Case Study

Basis International Looks to Revenera to Automate Licensing

Reducing piracy potential and simplifying internal license tracking

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Basis

BASIS International is a leading developer of innovative software tools, relied upon by more than 7,000 developers worldwide to create enterprise and e-commerce business applications.

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Challenge

  • Reduce intentional and unintentional piracy 
  • Implement secure licensing without impacting users 
  • Optimize use of internal development resources

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Solution

  • Implement a third-party licensing solution 
  • Enable customer self-service

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Benefits

  • Refocused internal development on core competencies 
  • Reduction in casual copying and other improper uses 
  • Improved efficiency of the licensing process through automation

Founded in 1985 on the principles of open software architecture and platform independence, BASIS has become the industry leader in the Business BASIC software market, supporting more than 100 different product ports on various platforms. Since 1999 the company has relied upon FlexNet Licensing to automate, secure and manage a highly-complex licensing process in its dynamic market.

According to Dr. Kevin W. King, BASIS International’s chief information officer, the company faced an ongoing challenge to keep its licensing strategy secure, given the high number of product ports. “We knew we needed a more comprehensive and powerful means of controlling the licensing of our products, particularly because our market was expanding internationally,” King says. “With Revenera, I knew we were entrusting our software assets to the unequivocal leader in licensing software.”

 

SPOTLIGHT ON REDUCING SOFTWARE PIRACY

“It was clear that BASIS needed to turn the protection of its software assets over to the experts in licensing technology,” he continues. “In particular, we looked for the node-locking capability that protects BASIS software by locking it to a unique piece of hardware and not allowing random and indiscriminate copying.”

Specifically, BASIS wanted to reduce purposeful and inadvertent piracy potential, and in so doing, recapture revenues that were being lost. The company looked to Revenera to simplify internal license tracking and additionally sought to gain a solution that would free the BASIS team to focus on its core competency: software product development.

 

FLEXNET LICENSING MAKES EVERYTHING EASIER

Today, BASIS relies on FlexNet Licensing to protect all of its software development products. Revenera enabled BASIS to automate the entire licensing process, simplifying internal procedures and making it easier for customers to comply with licensing requirements. FlexNet Licensing also reduced the incidence of casual copying and allows BASIS to get a precise count of the core licenses it sells in a given time period.

Required registration of software before its initial use, combined with Revenera’s market-proven FlexNet Licensing technology, helps software vendors reduce unlicensed or illegal use of their products while maximizing revenue capture. With FlexNet Licensing, BASIS can separate usage rights and licensing policies from the application binary, affording the flexibility to easily change and electronically enforce licensing terms without incurring development costs. The same binary file can serve as a demo, evaluation, limited, standard, or premium software version. Equally important, FlexNet Licensing automates typical license management activities, reducing support and operational costs throughout the entire license lifecycle.

“When BASIS introduced the new licensing model into its existing product offerings, it was essential to make the licensing process as straightforward and seamless as possible for our customers,” King explains.

We knew it was time to turn the protection of our software assets over to experts. By leveraging Revenera’s software licensing solution, we’ve reduced purposeful and inadvertent piracy potential, as well as greatly simplifying internal license tracking.

DR. KEVIN W. KING CHIEF INFORMATION OFFICER, BASIS INTERNATIONAL

NEW OPTIONS FOR BASIS CUSTOMERS

Accordingly, BASIS has minimized the amount of customer effort necessary to achieve automatic compliance, leveraging FlexNet Licensing to automate and streamline the steps required for Web-based self-service. Beyond improving its existing procedures, BASIS used Revenera’s sophisticated licensing management software to implement a new rental-based licensing model. “With the rental option, customers in good standing automatically and transparently can have their licenses re-registered monthly, quarterly, or annually,” King says. “This enables them to pay on a usage basis and allows us to generate an annuity-based revenue stream.

What’s more, in developing parts of the world, a time-limited license gives us the ability to negotiate or discuss licensing options regularly, which, as a software development company, empowers us greatly.” He sums up, “The FlexNet Licensing management software supports all of these options, so we haven’t had to change anything as we move forward. This is simply another benefit of having adopted Revenera so many years ago.”

Next Steps

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