How can you ensure that your company is complying with its contractual obligations around the use of third-party software? Moreover, how can you be sure that those software assets are being properly utilized? It all starts by understanding the fundamental difference between the terms ‘software license’ (or licensing) and ‘entitlement’ (or entitlement management).
Every business will be a software business. That’s what Microsoft CEO, Satya Nadella famously said in 2015, but he wasn’t the first. In fact it’s an idea and phrase that has now become so pervasive among the “technorati” that actually digging into it and fully understanding its meaning for the average business may sometimes become overlooked.
Innovation in farming technology can tell you a lot about how the IoT affects business models in the 21st century. Whether you’re a device manufacturer or software developer, it is important to evaluate the type of offering you bring to market in light of emerging markets and trends. In this article, we present five lessons every IoT player can learn from technological advancements in agriculture.
In 1997, a pair of management consultants – Michael Treacy and Fred Wiersema – published a book entitled The Discipline of Market Leaders: Choose Your Customers, Narrow Your Focus, Dominate Your Market, which suggested that companies could only become dominant players in their industry by achieving a proficiency in one of the following areas:
Nostradamus predicted a number of interesting trends for 2016, such as a single world language that many speculate will emerge from the Internet. It is surprising, then, that he did not foresee the accelerated pace of technological innovation and adoption we are currently witnessing. Had technology forecasting existed in the sixteenth century, he might have predicted the disruptive impact this would have on business today.
I feel very fortunate to have the opportunity to work with Viavi Solutions. It has been a pleasure to learn how Viavi deploys software monetization solutions to increase revenue, improve its customer experience, and strengthen relationships. Viavi leads with great products and has implemented operational efficiencies to respond to its customers’ needs more quickly. Several years ago, it was great if a company could master one of these areas, but today, cutting-edge companies like Viavi are leading in all three functions: customer intimacy, product leadership, and operational efficiency.
Trends in the healthcare market are placing unprecedented value on the software that lies at the heart of today’s intelligent medical devices. This puts manufacturers under enormous pressure to innovate not only the types of products they build, but also how they go to market. At LicensingLive! 2015, I spoke at length about the licensing issues facing one of the world’s leading medical technology companies, Stryker Corporation, and how it has risen to the challenge.
I recently penned an article for Intellectual Property Magazine in which I offered practical tips for combating the rising tide of software piracy. Far from being a victimless crime, software piracy takes a significant toll on the software industry, costing developers worldwide over $60 billion a year in lost revenues.
The age of the Internet of Things (IoT) has dawned and we are heading toward a future filled with software-driven intelligent devices. To give you an idea of the magnitude of this transformation, IDC is predicting that there will be 30 billion units installed worldwide by the year 2020. Because every device in the IoT is connected, a whole new breed of tech company is emerging, forcing many traditional companies to innovate and go to market differently.
At this year’s LicensingLive! event in Cupertino, CA, I spoke about the importance of Customer Success Programs, what they involve, and what businesses hope to achieve with them. The success of a software company is often measured in terms of how well it engages its customers. After all, a business without an active user base is like a bird without wings – it simply won’t fly. Read More