The Baltimore-Washington Maryland area is home to a number of well-known buildings devoted to the art of data and security intelligence. A building that doesn't make as many headlines as others is the SafeNet HQ, where the company has just announced the general release of the Sentinel License Development Kit (LDK).
This is SafeNet's software protection, licensing, and management platform and now customers will be able to pair the company's software copy and intellectual property (IP) protection features with the web-based, license management capabilities of Sentinel EMS, SafeNet's entitlement management system.
What the company is saying here is straightforward enough; i.e., take our entitlement management system, combine it with its hardware-based software protection platform (Sentinel HL), and Sentinel LDK will deliver a software monetization solution that protect your software.
The end result of which is, on paper at least, simplified operational processes and, ultimately, maximized software revenues.
Prakash Panjwani, senior vice president and general manager of SafeNet's software rights management division has spelled out the key features of Sentinel LDK.
"There is web-based entitlement management in the form of full integration with Sentinel EMS to provide software publishers with tools to deliver, track, and manage end-user entitlements and product usage. Using Sentinel EMS software, publishers can also provide their end users with a customer portal to activate and manage their own entitlements. Sentinel EMS helps ISVs simplify and automate many tasks associated with licensing while empowering end users and decreasing support costs," he said.
Other features of interest include Sentinel Envelope Technology to protect applications from reverse engineering, code tampering, and intellectual property theft.
There is also Automated License Re-Host: SafeNet describes Sentinel LDK as the industry's only licensing solution that enables end users to move their software-based licenses in three "easy steps" without having to contact the ISV for support. This is supposed to improve the end-user experience and relieve an unnecessary burden typically put on software organizations' support teams.
