What is Materialise LM? #
Materialise is a leading 3D printing solution, particularly in the associated software necessary in the data preparation, build, design optimization, and control of 3D printers, as well as in manufacturing. Their software solutions — which include Materialise Magics, 3-matic, and Inspector — set the industry standards.
Materialise offers innovative solutions in many industries, including Medical and Healthcare, Biomechanics and Orthotics, Aerospace and Aeronautics, Architecture, Art and Fashion, Machinery and Equipment, Consumer Goods, Automotive, CAD/PLM, and others.
Currently, Materialise offers both perpetual licenses as well as annual subscriptions. Licenses can also be either locked or floating. Locked licenses only be used on one machine, and it should be noted that some modules are only available for locked annual subscriptions. Floating licenses are shared by multiple users on the same network. The Materialise Floating License Server is used to manage the pool of floating licenses.
The combinations of these different licensing methods may allow companies to optimize their software spend. However, the complexities of managing different license types can create significant problems. While the Materialise Floating License Server offers some basic usage information on the licenses it manages, it is unable to provide the necessary visibility used for license optimization. And if the users are utilizing combinations of Materialise’s various licensing models, it is even more important to employ a software usage metering solution that can track the usage regardless of the licensing method.
Materialise LM User Monitoring and Management #
License usage data can be polled from the Materialise Floating License Server, the OS kernel, log files, and other sources. This usage data can then be filtered and aggregated to generate accurate usage reports, which can be used to optimize software licensing.
How Open iT Supports Materialise LM #
Open iT offers these various important reports for users of Materialise software solutions. It collects and aggregates data from a variety of sources to generate accurate software usage reports. These reports, which can be integrated with popular BI tools such as MS Excel, Tableau, and Spotfire, are used by companies to maximize their Materialise software investments.
Open iT also supports a wide selection of the most popular license managers. It can show an enterprise-wide license usage overview from all these license managers on a single dashboard. This simplifies the complexities of monitoring and managing different types of licenses from various vendors.