L I C E N S I N G
Managing Legacy Licenses
Many software developers turn to CodeMeter for their licensing needs , not just for the ease with which it can be integrated in a vast range of software platforms , but also for its ability to slot right into existing processes and back-office solutions . In practice , it does so with CodeMeter License Central as the universal and versatile tool for creating and managing licenses in perfect combination with established ERP , CRM , or e-commerce systems and , of course , for actually getting the licenses delivered to the end users ’ systems .
Very few software developers , however , have CodeMeter integrated with their software from the very first moment of its inception . All software grows , evolves , and matures over time , and the same is true for its licensing system . Software developers might initially start out with a homegrown solution , before switching to a third-party system and discovering the many benefits of CodeMeter . But what happens with the software they had already sold with their legacy licensing system ? The software on the end user ’ s computer has no way of knowing what is happening on the developer ’ s end , and it expects the same type of license to work as it has always worked . To avoid compatibility issues , the software developer needs to find the smoothest possible strategy for migrating to CodeMeter .
Hard Cut Simply switching over abruptly to a new software version makes life harder for many developers and end users . Users might have long-term maintenance agreements in place ; they expect the amount of licenses they need to increase or decrease depending on circumstances , but they do not expect that they will have to migrate to a new version , if they simply need one more seat . Certification processes can also make the switch to a completely new software version a tough , lengthy , and costly endeavor , making this hard-cut move to CodeMeter an unpopular or even unfeasible option .
Another aspect that should not be underestimated is the simple logistics of the process : With an abrupt cut potentially affecting many different products from many different teams and departments , simply agreeing on the right date for the transition can prove nearly impossible .
Patches or Parallel Versions A common choice of software developers is to patch their old software or to run two licensing systems in parallel . The advantages are obvious , as end users can keep using the version of the software they know . But both options have definite drawbacks that need to be considered .
Legacy software can be patched to bring it up to speed with CodeMeter , giving the end users a new version of their software without the noise ” of releasing a completely new generation of it . It is a light-touch , easy-sell option , but it comes at a price : The patch has to be produced first , and existing licenses need to be migrated , requiring a change in the end users ’ licenses .
Running multiple versions in parallel can break homogeneity in the data and make maintenance and support more complicated and potentially costly . The parallel processes are often not a perfect mirror image of each other , which again needs some careful finetuning with a licensing manager or activation
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