License Situation If Azeotech Does Not Exist?

[cadcoke5]

I know that companies generally require internet access to install, so that they can have some level of control to prevent multiple installations when the user only  is permitted one seat.  

 

However, I have always been concerned when this software is necessary for the operation of a facility.  This is because if the software vendor were shut-down, and then a broken computer required the software to be reinstalled, you would be stuck.  In this case, the software vendor would not be able to provide the necessary steps to reinstall the software on the new computer.

 

Perhaps a more likely situation may be if the internet for the vendor was lost for an extended period of time (such as a hurricane).  Then all their customers, wherever they may be, cannot re-install their software. A single broken computer might shut them down until the software vendor were back in business.

 

Am I correct that purchasing a USB key is intended as the method of managing the above situation? Though, of course, you would need to buy this method of software security before the software vendor were to be unavailable.

 

-Joe

[AzeoTech]

The USB key is actually designed to allow you to easily move a development license from computer to computer.  This is especially useful with a program like DAQFactory where a runtime installation can be switched to development without any additional software.  So, you could go to a site with just a runtime license, insert your hardware key with a development license on it, select "Switch to Development", make some changes, save the doc, then pull the key and it will revert back to runtime without ever having to stop the program or install anything else.

 

Now, as to the rest of your post, if for some reason your key didn't work and we weren't immediately available, you can still use the trial of DAQFactory for 25 days.  The only limitation of the trial is access to the full symbol library, which would be unnecessary in an operational environment.  So other than seeing the trial dialog, you'd be functional for 25 days until you were able to get help.  And, worse case, you could reformat the computer, or use another computer with a DAQFactory trial and get another 25 days.  Bypassing the 25 day trial limitation is technically against the EULA, but we aren't going to get on your case if you aren't trying to bypass licensing (i.e. not buying a license at all).  

 

If we did go out of business, which is very unlikely given our 13 year track record, we would likely figure some way so that customers could continue to use the product until they could replace it.  Worse case you do the 25 day trial thing I just described.

 

But really, this isn't just a software thing.  If you buy a piece of equipment from a vendor and they go out of business, or they get hit by a hurricane and something breaks, you've got the same issue trying to get parts.  At least with DAQFactory, that 25 day trial along with a repeated drive reformat gives you a way to keep running while you find a replacement.  You won't find that often in other software tools or hardware.