FlexNet Delivery

FlexNet Delivery On-Demand is an electronic software delivery service that gives software producers and high-tech manufacturers the power to cost-effectively distribute their products to customers worldwide. Software vendors and high-tech manufacturers often ship software via CD or DVD, which is inefficient and expensive, or build rudimentary download sites (“FTP sites”) that are expensive to maintain and a burden to use. Fulfilling software via CD or DVD incurs freight, assembly, warehousing and management costs. Our studies show that these costs add up to $30 per unit on average and may account for 3-4% of product line revenues for some software producers. Homegrown FTP sites are not secure and typically provide no way to enforce entitlements or track who has downloaded your software. Electronic software delivery (or electronic software distribution) is a way to solve these challenges quickly and efficiently.

 
FlexNet Delivery On-Demand’s electronic software distribution helps you eliminate physical fulfillment costs and ensure that only customers that are entitled to your software can download it. Unlike homegrown download sites, FlexNet Delivery On-Demand enforces entitlements by allowing only customers current on maintenance or subscription to electronically download your software products. It also mitigates your export compliance and revenue recognition concerns and reports on how customers are using your products. All this in an easy to manage, SAS 70-certified, Software as a Service (SaaS) offering. FlexNet Delivery On-Demand is a hosted service within the FlexNet Producer Suite.

Electronic Software Delivery: Benefits for Software Producers and High-Tech Manufacturers

• Eliminate physical fulfillment costs – Software vendors and high-tech manufacturers can save about$30 per unit of physical fulfillment costs, which averages 3-4% of product line revenues by switching to electronic software delivery.
• Protect maintenance and subscription revenues by allowing only customers current on maintenance or subscription to download software and updates. Improve maintenance renewals by proactively tracking maintenance expirations.
• Improve customer satisfaction – Vendors can now deliver their software and updates faster and enable 24x7 self-service for end customers. In addition, high performance delivery options allow faster download completion for large files.
• Increase cross-sell and up-sell revenues – by reporting on your customer’s download activity at the level of product versions.
• Ensure compliance with complex software export regulations, revenue recognition, and data privacy.
• Accelerate revenue recognition. Many software producers and high-tech manufacturers can recognize revenues as soon as end customers finish downloading their software. In addition, through electronic delivery, revenue recognition can happen up to the last second of the quarter.
• World class SAS-70 certified Software as a Service (SaaS) infrastructure provides rapid implementation, high-uptime operational service levels, along with Web services for data access and integration to ERP/CRM systems.
• Tax-advantaged software delivery. Given FlexNet Delivery On-Demand’s global footprint, you can leverage tax savings by delivering software from tax-advantaged locations.

Electronic Software Delivery Can Solve Business Issues for your End-Users!

• Proactive email notification – Send personalized and timely notice of availability of new releases, upgrades and patches, automatically.
• Personalized on-line software archive – Your customers can access 24/7 mission-critical rebuilds and easy deployment.
• Provide 24/7 self-service capability for customers.
• Localize experience through download sites in any language of your choosing.

Secure Electronic Distribution of Software
Using tiered security, including individual authentication, account authorization, secure internet protocols, and proprietary delivery server technology. 

Enforce Complex Entitlements
Users can view and easily download the software, updates, patches, licenses, and documentation to which they are entitled to. When needed, you can target product releases and patches to specific end customer accounts without going through an order management process. 

Enable Self-Service for Channel Partners
You can “share” specific products with channel partners to create entitlements and manage end customer accounts for “shared” products. 

Your Brand, Your Experience
Your customers will be interacting with the hosted service as if it was your own. The entire customer-facing site is customized for a look and feel that integrates with your customer support portal and/or partner portal. 

Direct and Instant Access to Confirmation of All Software Deliveries
As a software producer and high-tech manufacturer, you will never have ask yourself the question as to who has received your products. Now detailed reports are made available at your fingertips. 

Proven, Scalable Integration with Your Existing ERP / CRM Systems
The FlexNet Delivery On-Demand service easily integrates with your current back-office systems making it easy for you to extend and complement your existing infrastructure. 

Grow Revenues by Try-n-Buy
You can enable trial downloads of your products with end user registration and lead capture. 

Global-Ready Infrastructure
Download sites can be localized for your customers. In addition, downloads can be optimized for performance based on location of end users. 

Enforce Export Compliance
Enforce Bureau of Industry and Security (US Department of Commerce) regulations related to export of your products and automate required compliance reporting. 

Integrated Email Notification
Enables you to provide targeted communications around orders and updates to your customers as well as targeted marketing campaigns for up-sell and cross-sell opportunities. 

Improve Maintenance Renewals!
By easily tracking maintenance activities in real-time you can proactively notify customers of upcoming maintenance renewals ensuring you are maximizing maintenance revenues and preventing maintenance contracts from expiring without you knowing. 

Customer Self-Service
Provide 24/7 self-service capability for customers by enabling them to self serve through flexible end-user administration. 

Proactive Customer Communication
Improve your customer service with personalized and proactive update notifications. 

Know Your Installed Base
Manage your distribution channel via customizable reporting. Every action performed by your customers is tracked and captured in a database, enabling you to segment customers for up-selling and cross-selling opportunities.