IPR-Insights Hungary Ltd. has won a HUF 19 999 999 grant for the implementation of the project “Development of a contactless software license registration application with automation of related product support processes” in the framework of the call 2020-1.1.1-KKV-START – KKV START INNOVATION No. 2020-00326, submitted by the National Research Development and Innovation Office:
On the one hand, a heuristics-based development automates the software identification process based on the knowledge base of the SAM-Insights system, which has been built up over many years and now contains more than 8 million software assets: this huge amount of information allows the system to determine algorithmically by itself – instead of direct user/expert guidance and management – which version of a newly discovered software asset is most likely to belong to which product version of which vendor. “This allows us to perform the ever-increasing recognition activities, which are becoming more and more important due to the growing number of customers, much faster, more accurately and more efficiently,” said Ádám Nyuzó, CTO of IPR Insights.
An important area of development was also the transformation of the data collection process on customers’ computers within the product support activity. The data collections contain client and user-specific data, so many clients expect IPR-Insights to process the files on-site at the client’s premises. The project included the development of data collection platforms (UNIX, Linux, MacOS) and the redesign of the data collection mechanism, which allows data collections to be encrypted and anonymized, and allows remote processing at IPR-Insights’ premises and identification of previously unknown software. This is not only a cost-effective development but also a key improvement in terms of compliance with data protection and security rules.
IPR-Insights has also developed software components that send automatic status reports to replace the resource- and time-intensive on-site investigation of the cause of malfunctions in SAM systems running on each customer’s network. In addition, a monitoring system has been developed to centrally process and monitor the automated status reports and alert IPR-Insights in case of failures. This allows IPR-Insights to detect and deal with possible errors in the systems running at the customer’s site even before the customer notices them. In addition, the status reports can be used to automate the download and installation of update packages for a given system, in a similar way to antivirus software.
In addition to the software development-related upgrades, the internal processes for product support have been reengineered, with the introduction of the internationally recognized Easy Redmine Helpdesk system, which not only documents error handling, but also allows for the measurement and enforcement of SLAs (Service Level Agreements).
Through this development project, IPR-Insights has automated the processes related to its product support activities, allowing valuable human time to be reused in other areas. “The new development will also allow for a more dynamic expansion of the SAM-Insights software management system user base, reaching “smaller” large enterprises or even mid-sized customers, as well as allowing for distribution abroad.” – emphasized Sándor Zsoldos, CEO of IPR-Insights.
