Ontario Software Company Blazes Trail With Unique Licensing Approach

Veraccess, designer and builder of software for ISO information management introduced a novel approach to software licensing with the release of Envisotrak and Aspectrum. Envisotrak is a document, record, statistical technique and calibrated tool information management system, while Aspectrum handles environmental aspects, impacts and incidents.

Caledonia, ON, Canada, (PRWEB) August 22, 2003 -- Veraccess, designer and builder of software for ISO information management introduced a novel approach to software licensing with the release of Envisotrak and Aspectrum. Envisotrak is a document, record, statistical technique and calibrated tool information management system, while Aspectrum handles environmental aspects, impacts and incidents.

When we began designing ISO software, we knew Envisotrak and Aspectrum needed to be more than versatile, innovative, and customizable in order to attract attention. Our search for a unique angle became one of the biggest development challenges and resulted in Logged on Licensing, or LOL" said designer Dave Storr. LOL (el-oh-el) allows you install the data storage portion of the program on one server or hard drive, but you can install the data display portion (the front end) on an unlimited number of computers. Simply purchase a license that will permit as many users to access the data at the same time as you think you will need. If you later determine that your initial estimate was too low, its easy to increase the number of simultaneous users by purchasing another license."

However, the concept of restricting access based on a non-specific number of paid users while allowing unlimited installations of the front end presented obstacles that required extensive planning to overcome. Veraccess realized that restricting access to a list of users or groups on a network didnt fit their concept of versatility, but data access still had to be controlled. If they simply counted the number of connected users and just one of them experienced abnormal program termination due to power failure, for example, that would leave the user logged in and prevent another user from gaining access. This led to the decision to allow program administration at all times. The issues were compounded because Envisotrak was released in a basic, upgrade and full-featured version, so the program version and license combination could change.

The simple solution for providing constant administration access was to create a free user account called the Master profile and assign program rights to it. Enabling log in after abnormal program termination was achieved by combining the user name and computer ID to create the logged in identity. If the re-connect attempt is the same user and computer, the connection is re-established and no additional licenses are used up. This idea provided two additional benefits. It would now be possible for the Master to determine who is logged in on which PC for how long, and to disconnect them without losing data if they were absent for extended periods. In addition, a user could log in on one PC, then visit another department and still be able to log in there. Of course, multiple log-ins by the same person uses up additional program licenses. Dave could not elaborate on the problems and solutions concerning the multiple program versions, citing security reasons.

Product, licensing and pricing details are available at http://www.veraccess.com. Veraccess is a private Canadian software company specializing in ISO systems software and may be reached at sales@veraccess.com or by mail at
Veraccess
33 Hyslop Dr.
Caledonia, ON.
Canada
N3W 2L2