Licenses

Licenses refer to the legal agreements that govern the use of software, intellectual property, content, or other proprietary materials. A license grants the licensee the right to use the licensed material in accordance with the agreement, while the licensor retains control over that content.

License types

Software license types include single-user, multi-user, volume, perpetual and subscription. Each has specific terms and usage restrictions.

A perpetual license allows the user to permanently own and use the software for a one-time fee. Subscription licenses allow use of the software for a specified period of time such as a month or year with the option to renew the license at the end of the period. Accordingly, regular fees are incurred.

Software as a Service

An alternative to traditional licensing is the Software as a Service (SaaS) model where users pay for access to software that is delivered over the Internet. With SaaS, users are not responsible for installing, maintaining or updating the software as they are with traditional licenses.

Licenses in day-to-day administration

One of the main tasks for IT admins is to ensure that the legal requirements of software licenses are met, e.g., that the number of licenses in use matches the number of licenses purchased. License management tools can help IT admins track license status and avoid compliance violations. One example available with the baramundi Management Suite is application usage tracking (also known as metering), which determines which software is used by which users.