Harbrick, Producer of Autonomous Vehicle Software Systems, Selects FlexNet Producer Suite for Software Monetization

"Most application producers don't get how critical licensing and entitlement management is for revenue generation - we weren't going to make that mistake. If you do it right, you can plan for the future - ensuring the flexibility, change and scale that would otherwise be a disruption for the business and potentially anger users," said Josh Hartung, CEO at Harbrick. "Licensing technology is so complex and the environments in which our customers are running their vehicles are evolving so rapidly, it did not make sense for us to waste time developing our own license management solution - we needed the experts. Flexera Software is the clear leader in this space, and they have deep experience helping producers successfully monetize and protect their software applications."

PolySync offers a set of software tools and services that make it easier to build advanced autonomous vehicles. Harbrick founders saw an opportunity to develop Polysync when they realized their customers were spending excessive time and resources building back-end infrastructure software for their Internet-connected, autonomous vehicle systems. As a result, critical resources were being diverted away from core innovation and product development. Polysync was launched to eliminate that inefficiency via a software platform that manufacturers can deploy out-of-the-box to control their device sensors, communications, and control systems. In order to monetize Polysync, Harbrick needed a flexible software licensing and entitlement management system that could scale to accommodate a rapidly growing customer base with a broad spectrum of licensing, entitlement and update requirements.

Harbrick originally built its own patching and encryption tool, but they quickly learned that it could not scale to accommodate a connected world with potentially millions of vehicles running local software. So the company sought a third-party Software Monetization solution that was easy to use, and that would meet its evolving needs, enable them to rapidly adapt to changing market requirements and give them credibility in the market.

Harbrick will use FlexNet Producer Suite to offer three tiers of licensing for its Software as a Service (SaaS) products - Polysync Basic, Plus and Pro. The company will also use the Flexera Software solution to offer 30-day "simulator" trials. When a customer requests a trial license from Harbrick, the software "phones home" to the FlexNet Operations Cloud, which issues the trial license. FlexNet Operations Cloud will also enable Harbrick to create a connected, self-service app store marketplace so that after expiration of the trial, customers can easily and seamlessly upgrade to Polysync Basic, Plus or Pro. The system will automatically manage the back-office entitlements, ensuring that Harbrick knows who its customers are, which versions of software they've paid for, and what their specific license rights are.

Security was also a critical factor weighing in favor of selecting Flexera Software's solution. "The need to issue updates is a regular occurrence in the software business - so being able to automatically push out security patches and fixes to our customers is critical," said Hartung. "FlexNet Connect's automated update capabilities will greatly simplify our ability to keep customers up to date on the software they've purchased - even as we grow and scale."

"The Internet of Things is creating enormous untapped revenue opportunities for software vendors and intelligent device manufacturers that are ready and able to harness best-in-class solutions to generate revenue, protect their intellectual property and manage the software licensing lifecycle of their customers," said Mathieu Baissac, Vice President of Product Management at Flexera Software. "We are delighted to welcome Harbrick as a Flexera Software customer and are looking forward to partnering with them as the company stakes a leadership position in the autonomous vehicle systems space. By building FlexNet Producer Suite into its go-to-market strategy, Harbrick will be well equipped to rapidly grow profits and market share, and pounce on new and emerging opportunities as they arise."

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Resources:

• FlexNet Producer Suite is comprised of the following solutions:
  • FlexNet Licensing
  • FlexNet Operations
  • FlexNet Connect
• Read our Blog on Software Monetization
• FlexNet Producer Suite Success Stories
• Related Flexera Software Webinars
• Software Monetization White Papers