Rapid Prototyping Equipment Financing
Software And Firmware:
How Vendors Can Put The Byte On You
The firmware and software in an RP system can be as important in determining its residual value as the hardware, and sometimes more important.
Your RP system comes with software and firmware without which it cannot function. Even though this software is installed on the system, it is not part of the system; instead it is provided under a license that is separate from the deal under which you got the hardware.
The software and firmware licenses might be treated as an integral part of the system. In that case, the next owner of the system can use all the software and firmware that you have paid for.
But what if the license says that you can use the software and firmware on the system but the right to use that software cannot be transferred to anyone else? If that's the case, the minute you sell the RP system, it's useless . . . at least until the next owner can license the software and firmware.
What does that mean? It means that you have to look at software and firmware pretty much the way you look at maintenance.
- You need to know what happens to the right to use software and firmware that is installed on the RP system when the system is sold. If the rights lapse, you need assurance that a subsequent user of the system can license the software and firmware at the price prevailing for systems like yours at the time of the sale.
- You also need to know whether software maintenance and upgrades will be available to a subsequent owner. If maintenance is not provided as part of the basic software or firmware license, what will it cost? In particular, any future owner of your RP system will want to know that software and firmware will be available under the same terms and conditions that are offered to other companies using the same type of RP system.
It's important to know that you and subsequent owners have access to all the software available for a system, even if you actually use only some of the software. In this regard, the availability of a full range of software resembles the option to use a variety of materials.
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