Success Story: Making Access to Industrial Apps More Democratic with Smart Licensing

Apps rule modern industry: By collecting, analyzing, sharing, and processing data, they make factories smarter and more efficient. But in the fragmented world of industrial automation, even the strenuous standardization efforts by communities like the OI4 Alliance are struggling with opening up access to industrial apps and services. Announced at Hannover Messe 2023, the Flagship Store for the OI4 Community was envisioned by industrial communication specialists Hilscher and OI4 working groups to create a truly open, vendor and hardware-agnostic app store that could serve as a conduit for apps and services and pave the way for a smarter and more connected industry.

The Solution

App stores are a boon to end users, but also a free-for-all for copycats, unscrupulous users, and outright software pirates. Both the IP invested in legitimate apps and their correct use by authorized users need to be secured without encumbering the process. For greater access and a smoother app integration process in industrial PCs, controllers, or other edge devices, Hilscher and the OI4 Alliance opted for Docker containerization as a virtualization-driven solution. Looking for a way to secure the process, they turned to Wibu-Systems’ CodeMeter technology, known as an excellent combination with Docker systems. Apps created in any development ecosystem, from JavaScript, to C++, Java, .NET or Python can be encrypted and secured against theft. Smart licensing options ensure safe and reliable sales and even allow innovative options like per-feature licensing or freemium models without affecting the workings of the app store.

Concerns about the security of their IP and the control they would have over their product out in the market often proved a hindrance for app store models, as developers and vendors stayed wary because of the risks of piracy and theft. From the beginning of Hilscher’s app store journey, attention was paid to this factor, and Wibu-Systems was brought on board. The Karlsruhe-based software protection and licensing pioneers brought years of experience and expertise to the table in the form of CodeMeter technology.

CodeMeter is the premier encryption and licensing solution when it comes to versatility combined with sheer protection performance: The encryption tools included in the CodeMeter Protection Suite can protect software written in virtually any language, including Java and Python, in their native form. An implementation in Docker containers – as chosen for Hilscher’s app store – or other virtualization environments is also no problem for CodeMeter, as the technology can protect the IP and enforce licensing reliably even in these notoriously difficult settings for other licensing technologies. Rüdiger Kügler, VP Professional Services, from Wibu-Systems sees the market-making potential of the technology, as it helps the best app and not the least scrupulous vendor in the market win: “A developer spends maybe multiple years to create an application that is faster, more precise, and better than all the rest. We make sure that the effort for copycats is so high that it’s not worth trying.”

The apps created by Hilscher or other developers for sale through the Flagship Store are automatically protected. Licenses are created and bound specifically to the device the software is activated on to prevent unauthorized copying, even when Docker containers are duplicated. Everything is designed to work in the background with the least noise for the end user. A special license server app, “netFIELD App License Server”, was created to take care of communication with CodeMeter License Central, where the licenses are created and managed. A simple click is enough for users to activate their licenses and enjoy their apps.

“We launched this app store with partners from the OI4 community”, Uwe Schnepf explains. But for him, it does not stop there. More partners, more apps, and even more services will come on board over time, making the Hilscher’s Flagship Store a safe, vibrant ecosystem for the industrial automation community.