SAP, CodeMeter License Central, and Back Again

CodeMeter License Central is a great way to create, deliver, and manage licenses that can be operated as a cloud or on-premise solution or even in a stand-alone setup. However, CodeMeter License Central really comes into its own when it is integrated with existing processes, more often than not, in SAP. The benefits are many: Licenses can be created automatically, information about users’ activities fed back reliably, and statistics can be aggregated from different systems.

Lean solution

This is the thinking behind CodeMeter License Central: The design of CodeMeter License Central was produced with particular attention to avoid redundancy as much as possible, keep the amount of data that needs to be transferred as small as possible and avoid complex synchronization. This makes the integration with SAP and other such systems very easy indeed. CodeMeter License Central simply fits in perfectly in your process landscape without trying to force out any existing systems. CodeMeter License Central processes all the data that is needed for licensing purposes, from license properties (Product Item Options) to activations or the number of license transfers.

Four Types of Integration

CodeMeter License Central has been integrated successfully with SAP by countless clients. As software vendor, you and your current SAP partner can benefit from our long-standing partnership with the certified SAP partner INFORMATICS Holding GmbH from Linz, Austria. Four options have emerged as best practices for these integrations:

1. As a software vendor, you or your SAP partner use the SOAP interfaces that are included in CodeMeter License Central.
2. The licensing experts of Wibu-Systems and the SAP specialists of INFORMATICS support you and your SAP partner with their expertise and know-how – and you or your SAP partner implement the functions yourself.
3. You or your SAP partner use an SAP framework of INFORMATICS that has the SOAP interfaces fully adjusted for SAP.
4. You let INFORMATICS take care of part of or the entire integration. Optionally, Wibu-Systems can take care of managing the entire project for you.

Where to Keep the Ticket?

Whenever a license is created, CodeMeter License Central produces a ticket in response to an SAP request. This is typically stored in SAP’s “Equipment” object, although some projects might use the object “Functional Location” for the same purpose. A more unusual, although still feasible choice is not to store the ticket at all, because it can be requested again from CodeMeter License Central, as it is assigned to a known order number.

The Route Back to SAP

2018 has brought an innovative new feature, namely the add-on module “SAP Notification Service” made by Professional Services to standardize the link back to SAP. This service can be adjusted to match your specific needs: You configure which activities are reported back and how often these are checked. There are two basic forms of operation:

1. The service reports all details. This needs a suitable web service on the SAP side to receive and process that data.
2. The service reports the type of the activity, and SAP requests the related details from the standard interface with CodeMeter License Central. This allows other extensions to be integrated on the SAP side without any adjustments to the Notification Service.

The right choice of operating mode for you depends on your needs and the nature of your IT landscape. The interface can be implemented by you, by your chosen SAP partner, or by INFORMATICS.

 

KEYnote 35 – Edition Spring 2018