It’s so tempting. Especially as a software development company. You build software. Why not develop your own software licensing platform? Before you move forward, ask yourself these 10 questions.
- Where is your engineering time best spent? Software development resources are precious. You need your team to build new products and add value within your own specific domain of expertise. And your roadmap requests are never-ending. Can you afford the lost opportunity cost of writing your own software licensing solution?
- Will it impact getting products to market and other key initiatives? Speed to market remains critical to success in these fast-moving times. Writing your own software licensing platform involves many unknowns that may cause havoc with your product release schedules, putting revenue objectives at risk.
- How deep is your knowledge on software licensing? Modern software licensing requires broad knowledge of a wide variety of models, including account-based, consumption-based as well as all the real life intricacies of deploying them. While you may currently use one licensing model, your future likely involves new products and new models. Your team needs to assess what expertise is needed internally for today and tomorrow vs. working with a company who specializes in software monetization and can advise on trends, best practices and how to future proof your approach.
- What plan do you need to have in place for long-term updates? Technology changes quickly. As you weigh options, consider the future. When you update your products, will it also require updates (potentially significant ones) to your in-house licensing? Or is it better to work with a leading solution that is always adapting to change.
- Can you offer a drop-dead easy experience for your customers? The latest software licensing technology fully supports a customer-centric approach. No obscure licensing files. No complicated (and insecure) MAC addresses, “host IDs” or server names. The new rule — 10 seconds for an end user to activate your software, means that any customer taking longer than that shows you’re doing it wrong — leading to frustrated customers and too many support calls.
- What will you do each time environments change? Keeping pace with changing technologies is not a luxury, it is essential! Dealing with O/S updates, changing virtualization detection and security issues all need constant review and effort.
- Are you ready to support your own licensing system? A homegrown licensing solution is never ‘done’, and don’t forget the additional staff and infrastructure needed to ensure reliable 24x7 availability.
- Will integrating with your back office systems, eCommerce, ERP and CRM be easy? With a specialist dedicated platform it can be. The integration API you need has already been thought through, battle tested and meets the requirements of a vast array of demanding ISVs like you, along with easy out-of-box integrations.
- Will your new products and new licensing models be super quick and easy to setup and ship? Configuring new products and supporting new license models can be super fast if you choose the right platform. Cloud-based platforms are designed to have you configured easily; just a few clicks and you’re away.
- You are not the first to initially think that building your own licensing makes sense, and you won’t be the last to ultimately want to abandon your homegrown licensing for a thoroughbred-class leading cloud based solution instead! Why not just start off that way now?
The bottom line: Before you jump into building your own software licensing platform, do a deep discovery on the cost, time, risk and effort vs. using a modern, battle tested, future proof, fully supported and ready-to-go solution.
The class leading cloud based licensing platform, Zentitle, is the choice of the most demanding software vendors. It’s flexible and feature rich but always focused on a fantastic experience for you, your support team and your end-users.
Want to know more? Grab a quick meeting with us and we can discover together whether Zentitle is a great fit for your business.