FlexNet Embedded: Features

As an intelligent device manufacturer, you know that space is at a premium. You want to make sure that you take full advantage of existing device capabilities, while tailoring your software licensing client to make sure that it delivers all the functionality you need within the available footprint.

FlexNet Embedded delivers a rich set of capabilities with a modular design that allows for substitution of key device-dependent characteristics and a footprint that can be as low as 50K.

FlexNet Embedded helps you cut manufacturing costs by reducing the number of unique SKUs you need to produce, stock, and maintain. You can deliver a full suite of capabilities on a single device that can be enabled via licensing.

With FlexNet Embedded, you can quickly create product versions that target different customers or markets by using electronic licenses to turn capabilities and capacity on and off. It's an easy way to sell products to customers the way they want to buy — and you can do it without waiting for help from your development staff.

Flexible Capacity Licensing – Manufacturers can allow customers to provision capacity either at the network level or for individual devices. Capacity at the network level can be shared and moved across many devices on a network, allowing more flexibility for the end customer.

Usage Monitoring – FlexNet Embedded can also be used to monitor capacity usage rather than enforcing it. End customers can deploy as much capacity as they need because manufacturers can monitor usage and bill back the customer. This is particularly useful for manufacturers that sell to service provider customers.

Offering customers the use of expiring product trials or evaluations is a good way to generate additional revenue for new capabilities on your device. It's also a way to use your device to create a platform for additional software licensing products and services. However, ensuring the trial or evaluation process is done in a way that is secure, yet still easy to activate and use for the customer, can be challenging.

FlexNet Embedded makes it easy to license additional device capabilities as trials or evaluations in a controlled manner. FlexNet Embedded enables you to ship rights with your hardware or software, so evaluations can happen without the customer being shipped a new key/device, calling your support organization, or connecting to your license management system.

You can enable a user to temporarily obtain a software license for a limited period of time while they are disconnected from the local network. This way, even though they are detached, you still control how long they are able to access your software.

Intentional or accidental use of unlicensed capabilities can happen when licensing of embedded software is not robust.

FlexNet Embedded helps prevent this revenue loss by preventing unauthorized use without negatively impacting user experience. FlexNet Embedded uses flexible binding techniques that tie a license to a specific device, preventing unauthorized usage. It helps ensure that only licensed users can access product capabilities according to their contract terms.

FlexNet Embedded Server Synchronization enables intelligent device manufacturers to:

• Offer new business models and "true-up" with users based on usage of the device capabilities and capacity. The information synchronized with the back-office server can be used by the producer to determine the capabilities or capacity served compared to entitlements delivered, and then as input to a billing system for true-up.
• Recover from catastrophic server failure. If the primary local server fails, its replacement can request the backed-up state information to be restored.
• Provide enhanced support and upgrade processes. By including custom information in device communications, the producer's back office can maintain information about client devices whose firmware needs to be updated.

FlexNet Embedded server and device APIs, communication protocols and license rights have been enhanced to support a back-up license server managing a licensing pool if the primary server becomes unavailable. This capability is especially important in highly dynamic environments with rapid configuration changes, high volumes of capacity movement or environments with a great amount of server interaction.