I initially submitted this idea in the Norton 2012 beta forum.
http://community.norton.com/t5/Norton-Internet-Security-Norton/Licensing-Management-Suggestion/m-p/441840#M1009
I came up with the following idea and the following skeleton presentation.
1. Let's say the customer buys a 3-user license for his three PCs
2. Five months later he needs two additional keys. Currently, he'll have to buy another 3-user license or
buy them singly (as I have in my account and which seems to localized to my region).
3. This can be annoying as he'll now have to manage multiple licenses and renewal times.
4. A better system might be to allow the customer to add additional computers to the current license.
That is, Key 12345 for the 3PCs can now be for 4PCs.
Sales Dept. Perspective
Addition of a PC:
1. My initial payment is $100 for 3-PCs/1yr.
2. Let's say 1-PC costs $30.
3. Six months later I add 2PCs at 50% off (for the remainder of my initial year) the cost per PC. That is, $15*2=$30.
4. Now I have consolidated all my PCs under one key. When the time comes to renew, I pay $160 for my 5PCs
Removal:
1. 15 months later a PC goes to PC heaven and now I have 4.
2. I'm not going to buy another one for more than a year but I don't want to pay for an extra PC at the next renewal.
3. I remove a PC and at the renewal I am charged $130.
Management Portal for Customer
I got my idea from the Norton Online Family account.
In my Norton Account I can manage all the PCs tied to my single license as well as the number of PCs I am paying for.
I can Add PC, Remove PC, Activate PC, Deactivate PC, decrease and increase the number of PCs that I'm paying for.
License Key: 12345
Protection For: 5-PCs
Days Remaining: 130 Days
PC Name | License Status |
---------------------------------
Sister | Active |
Cousin 1 | Active |
Brother | Deactivated |
Cousin 2 | Activate Now |
Add PC
Remove PC
For this to work, in order to keep track of activations, deactivations, etc. each PC must have its own fingerprint.
Norton can use its current Hardware Identification Algorithm or something of the sort.
It's a lot to think through and put down but something along those lines.
As the number of computers continue to grow in a household this should make it easier for the customer to manage his licenses.
I manage a lot of different licenses for my family members and friends with different renewal times with some not even being fully used and I think something like this could work.
I also expect that it'll be a lot of work to implement.
Mitka