WEBCON BPS Licenses

Applies to all versions; Single-Use Access licenses available from 2023.1.1 and above.

Licensing models

WEBCON BPS is currently available in two licensing models – as a subscription or perpetual license paired with an annual Software Assurance payment (which allows updating to newer versions). Perpetual licensing is not usually offered on most modern markets, except for obtaining additional licenses if this licensing model was chosen in the past when it was still available.

Assigning access licenses

Apart from obvious billing differences (perpetual licenses are purchased once, and subscriptions must be renewed), the licensing models are different regarding how they are assigned to users of the system.
Perpetual licenses are assigned “automatically” to each user that begins using the system (first saving in Portal or first time running Designer Studio) and does not require any assignment by the administrator. The only exception to this is WEBCON BPS Designer Desk CAL which must always be assigned to a user by the admin, for that user to start working with Designer Desk.

In the subscription model, all licenses must be assigned by the administrator to individual users before they can begin working in the system. This can be done manually in the Admin panel on Portal or via Designer Studio. This can also be handled by using the Manage BPS user licenses action, which means assigning licenses can be expedited to WEBCON BPS application (i.e. some form of Onboarding process).

License Keys

In both models, before users may begin using the system, a “License package” must be downloaded. The system administrator may download it from WEBCON BPS servers by providing the activation credentials for that license key in the “License management” window. These credentials are given to the licensee in the license certificate after purchase.

For the perpetual model, downloading the license package happens once. In the subscription mode, the system will attempt to automatically refresh and download an up-to-date license package right before the subscription expires. If the subscription is renewed, the admin will not need to take any additional actions. However, a stable connection to the WEBCON license server is necessary for automatic renewal. If a connection is not possible, the package may be downloaded manually via offline activation.

Types of licenses in perpetual and subscription models

User licenses in the perpetual model:

• WEBCON BPS User CAL – the user may access all processes and applications built in WEBCON BPS (as long as they have the necessary privileges). This access involves the ability to create new instances, edit and save them, move them to other steps via paths, and browse reports and applications.
  Through this license, a specific number of users (determined by the number of licenses) will be able to use the system without limitations regarding the number of processes and applications.
• WEBCON BPS Designer Studio CAL­ – the user may access WEBCON BPS Designer Studio. The number of users that can access Designer Studio is determined by the number of owned licenses of this type.
• WEBCON BPS Designer Desk CAL – the user may access Designer Desk. The number of users that can access Designer Desk is determined by the number of owned licenses of this type.

User licenses in the subscription model:

• Unlimited-Solutions Access License – the user may access all processes and applications built in WEBCON BPS, without limitations in regards to the number of processes and applications.
• Single-Solution Access License – each of these licenses assigned to a user enables them to use exactly one process built in WEBCON BPS. This process must be designated by the administrator in the settings and may contain a maximum of two workflows.
• Single-Use Access License – this license type works differently from all other access licenses. Single-Use Access Licenses are purchased in advance and contribute to a pool of pre-paid operations that can be carried out by external users. Licenses from this pool are subtracted when a user that is not a member of the licensee’s company or any of their entities (i.e. an external vendor, contractor, client, etc.) saves an instance for the first time in the given month (i.e. creates a new instance, edits, saves, moves it via paths, etc.).
  More information on how this type of license works is provided below.  
• WEBCON BPS Designer Studio CAL – the user may access WEBCON BPS Designer Studio.
• WEBCON BPS Designer Desk CAL - the user may access Designer Desk.

Regardless of the licensing model, it is possible to purchase licenses for additional components that expand the features of WEBCON BPS.
Licenses of this type are server licenses and are therefore not assigned to a user.
It’s worth noting that all listed licenses (except WEBCON BPS OCR Framework) are included in the base payment of every subscription and do need to be purchased separately.

• WEBCON BPS Barcode Framework – allows barcodes to be found and read on automatically registered documents.
• WEBCON BPS OCR Framework – allows OCR to be used to create a so-called “Text layer” on PDF files.
• WEBCON BPS AI Framework – allows data to be automatically read from scanned documents, and identify anomalies in registered instances.
• WEBCON BPS Advanced Analytics Framework – allows access to several built-in analytical reports and advanced performance indicators.
• WEBCON BPS SDK Framework – allows creation and usage of custom extensions implemented in .NET.

How are subscription licenses assigned?

The main control panel for licenses can be found in Designer Studio System settings under the Licenses allocation node.

From here you can use the checkboxes to grant the appropriate license to users.

Unlimited-Solutions Access License and Single-Solution Access License are mutually exclusive. Once a user has one they can’t have the other.

Single-Use Access License and Single-Solution Access License will require additional configuration at the end of the process (the process will need to be flagged to accept this type of license in its configuration, this is discussed below).

Licenses can also be edited from the Edit user panel, which is accessed by clicking on the chosen row on the Report

This main control panel is also replicated on Portal, in the Users and Licenses report in the Admin Panel.

This area has some additional features not available in Designer Studio, like buttons for exporting/importing the licenses template in Excel and the ability to add/remove/edit user data.

To handle larger numbers of users, it is recommended to use the Manage BPS user licenses action. It can be integrated as part of some form of Onboarding process.

Licenses are not released automatically – if a user is removed, you will need to release the license manually from the Removed users report, found just below the Active users report.

The final report is dedicated to Single-Use Access License Settlements and tracking the pool of remaining licenses of this type in our system.

The way these licenses work is slightly different from the other types, as each license allows an “operation” on a workflow instance (discussed below). This license also does not grant access to the full Portal, it only grants access to workflow instances embedded in a Portal look-alike.

How are processes configured for Single-Use Access License and Single-Solution Access Licenses?

The Settings tab for each process in the subscription model contains options to toggle Single-Use Access License and Single-Solution Access License.

Dictionary processes and Document template processes can still be used by any number of users without any licensing.

How do Single-Use Access Licenses work and what are their limitations?

A Single-Use Access License is subtracted from the pool when an external user with this type of licensing performs an operation on the form (e.g. path transition, saving the instance, adding an attachment). Such a user can then perform any number of operations on the same instance in the same month.

The most important things to remember about Single-Use Access Licenses are:

• Processes must be marked to use Single-Use Access License as in their configuration.
• When you buy Single-Use Access Licenses you are buying pre-paid “operations” that can be performed on instances by external users.
• The usage of these licenses can be tracked through the Single-Use Access License Settlements panel.
• When an external user performs an “operation” (e.g. path transition, saving the instance, adding an attachment) on an instance, they will subtract one Single-Use Access License from the pre-paid pool, and the instance will then be “unlocked” for that user until the end of the month. Further operations by that user on that instance will not use up licenses.
• If a user ends up using 20 licenses in a month (i.e. working on 20 different instances), any further operations by that user in that month will not use licenses
• Because the usage of these licenses must be tracked, a stable internet connection is necessary. The license count will be updated daily.
• An external user will not have access to Portal, instead what they will see is an embedded view of the Application which lacks features such as: task counters, task lists, favorites, and the ability to switch between Applications.
• If an external user is linked to an instance in the task list view, they will be redirected to the main form view instead.
• Single-Use Access License can be managed with the Manage BPS user licenses action.
• API 5.0 and Beta endpoints can handle Single-Use Access License.

Example of an onboarding process for managing licenses

We often rely on processes to automate the procedure of inducting a new person into the company.

These processes expedite various admin duties that must be carried out each time a new person joins the company. Things such as adding to the AD, sharing resources, sending a welcome e-mail, materials, agreements, and assigning privileges and licenses within WEBCON.

Example of a generic onboarding workflow.

Various actions scattered throughout the workflow will successively add the new employee to the AD and then to the appropriate group (different actions for different group types).

Keep in mind that after adding users to the AD, they will still need to be synchronized into WEBCON BPS.

Since privileges in Designer Studio are mostly handled using groups, adding the user to a group e.g. “Test Department” will automatically grant them privileges on par with the rest of the Test Department.

To manage licenses, we use the Manage BPS user licenses action.

This is not strictly a new action but is only available for installations that use the subscription licensing model.

Its configuration is self-explanatory, choose the License type and the User Identifier. For example, we can store the BPS ID in a technical form field after adding the user to the AD, then pass it forward to this action as a variable.

If it is a Single-Solution Access License, we also need to specify the process to which the license is assigned (an additional tab appears as seen in the image below).

Configuration of Manage BPS user licenses

If you have any additional questions regarding subscriptions, please contact the WBECON Sales team. We will help provide all the information you need about the subscription plan, pricing, and what combination of licenses will be most optimal for your company.

Procedural exceptions

Due to sales procedures, all licenses (both perpetual and subscription) are activated as subscription licenses. Once the ordered licenses are paid for, they are then set to their final type e.g. perpetual.

As a result, when first downloading a package of licenses from the server, the licenses available in WEBCON BPS will be subscription licenses. Downloading the package a second time after the payment has been processed will cause the environment to have perpetual licenses.

It’s worth noting that the system will automatically attempt to download an updated license package 7 days before the payment deadline. If an updated license package is downloaded, the system will automatically switch to using perpetual licenses – without admin intervention. This will also cause several changes to how licenses for users are managed, outlined below.  

What is the outcome of this switch:

• The most important side effect is that to begin working in the system before the invoice is settled, access licenses for users have to be assigned manually (this is simply how the subscription model works). This can be done from Designer Studio level or from the Admin panel in Portal (shown earlier in the article).
• A per-process license WEBCON BPS Process CAL is only available in the perpetual model, therefore it will not be available before settling the invoice.
• After the payment is processed, download the license package again so that the license information on the environment is updated.
• Switching from subscription to perpetual will also result in certain GUI changes, the licensing setting on the process will accommodate new options (e.g. process licenses will be available), and new Reports in Designer Studio will show license usages.
• After switching to the perpetual model, licenses will be allocated “automatically” by the system, i.e. the user will be allocated a license when they first save an instance or use a path. In the perpetual model, licenses are assigned to users permanently. It will be released after 90 days of inactivity (the license can then be used by a different user). The license may also be released by an administrator in Designer Studio before the 90 days elapse, but only if the target user is inactive.