Buying New Prepaid Units With subscriptions or maintenance agreements, the renewal date is known and predefined. In the case of pay-per-use licenses, the renewal depends on the actual units consumed by the client.
This is simple when material is licensed for a machine: A ticket is created for each delivery or a license booked onto an existing ticket assigned to the machine in question. If automatic renewal is configured, the ticket can be stored in the machine and new units retrieved with full transparency for the user. In the rare cases that the machine might not be online, the license can be delivered by a separate file, automatically including all of the security features and protection mechanisms of CodeMeter. The license file can be used only once on the target machine. Any open updates are automatically included, and the process is completed with a transparent receipt.
To buy new units manually, the user starts an order and typically receives the new units immediately after the purchase has been completed, if an e-commerce solution is used. For ERP or CRM solutions, the delivery time will depend on the specific system, its implementation, and the defined processes. Your software notifies the user if the unit counter is reaching its limit, so he or she can purchase new units in time.
Automatic Billing Automatic billing needs communication to flow in both directions to ensure that the current unit counter is fed back to you without tampering or manipulation. CodeMeter has a built-in function to export such data; how you process it in your ERP, e-commerce, or CRM systems depends on the workflows you have defined for your business. Which means of payment are allowed for which clients? What happens when a credit card expires? How are clients locked out if they fail to make their payments?
After the billing process has been completed, CodeMeter License Central is instructed to create a new license or free up new units. Just as in the case of manual orders, these are delivered either as a new ticket or loaded onto an existing ticket in a given machine.
Allowing Third-Party Material Because of something as strict as anti-trust legislation or as straightforward as your chosen business model, sometimes you may have to switch off pay-per-use or allow third-party material on your machines. This depends a lot on the specific commercial details of your agreements: If a machine is provided for a set contractual term, the legal or practical constraints might be different than if the actual ownership changes hands when the machine is sold.
Technically, both situations can easily be addressed by CodeMeter. A third-party license can let your machine decide whether third-party material can be processed on it. You simply sell this license at a price of your choosing( or even free of charge).
Switching off pay-per-use is also simple: Code- Meter treats a license without a unit counter as an unlimited license. It can be used as if it had an infinite number of units left. You simply create the right license and the restriction is eliminated; no change in your software is required.
Opportunities and Threats Introducing pay-per-use models offers many long-term benefits, but also entails certain risks in the short term. There is an initial drop-off in revenue as clients pay less upfront. In practice, the new model is ideally introduced in a new market segment or for a new product. This prevents the new revenue source poaching from existing processes, and it enables you to test the waters and see whether the new model is accepted by your clients without putting your business at undue risk.
Should you allow your clients to choose between traditional licenses and pay-per-use licenses? The answer is: It depends, on your target group. Typically, such flexibility will only pay off if it attracts substantially more new clients.
Conclusion CodeMeter offers licenses with unit counters and automated processes in CodeMeter License Central for an optimal solution that makes pay-per-use models just as simple to handle as permanent or subscription licenses. At the same time, you are free to choose your favorite secure element for storing the licenses: CmDongle, CmActLicense, server in the LAN or in the Cloud. The processes to create or renew licenses are easily integrated or automated. Switching between license models is always possible by creating the right license. Whatever your needs, CodeMeter gives you complete flexibility without compromising your control over your licensing models.
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