So, you are developing a software product. Great! There are many challenges ahead of you; many long sleepless nights, many hours spent doing market research. Many hours coding the features your customers are going to love.

But what about software licensing? How will you keep out unauthorized users, prevent customers from sending the code to strangers, and how do you monitor their usage?

One way could be to code a software licensing system yourself, but there are many headaches associated with that:
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• Developing a licensing system cannot be done over a coffee break. It requires both research and testing before you even begin the coding process.
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• Coding the system requires time, not only to create, but to maintain and add extra functionality as the business grows to keep it scalable.
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• All the time spent researching, coding, and maintaining the licensing system is time not spent on finishing the product and shipping it to customers.
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The truth is, far too many software companies find themselves in similar situations. The good news is that the software licensing hurdle is far from unbeatable. In fact, outsourcing software licensing to experts has become the chosen solution for many new software products.

This blog will cover why self-coded licensing systems are slow and unscalable, how to solve the problem with outsourcing, and a simple 3-step guide you can use to ship faster, grow sooner, and get away from the licensing headache.

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Self-Coded Licensing Systems - Slow and Unscalable

First of all, what is a licensing system? When a software application wants to prevent unauthorized users from entering the product, a software licensing system saves the day by requiring the user to enter a license key string (or username and password) to enter the application.

While coding your own system may seem easy at first, it quickly turns into a nightmare. For example:
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• How do you ensure the customer does not share keys with their friends?
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• How do you ensure the license key string is indeed randomly generated and not easy to brute-force?
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• How do you ensure that the customer does not simply bypass the system altogether?
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All of these questions are totally valid, but perhaps the most relevant question to ask yourself is: Why do you bother with these questions at all?

You should not have to be an expert in software licensing or cryptography just to be able to get paid fairly for your software application, and that’s where outsourcing comes in.

The Outsourcing Approach

Instead of getting a headache from developing their own licensing systems, more and more software companies outsource licensing to experts such as Devolens. We have helped hundreds of today’s most innovative and industry-leading software companies outsource their software licensing solution for over 10 years with our SaaS-like dashboard and API.

Why is the outsourcing route more popular today? Well, this answer I got in a customer interview summarizes it well:

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Question (Devolens): "Did you ever think about coding your own software licensing system internally?"

Answer (Customer): "Yes, we did… For about five minutes. We then concluded that it would be a massive undertaking, and we would rather spend that time and money on our own product."

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Here are some other benefits to outsourcing licensing to experts:
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• Automation - Instead of manually creating and keeping track of licenses, you can automate the entire process from payment to distribution to license validation.
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• Integrations - Devolens integrates with leading payment providers and CRMs so you can connect licensing with your other tools and ecosystem.
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• Dashboard and API - With Devolens' cloud-based dashboard and API for license creation, management, and analytics, you can effortlessly implement advanced licensing features.

• Pricing Models - Out of the box, you can implement revenue-increasing pricing models such as usage-based subscriptions, seat-based pricing plans, and even offline licensing.
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All of the above-mentioned points make outsourcing a much more scalable, growth-allowing approach than trying to develop your own system.

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Devolens - Your Licensing Helper

It is easier than ever to give outsourcing a try. Here is a simple 3-step guide that tells you how to get started for free in Devolens:
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1. Create a Free Devolens Account: Our SaaS-like dashboard is where the licensing magic happens! Devoles is always free during the testing and implementation phase, so you can get started at your own pace.

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2. Add Client API: We have open-source libraries in all major programming languages that you can add to your project for seamless interaction with our Web API.

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3. Add a Code Snippet: All you have to do in your own code is to paste a short code snippet for license creation and verification.
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We have comprehensive documentation guides and videos in your programming language, so you can outsource licensing within minutes.

Sign up for free today if you are ready to unlock more revenue and grow faster with pricing models!