How we license

Like many software companies, VSNi uses licensing to provide customers with access to our software products. Customers pay in advance for a license which allows an agreed number of concurrent ‘use instances’ for the software for a set time, normally 12 months. If the license is renewed and paid for before expiry it will simply roll on for a further 12 months. If payment isn’t received before expiry, access stops until the license is renewed.

There are a few differences in the way each license type (concurrent / node-locked) provides customers with access to our software. This section of the website is here to help you understand how each license type works so you can be sure each product will work for you. Of course, we can always be contacted at support@vsni.co.uk if you need further help or guidance.

A node-locked licence “locks” your software to a single device. If you need to port your software to another device the licence can be deactivated and moved to another device by emailing support@vsni.co.uk. A node-locked licence only requires Internet access to activate your licence - afterwards you may run the software without an Internet connection.

Where customers want more than one user to have access to our software, they need to purchase and install multiple licenses.

Concurrent licensing enables customers to offer access to a wider community of users on a first come, first served basis. So, a license may grant one user access, or give access to multiple users.

You can install the software on as many devices as you like across your network and purchase a licence “count” i.e. an entitlement to a set number of licences. Whenever a user runs the software our cloud-based licence server will “check out” their licence so that it becomes unavailable for use on other devices.

Larger organisations may have very specific requirements and require a more bespoke solution. For some complex installations, we can offer enterprise ‘on-premises’ licensing. This allows organisations to host their own licensing server and avoid the requirement for internet access. Being a bespoke solution, this option is charged at a premium and is only available for larger organisations – contact us at support@vsni.co.uk for further details.