Reducing development costs and resources by utilizing general-purpose licensing software products | NEXTY Electronics, an electronic components and semiconductor trading company

Continuous software monetization with licensing solutions

Licensing solutions are a way to ensure ongoing monetization of your software products.
Software scalability, such as version changes and feature additions, is an important factor in a licensing business model that reflects current demand and future prospects. In addition, license settings based on the usage period and number of users can be expected to generate continuous revenue growth.

Furthermore, even for software products in which functions are added over time (complex licensing systems), by utilizing the license model, it is possible to easily grant corresponding licensing.
This allows you to focus resources on your primary focus, development, and reduces the man-hours and budget required to develop your own in-house licensing system. Furthermore, if the hardware is standard and products are supplied by software function, licensing can simplify production and inventory management.
As such, licensing solutions are an important consideration in software development and sales, as they provide a means of reflecting scalability and flexibility in monetization.

Wibu-Systems Licensing Solutions

A wide range of needs and challenges surrounding the software licensing business

When considering a software licensing business, various requests will arise based on various cases.
For example, there are "trial versions," "network licenses for large companies," "powerful protection in anticipation of global expansion," and "efficient ordering and delivery in conjunction with internal systems."
Developing a licensing system that achieves all of this in-house would require a lot of development time.

Responding to various requests and realizing a licensing business

With Wibu-Systems' licensing solutions,
We can realize licensing business while responding to various requests.

By utilizing WiBUSystems' CodeMeter LicenseCentral, licensing functions can be easily handled.
It considers how licensing technology fits into your established internal processes for monetization, technical requirements, and license issuance, and verifies the existence and requirements of the license when the software is executed. If the requirements are not met, the software protection measures will not be released (it will not be able to run), and it can generate licenses incorporating dozens of types of restrictions.

There are also concerns that such licensing may be maliciously decrypted, but WiBUSystems' CodeMeter encrypts the information in the license data to prevent it from being decrypted.
Encryption uses proprietary security technology based on many years of experience, which can also reduce development costs for encryption to strengthen security.
In the following sections, we will introduce in detail the features and encryption technology of WiBUSystems' CodeMeter LicenseCentral.

Features of Wibu-Systems' CodeMeter LicenseCentral (features excerpted)

License Sharing

Sharing network licenses is a feature desired by many enterprise users. For example, CRM is constantly Access and regularly reviewed and updated, but users in some departments, such as sales, user support, or finance, may only be Access CRM for a few minutes at a time due to license restrictions.
In such situations, Wibu-Systems' LicenseCentral (flexible licensing system) allows software to be used in many cases, rather than being limited to specific cases or users.

Borrowing a License

Licenses are generally not transferable, but in some situations it can be useful to have the flexibility to borrow a license.
For example, a user may be working offline for an extended period of time and need temporary Access to the software.
In this case, Wibu-Systems' LicenseCentral (flexible licensing system) allows users to "check out" a network license from a license server for a pre-defined period of time and then "check it back in" to the server when they are done using it.
A borrowed license is bound to the user's computer and does not require communication with the license server during the borrowing period.

AxProtector: Encryption for your entire software

A comprehensive range of licensing models are available, including traditional single-user and network licenses, as well as modern usage-based and user-based licensing models.
The license model is defined by the product code and product item options.
The available licensing models are as follows:

Single-user license	The license is stored on the local PC, local device or on a CmDongle (USB stick) connected to the local PC. The software runs on the computer/machine to which the CmDongle is connected.
Single-User License (Virtual Machine)	If a license is normally bound to a virtual machine, copying the virtual machine will invalidate the license. This option determines whether the license will be valid (High Availability) or invalid when the virtual machine is moved.
Network License	Licenses are stored on license servers within the network and are made available as floating licenses.
Feature-on-Demand License	Individual licenses can be configured to enable specific product features and modules, allowing you to generate additional revenue through add-on sales.
Perpetual License	Licenses can be issued as perpetual (never expire).
Demo/Trial License	Users will only be able to use the features of the Software specified by the Owner (i.e., the demo/trial portion of the Software).
Rental/Lease/Subscription Licenses	Specify the license validity period. CodeMeter License Central can also automatically configure license validity period extensions.
Pay-per-use license	Billing is based on the number of units used. You can decide whether billing is time-based or feature-based, and whether payment is made before or after use.
Software Assurance License	This is a perpetual license that includes a maintenance contract. During the maintenance contract period, users have Access to the latest updates. Renewals are not possible after the maintenance contract expires. Updates made during the maintenance contract period can be used even after the contract expires (perpetual license (version upgrades are not possible)).
License with Downgrade Rights	Includes the right to optionally use older versions of the program. This license allows the customer to later migrate all clients to a newer version.
License with upgrade rights	Includes the right to use new versions of the program at your option (no loss of revenue until the new version is released).
Grace Period License	Software distributed with a grace period license can be used for a limited period without activation, after which activation arrangements must be made.
Volume Licensing	Multiple licenses are available to cover as many customers as needed, and software publishers can define which individual computers are activated or monitored on the system.
High Availability License	This applies if you have redundant license servers (the "2 out of 3" principle). This architecture ensures software availability in case of a license server failure.
Hot Standby License	Users have a second license server or emergency dongle that can be used in case the main license server fails. The use of the backup server or emergency dongle is logged and can be time-limited.
Cold Standby License	Users have a second license server or emergency dongle that can be used in case the main license server fails. The use of the backup server or emergency dongle is logged and can be time-limited.
Overflow License	Users are entitled to use more licenses than the purchased volume. Excess usage is logged and may be limited in terms of validity period and volume. This model allows billing for the licenses actually used.
License Borrowing	A user has the right to borrow a license (CmActLicense) or a CmDongle for use on their local computer for a certain period of time. During this time, the license remains assigned to the License Server and cannot be used anywhere else. When the borrowing period expires, the license automatically becomes available again on the License Server and can no longer Access locally. You can manually return the license to the server or renew the borrowed license.
Transferable License	The user has the right to permanently transfer the license to another PC or CmDongle. You can specify whether it can be run online or offline.
User-specific licenses	Your license is tied to your username.
Computer License	The license is tied to a specific computer name.
Time Zone License	Licenses can only be used in the specified region (time zone).
Country License	It can only be used in countries that the software vendor has whitelisted or not blacklisted.

Encryption principles of Wibu-Systems CodeMeter products

CodeMeter products provide strong license protection through standardized encryption algorithms and proprietary encryption solutions

Customer companies of Wibu-Systems products are provided with a unique code called a Firm Code.
Additionally, the product code and feature map assigned to each product or user, product item options that differ for each product, the firm key stored in the hardware of the USB stick, and secret data are all encrypted using a cryptographic key stored in the hardware of the USB stick.

The encryption algorithm used is AES256.
Encryption patterns can be broadly divided into two types: stream ciphers and block ciphers.
A stream cipher encrypts bits or bytes sequentially, whereas a block cipher encrypts data in fixed lengths. AES is the encryption algorithm that is standard for block ciphers.

AES is a symmetric key block cipher with variable key and block lengths. There are three parameter options: 128 bits, 192 bits, and 256 bits.
Compared to other algorithms such as DES, AES is designed to provide faster processing while strengthening security.

Even with AES encryption, there is a vulnerability to brute force attacks, and although it takes time, it is possible to crack it. Therefore, it is considered one of the best methods to use "AES256", which takes as long as possible to crack.
The AES256 encryption supported by CodeMeter uses several proprietary techniques to make it difficult to decrypt (Blurry BOX: encryption technology).
Attackers can insert traps called salts or slightly modify the decryption algorithm to slow down analysis speed through complexity.
*These encryption methods will be explained in a separate column to be published at a later date.

Reduce development costs and resources by utilizing general-purpose licensing software products