Software Monetization Featured Article

Connected technology is changing customer expectations and the way business is done. For example, manufacturing now relies more on software than it did at any time in the past. This shift gives manufacturers better control of and insight into their production lines, improving quality and productivity.

But with new software-based solutions come new software licensing requirements. That’s why the Process Industries and Drive Division of Siemens AG recently expanded its business with Gemalto’s software monetization solutions.

This division of Siemens (News - Alert) sells industrial process management solutions to companies in the chemical, food and beverage, and pharmaceutical industries. And it has been using Gemalto (News - Alert) Sentinel HL for a long time. The HL stands for hardware-based licensing.

But Siemens recently introduced a collection of add-ons to its SIMATIC WinCC system. That system acts as the primary interface between plant production and corporate management.

The add-ons include control software for recipe management in the food and pharmaceutical industries. That solution is called PM-CONTROL. Another add-on, called PM-QUALITY, is an archiving system for process and production data. Meanwhile, PM-ANALYZE does analysis and archiving of errors and weaknesses in technical plants, and reduces idle and maintenance times. And PM-MAINT is a maintenance planning tool.

That, in turn, prompted Siemens to expand its licensing effort to ensure compliance and ease support. And it had some very specific requirements it wanted to meet in the process.

Siemens was looking for a license management solution that is future proof and is able to support:

• demo versions (so customers can try before they buy),
• multiple enforcement methods (for hardware, software, and virtual environments),
• remote updates (so it can more quickly and efficiently provide customers with the latest and greatest software), and
• secure licensing.

To meet these requirements, Siemens selected Gemalto’s Sentinel LDK with HL Max Micro USB keys and Sentinel SL software-based keys to enforce licensing. This is a flexible and proven solution. And it supports Windows OS.

“Siemens Process Industries and Drives chose the compact form factor of Sentinel HL Max Micro because it fits unobtrusively into the Siemens HMI control cabinet,” the companies explained in a recent case study. “The Sentinel SL keys were chosen to enable time-limited demo licenses for new Siemens customers and for licensing in virtualized environments.”

The Gemalto solution also supports Siemens’ growing update business. “Remote feature updates of licenses for both Sentinel SL and HL licenses in the field now require less support,” the companies explained. “[A]nd Sentinel SL keys can be delivered electronically – resulting in streamlined internal processes.”