Well, I got some great feedback from some of my programming friends, and I wanted to pass my thoughts along, and see if anything new might be sparked. In general, the feedback I got from everyone is that “encrypting” ABAP code is pretty much a waste of time. If there is a developer that wants your code, they will get it. Plus, the majority of companies out there don’t care enough to bring your code in-house, spend 80+ hours copying and pasting, creating screens, services, etc… if they look at me in the first place, it probably means they need help, and don’t have the time to waste having their resources steal my code. (I’m not naive, I know this could happen… but somethings aren’t worth worrying about too much).
Then I heard back from my friend Barry, and he gave me the best advice on the topic. He pretty much told me, if you offer something free (like my free trial), offer a scaled down version. Provide enough functionality to showcase how good your stuff is, but don’t give away everything. Turn off a bunch of the bells and whistles, and replace it with a message “Only available in paid version”. This way your prospect can see it’s there… and realize they have to pay to get everything.
In addition, I’m still looking for a good way to extract the install date of the free trial, and deactivate the software X days after. While the code will still exist in the system, it will be a reminder that the the free offer has ended… time to pony up some cash 🙂
Thoughts? Thanks for reading,
As always, thanks for reading and don't forget to check out our SAP Service Management Products at my other company JaveLLin Solutions,Mike