
finalize the complex foundations
supporting the inclined columns carrying
the new Liverpool FC stadium roof.
Why
RLM?
When looking for licensing software for
LimitState:GEO we came across RLM, and
quickly found it to be a good fit for us
- clear documentation, cross-platform
support and, equally important, low
upfront pricing for small companies!
Another licensing system we considered
had relied on intermittent
communications with a 3rd party
webserver (which we would have no
control over). We prefer RLM because we
have complete control, and our customers
do not require internet connectivity
after their license has been installed.
Using
Internet Activation
Due to time pressures we initially
issued RLM license files manually, but
have now switched to internet
activation. As well as cutting needless
support queries ('how do I find my
hostid?', etc), the records
automatically created by the
internet activation server means
that we can keep track of both trial and
full licenses more effectively than
before.
Named-User Licenses Solve Pricing
Dilemma
With traditional floating network
licenses if the software runs quickly, a
single user license can service the
needs of large numbers of users.
However, as we have spent thousands of
developer hours to ensure customers can
create and solve a problem in minutes -
rather than the hours or days associated
with legacy software, another priority
for us was to ensure that this speed of
operation did not adversely affect
sales. The highly price-sensitive nature
of the engineering analysis software
market meant that charging a significant
premium for our software was not a
realistic option, so we instead turned
to the 'named user' license feature
provided by RLM, which allows us to
limit the number of named individuals
entitled to share a single license in a
given 24 hour period. To date, customers
find this solution satisfactory. They
particularly like the fact that they can
edit the named user list themselves as
their user population changes.
Please visit
http://www.limitstate.com for more
information.
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The New Reprise License Center (RLC)
Simplifies license generation and
administration
An often overlooked piece of a well
implemented licensing strategy is the
back-office. This is the part of the
licensing ecosystem where a software vendor
defines products, assigns their license
attributes, generates and tracks license
fulfillments, and optionally sets up a
web-based activation server to enable
license key delivery over the Internet.
Access via
Web Browser
RLM's License Center (RLC), now a standard
part of RLM, is a simple web-based
application that is licensed by RLM itself,
providing a mechanism by which vendors can
enable various access levels that closely
match the licensing functions that their
administration staff performs. Three levels
of access are provided:
- view only
- manage products and activations
- generate licenses
Product Definitions
After access levels are assigned, the
remaining setup of RLC is straightforward.
Next you create named product definitions
that specify:
- Product name
- Product version
- License type (floating or
node-locked)
- License duration (# days, or
permanent)
Since products are sold in many different
configurations - at
different price points - product definitions
that closely mirror your various software
SKUs can be created so that you can support
demos or trials, periodic or permanent
licenses, and node-locked or floating
license types. Additional license attributes
can be assigned for each product definition
to give you access to the full breadth of
RLM's licensing features.
Internet
Activation
If you decide to support
RLM Internet Activation under your IIS
or Apache server, the RLC also acts as the
console from which you create activation
keys and view fulfillment history.
Activation keys are defined by:
- product definition to use
- number of activations allowed per
key
Fulfillment Records
Whenever an activation key is used, a
fulfillment record is written that contains:
- count or number of licenses
activated
- time and date when activation was
done
- hostid for license
- hostname on activated machine
- IP address of the remote host
(typically) of machine requesting
activation
- the generated license
Data Integration
Product definitions and fulfillment data are
stored as colon-separated fields in flat
text files so that you can import/export the
data to/from your existing CRM or accounting
systems.
Need More?
Software vendors needing a more
comprehensive "entitlement management"
solution are invited to contact our
fulfillment partners
here.
For more information on the RLM License
Center, please contact
Reprise Software.
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