Subscription-based software, otherwise known as SaaS (Software As A Service), is becoming an increasingly popular model for software. Many developers have taken to the recurring "subscription fee" revenue model, but there are a number of subscription-related issues that developers struggle with. RegNet specializes in e-commerce for subscription services, and they have worked together with software developers to address and resolve many of these issues and problems.

Access and Authentication
Controlling access to the software has always been one of the difficult parts of selling subscription-based applications, since you often need to know who is active, and the subscription state is often tied to their site credentials or conditions. This is a common issue for companies selling website access to premium content, support, upgrades, Software as a Service, and Hosted Applications. There are two common solutions to managing customer access.

The first solution is for the publisher to host their own database for customer credentials and access, and then ping RegNet (using web services) to determine whether someone has access to a particular resource. The account in this case lives in two locations (which are called shadow accounts). If the subscription state changes, there are two options:

1) RegNet modifies the user's access record, and when they next try to login, the publisher pings RegNet to determine if the customer has access, or...
2) RegNet pings the publisher's server due to a change in subscription status, and the publisher updates the flags on their side.

A second solution for managing credentials is the use of non-shadow accounts, whereby the customer creates their account on RegNet's servers as part of the subscription purchase process. When the customer logs in, the publisher passes the information to RegNet, and RegNet then determines whether or not the customer should have access. If access is legitimate, RegNet then redirects the customer to the "actual location" based on the state of the customer's subscription record. This prevents publishers from having to maintain a customer database at all, but allows them to sell access to protected content in a turn-key manner. RegNet manages the customer's account, including the typical "forgotten password" functionality, all under the publisher's brand.

User History/My Account Functionality
One important aspect of subscriptions is the need to keep the customers account history. If the customer orders something else, it is best to have some consolidated history. For every subscription client, RegNet assigns a unique ID for multiple purposes. RegNet passes the unique ID back to the vendor after the purchase, using e-mail or XML posted to a server.

This unique ID can then be stored and passed into any future purchases, which will tie the customer to their existing account without the customer needing to login to RegNet, and can also "form-fill" in order to streamline the purchase process. Air Freight, Sea Freight and Courier Tracking Software