2008 Jul 21

Implementing Licensing - Practical Implications

So having gone through the above (see previous posts), there are basically two choices when it comes to implementing licensing schemes. Sell the upgrade. Many sales systems, even fairly primitive ones, support this. You create a separate SKU for each major release, and possibly for each minor, and a separate license key scheme for each major release (but not minor). The licensing ensures that different minor releases within the major release will allow cross-upgrades (or downgrades).

2008 Jul 18

Licensing Options for ISVs - Option B: Sell the Plan

In the previous post we discussed implementing Option A: Sell the Upgrade. Now we will address Sell the Plan. Sell the Plan has a lot of appeal for ISVs, especially when you start to sell to businesses, non-profits, or any group that budgets. The benefits are: Predictable cash flow. The reality is that most individuals and organizations that have recurring charges simply keep on paying them. This creates more predictable cash flow for your ISV business.

2008 Jul 18

Licensing Options for ISVs - Option A: "Sell the Upgrade"

As a follow-on to the previous post about licensing strategies for ISVs, I would like to discuss the nitty-gritty implementation details. It turns out that the open market has not been very kind to mISV firms, and have left with very few options, none of which provides the desired flexibilities. This post will discuss "Sell the Upgrade." A follow-on will discuss "Sell the Plan." So you want to implement sell-the-upgrade.

2008 Jul 17

Licensing Strategies for Independent Software Vendors

For the last several months, I have been involved with a particular very small ISV, almost a micro-ISV (mISV), as it prepares for growth. One of the key elements we identified is that its pricing model - unlimited free upgrades - is not exactly conducive to good revenues and profitability. Although it seems obvious, it needs to be stated, and for several reasons. Founders sometimes feel that to charge for upgrades would somehow offend existing customers.

2008 Jul 17

Welcome to Atomic Energy!

Welcome to Atomic Energy! This is the CEO's blog, with thoughts and insights about everything that affects business, economy, society, policy and, of course, technology. Comments on any blog postings are always appreciated, and Trackbacks and Pingbacks are certainly welcome. I look forward to interacting with many of you. Avi

:--- author: Avi Deitcher categories: - business - cloud - policy - product - technology date: 2015-03-06T07:39:54Z published: true status: publish tags: - architecture - cloud - design - incentives title: Monkeys Crashing type: post url: /2015/03/06/monkeys-crashing/ --- In our last article, we argued that one should always design for failure. Everywhere. The problem is, how do you enforce it? At heart, this is a larger problem with desire vs. incentives.