In February 2012, InishTech, one of the leading providers of licensing and protection technology to the global software industry, announced the re-launch of their flagship cloud licensing service under the new Software Potential brand. Previously known as SLPS, (Software Licensing and Protection Service), the cloud-based licensing platform has evolved significantly since InishTech spun the business out of Microsoft in 2009.

Software Potential is not just a rebrand, it’s a real opportunity to “Unlock the Potential of your Software”.

Traditional licensing has moved from being an engineering challenge focused mainly on Copy Protection to representing a real opportunity for the business. Customers now see licensing as a key commercial enabler. Smart Licensing, including options for Feature Based licensing and Usage Tracking for billing purposes help make their products more agile, more customer-focused, and more sales ready. That’s what Software Potential Smart Licensing is all about – positively focusing on agile business models rather than just protecting against piracy.

A significant proportion of the software development community still write code without a clear vision of how they are going to make a business from it. What InishTech and Software Potential does is help them unlock the commercial potential in their software by providing the ability to manage all their licensing, packaging and protection with a powerful, easy to use Cloud Service.

SLPS was a great solution for .NET Software Vendors focused mainly on On Premise applications. Software developers today are far more likely to develop SaaS, Web or hybrid applications where simple copy protection is not enough. Customers are looking for choice in how they can purchase, deploy and pay for the applications they use in their business. With Software Potential, ISVs can cater to customer’s needs for any combination of deployment, with flexible packaging and payment models including pre and post pay models based on usage.

So, Software Potential – SLPS – what’s the difference? Software Potential provides everything that Microsoft’s SLPS previously provided but it also does a great deal more. Businesses change and evolve and Software Businesses are no different. Successful business models today are based on lean, agile principals and a focus on providing exactly what the customer wants rather than what you want to sell them. For the modern Software Developer, Smart Business needs Smart Licensing.