Chapter 5. Technology In-Licensing

You can't build everything new. Every complex software system is part new code and part systems integration with previously written softwareeven if the software you are integrating with is nothing more than the C runtime library that comes with your favorite compiler. What you're integrating is a product from another company, and as described in Chapter 4, this product comes to you based on a business and license model. The process of licensing this technology and incorporating it into your offerings is called technology in-licensing.

There are many motivations for technologies in-licensing. Licensing technology can be cheaper and faster than building our own. Sometimes licensing isn't a choice but a requirement, as a company may have obtained a key patent on a technology essential to your success. An additional consideration is the skills and experience of key staff. You may not want them spending precious time and energy designing and building components that you can obtain via a license.

Any, or all, of these factors mean that you are likely to be licensing one or more key technologies from another party. As a result, understanding basic concepts associated with in-license agreements and how they affect your tarchitecture is vital for everyone on the team.

Disclaimer: I'm not a lawyer. Any contract that may affect your system, including any license agreement, should be thoroughly evaluated by a properly trained attorney. That said, an attorney can only do a good job when she understands the business objectives as well as the relationship between the licensed technology and the underlying tarchitecture. Thus, everyone benefits when key members of the team understand the core issues associated with technology in-licensing.