Featured Article from Software Licensing

The best way to ensure revenue for an organization is to develop a product or service people want or need and develop a strategy to collect fees associated with that product or service. Yes, it’s a no-brainer for many, but a challenge for those who haven’t quite figured out software licensing. Manufacturers need to be paid for their efforts – but what’s the best method to do so?

Insights are provided in a recent blog post by software licensing solutions provider, Flexera Software. The best method for results appears to be software monetization with an excellent licensing solution, a robust entitlement management solution and the proper integration with other enterprise systems to ensure ease of use. While the first two are generally part of the manufacturer’s strategy, the integration piece tends to be overlooked.

The typical integration with the entitlement management system includes ERP, CRM, CPQ and eCommerce. When properly integrated, the systems can work together to allow the entitlement management system to act as the single source of truth. This ensures the software producer can see an integrated view of the customer entitlements across the product and business lines. What does this mean for the business as a whole?

The sales person focused on selling new products or services would gain easy access to information such as quantity, purchase history, usage, sate of expiration, upgrades, etc. Any renewals agent would have access to expiration dates for maintenance contracts, subscription details for products and services a customer has purchased and more. The support team would also gain a single system view to be able to respond and resolve all issues as they relate to entitlements and licensing.

In addition to these benefits, the organization that embraces full integration of the entitlement management program can also enjoy cost savings, greater sales success, increased performance across different business functions and higher customer satisfaction. The key is to understand the needs of the integration and the challenges that could arise in the process. Every integration is different as companies vary in size, business content, critical success factors, executive expectations and more.

To ensure success in integration of the software licensing and monetization strategy, follow best practices, learning from those who have paved the way. In the process, be sure to plan, test and adjust as needed. Any integration that fails will only negate the benefits intended, so take an intentional approach to get the outcomes you need.