Chapter Summary

• Your business model is how you make money.

• Business models are associated with, and to a large extent define, license models.

• Your license model is the terms and conditions you associate with the use of your software.

• The most common software- related business models make money by

  - Providing unfettered access to or use of the application for a defined period of time

  - Charging a percentage of the revenue obtained or costs saved from using the application

  - Charging for a transaction, that is, a defined and measurable unit of work

  - Metering access to or use of the application, or something the application processes

  - Charging for the hardware the application runs on, not the application itself

  - Providing one or more services that are intimately related to application operation and/or use

• Business models associated with users (such as concurrent user licensing) motivate integration with corporate systems that manage users (such as LDAP servers).

• Make certain you understand every right associated with your business model. Separating rights may provide more opportunities to create revenue.

• License models may be enforced by home-grown or third-party professional license managers.