GLASER – Germany – Civil engineering

A road to endless success

The Challenge

Already in 2012, the CAD software ISBCAD, developed in .NET, had to have reliable and secure means to prevent copying and reverse engineering. Flexible licensing was essential for scaling the software packages effectively to match the needs-oriented usage models envisioned for ISBCAD customers. The creation and distribution of the licenses had to be integrated in the sales processes, and the transition from the established protection system had to be carefully aligned with the product release cycle and the legacy dongles of thousands of users replaced in time for the release of ISBCAD 2013.

The Solution

The methods are encrypted in individual modules simply by configuring the parameters in the source code. The powerful tools needed for the purpose – AxProtector and the CodeMeter protection API – were quickly learned and implemented with the exceptional assistance of Wibu-Systems’ support team at every step of the way.

The Success

The optimized processes and greater feature set of CodeMeter have helped reduce the cost of sales and facilitated the design of new sales concepts. The CmSticks with their elegant laser-engraved casings and the miniature CmStick/C Basic are great ambassadors for the ISBCAD brand.

Dipl.-Ing. (FH) Matthias Glaser
Managing Director
GLASER Programmsysteme GmbH
“Using CodeMeter has empowered us to license ISBCAD reliably and with pinpoint precision for the needs of our clients. The remote update feature has streamlined our sales processes, getting our products faster into the hands of their users. CodeMeter also puts us in a perfect place to respond to new challenges coming from our clients’ IT preferences, such as virtualization or remote desktop solutions. The extensive and committed support that we experienced from the Wibu-Systems team at every step of the way has been exemplary and went a long way towards us reaching our goals in the ambitious timeframe we had set for the project.”

The Client

GLASER Programmsysteme GmbH is a specialist for the development of user-friendly construction planning software designed for practitioners in the field. The company produces CAD solutions for placement, formwork, armoring, and detailed planning in construction engineering. Over the 35 years of its history, ISBCAD, the company’s high-powered CAD software, has established the company as a competent partner for more than 10,000 users in the German-speaking countries as well as Poland, Russia, and Romania. GLASER is a partner of Trimble Solutions Corp. With the 3D BIM software Tekla Structures and Trimble Connect and as one of the first providers of the mixed-reality industry standard headpiece XR10, GLASER remains dedicated to intensive consulting support and processes optimized to the client’s specific requirements across its expanded product portfolio.

Why did GLASER choose CodeMeter in 2012? – The developer’s view

The occasion for switching our software licensing system came when we decided to migrate ISBCAD to the .NET framework 4.0, which Hardlock did not support. The old protection system’s encryption did not fulfill modern standards either, and getting drivers for newer operating systems was always an uncertain issue, with technical support often not being available at the quality we would expect.

For the switchover in early 2012, we compared two protection systems available at the time, and discovered the following:

	CodeMeter	Competitors
License borrowing	yes	only with HASP SL
CmdLine tool for programming dongles	yes	no
Different vendors sharing the same dongle	yes	no
Time-based licenses	yes	only with time-based models
Upgrade from stand alone to network	remote update	hardware replacement necessary
Assessment of floating license volume	not necessary	necessary upon delivery to customer
Driver installation	driverless	several issues reported on the field
Support to end users	yes	no
Support to developers	German in Germany	support in German not guaranteed
Company ownership structure	private company owned by its founders	disorienting due to several ownership changes
Infrastructural costs	no surcharge for network licenses	surcharge applicable for network licenses

In the past, we often encountered problems with the Hardlock driver, which is why we were pleased with the driverless approach from Wibu-Systems. We also liked the move from a local to a network-based solution, which makes for a far more economical structure. And finally, the German-speaking support team for both us developers and the end user definitely influenced the decision in favor of CodeMeter.

We felt right at home with Wibu-Systems: The company’s philosophy and the unmistakable feeling of a family business were very familiar to us.”

Implementation of the software protection

Replacing all keys represented a major logistical challenge. We had first moved our legacy application, programmed in VB6, to CodeMeter and successfully replaced Hardlock with CodeMeter. In late 2012, we started rolling out the new .NET application, and all of our clients were already using CodeMeter at that point. We could stop sending our individual CDs to our customers, as all licensing information is contained on the CmDongle, and the software itself could be comfortably downloaded from our website. We now only use a single installation program for all of our clients, irrespective of what each client has bought and licensed.”

Integration with customer management

We chose a custom solution for integrating our customer management, creating a technology in .NET and C# combined with the power of CodeMeter’s programming API and Core API. Wibu-Systems’ support team helped us substantially with their insightful sample cases and great service. The eventual solution allows an exceptional degree of integration.”

Dipl.-Ing. Arnold Dittmann
Development Engineer at GLASER