Protecode Launches Software Lifecycle IP Management for All-Size Organizations

Protecode, a provider of products and services for software governance and Intellectual Property (IP) management, announced the launch of its new Software Lifecycle IP Management solutions, which enable efficient and safe adoption of open source and other third party software for SMB and large organizations. 

These scalable services use an open source adoption workflow consisting of a five stage process that gives developers forward freedom in selecting best open source solutions.

Protecode’s (News - Alert) software lifecycle IP management simplifies open source adoption with a no training approach, which prevents disruption during the existing development process. The software is suited to single site or multi-site teams, with pedigree information accessible to authorized users across the entire organization.

Open source software has gained significant popularity over the past several years. One of the major challenges associated with open source software development is managing and safeguarding intellectual property and copyright obligations. 

Robin Bloor, Partner, Hurwitz & Associates and founder of Bloor Research, said that  while large corporations could avail of first generation tools for managed adoption of open source software, SMBs could not afford automatic processes and had to rely on “trust and luck” or the training of software developers on complex matters of licensing obligations. 

Products like Protecode’s Software Lifecycle IP Management solution can change this scenario. 

There are five stages for the Open Source Adoption process, and Protecode provides solution for each of these processes. 

The first is the central definition of an Intellectual Property or “IP” and legal compliance policy acceptable to the organization project. This process is carried out by the development/business manager, together with legal counsel and captured in Protecode Policy Administrator.

The second stage deals with legal compliance analysis of legacy code, or code acquired from contractors or suppliers, and establishment of a code pedigree database. This functionality is carried out by the Enterprise IP Analyzer.

The third stage is the real-time and unobtrusive detection of legal obligations of any new code brought into the project. The solution for this is the Developer IP Assistant, which alerts the developer of any violation of an IP policy, for immediate correction or justification.

In the fourth stage, there is automatic analysis of any code that is checked into the organization's Source Control Management or “SCM” library. Using Protecode's repository plug-ins, IP attributes are checked against established IP policies.

The fifth, and final, stage involves the analysis of the final product and provisioning of a software bill of materials along with certification of compliance to legal obligations as per the established IP policy. This is achieved through the Build IP Analyzer.

“Intense R&D efforts have enabled Protecode to bring its portfolio of Software Lifecycle IP Management tools to a level of simplicity, scalability and performance that makes them affordable for even very small software organizations,” said Mahshad Koohgoli (News - Alert), CEO of Protecode, in a statement.

Koohgoli also said that Protecode’s Software Lifecycle IP Management solution enables all software organizations, independent of size and location, to take advantage of open source software to accelerate their development, reduce their costs and remain confident that all licensing and copyright obligations are understood and adhered to.

Back in May, Protecode announced a partnership with European software testing tools and services provider Emenda which helps both companies complement each other’s software testing tools.