Software and Services Solutions—Overview
Thales' approach to software monetization combines the benefits of Sentinel EMS with enforcement methods including Sentinel, homegrown and third-party products. When combined with Sentinel RMS or Sentinel LDK, Sentinel EMS offers the most robust and feature-rich solution to address your software monetization challenges. With Sentinel EMS in core, the solution enables software and hardware device vendors to manage all licensing and entitlement management activities, automate back-office processes and gain insight into product usage.
Thales' solution consists of:
Sentinel EMS—For Entitlement Management and Back-Office Integration
Sentinel Entitlement Management System (Sentinel EMS) is a feature-rich, web-based system that enables you to manage all licensing and entitlement management activity, automate back-office processes and gain insight into product usage.
Key benefits include:
>Entitlement Management: Manages the complete software licensing and delivery lifecycle of your products with functions, such as:
•Product Catalog Definition: Allows granular inclusion of your features, products, protection key memory, and product suites enabling you to control and monetize your software.
•License Generation: Supports multiple license generators, including Sentinel RMS, Sentinel LDK, homegrown, and third-party license generators via a single interface.
•Customer Self Service: Delivers a wide range of self-service licensing and entitlement management capabilities, such as activation, renewal, upgrade, and transfer of product ownership—all via an intuitive web interface.
•License Usage Collection and Reporting: Offers entitlement tracking and reporting tools to ensure license compliance and generate email notifications to initiate license renewals and product upgrades.
>Electronic Software Downloads: Provides a single interface for your customers to manage their licenses and software downloads.
>Integration with Back Office Systems: Eliminates costly and time-consuming manual processes by using Sentinel EMS web services to integrate licensing activity directly with your ERP and CRM systems.
>EMS Deployments: Thales manages Sentinel EMS for you as a service using EMSaaS.
Sentinel RMS—For Software Licensing and Usage
Sentinel Rights Management System (Sentinel RMS) is a robust and feature-rich license enforcement SDK focused on scalable and flexible licensing for applications deployed in medium- to large-scale enterprises.
Key benefits include:
>License Enforcement and Copy Protection: Combines a rich set of licensing API with robust locking support to provide seamless enforcement to control your software use and protect your revenue streams.
>Feature-based Licensing: Supports licensing on the feature level for granular control and flexibility.
>Wide-range of License Models: Supports a variety of license models to help your software monetization strategy.
>Platform Coverage: Supports all major operating systems and compilers to ensure consistent licensing across all platforms.
>High Availability: Provides high availability using a powerful license manager, available in on-premises or in cloud, for business-critical applications.
>Extensive Customization Capabilities: Supports licensing in special scenarios, such as enabling license locking to non-standard criteria.
SCL—The Cloud-based Add-on to Sentinel RMS
Sentinel Cloud Licensing (SCL), Thales' cloud-delivery licensing and usage platform, enables you to leverage the benefits of dynamic license updates and usage collection for both on-premises and cloud-delivered applications.
Key benefits include:
>Dynamic Control: Provides automatic and instant updates to licenses deployed in the field.
>Usage: Collects software usage data and provides insight into how your features and products are being used, so you can focus on product and strategy evolution.
Sentinel LDK—For Software Protection and Licensing
Sentinel LDK is an industry-leading software protection and licensing solution. It provides cutting-edge security technologies for the utmost in copy protection, a range of license models and entitlement fulfillment options, and out-of-the-box tools that facilitate quick integration and deployment. Sentinel LDK supports hardware-based, software-based and cloud-based licensing and includes a range of APIs to allow software vendors to automate and tailor the implementation to their unique business requirements.
Key benefits include:
>IP Protection: Protects your proprietary information and intellectual property against reverse-engineering and IP theft.
>Copy Protection: Prevents distribution and unauthorized use of your licenses and product features.
>Cross-locking™: Supports different Sentinel protection keys—hardware licensing keys (Sentinel HL), software licensing keys (Sentinel SL), and an extension to the software-based protection keys called cloud licensing (Sentinel CL). The decision about the type of Sentinel protection key to which your software is locked is determined after protection has been implemented in your application, providing flexibility in choosing the key type.
>Protect Once—Deliver Many—Evolve Often™: The process of protecting software is completely autonomous from marketing and licensing processes, so that after protection has been implemented, diverse licensed products can be created without necessitating changes in the code.
>Feature-based Licensing: Supports licensing on the feature level for granular control and flexibility.
>Wide-range of License Models: Supports a variety of license models to help your software monetization strategy.
>Quick Integration: Out-of-the-box protection methods using Sentinel LDK Envelope and Sentinel Licensing API for quick integrations with your software.
>Field Updates: Using the Sentinel Remote Update System utility (RUS utility) you can remotely update the licenses—such as renew, extend, revise or revoke licenses—on deployed Sentinel protection keys.