How Activate Licence Counts Are Calculated

This article explains how Activate measures Managed Identities for licensing purposes. For information about the different Identity Licence Types, see Activate Identity Licence Types.

Activate licensing is based on the number of Managed Identities within the agreed scope of the purchased Activate solution subscription.

A Managed Identity is an identity that Activate is configured and available to manage.

An identity does not need to sign in to Activate or have an action performed against it during a particular month in order to count towards licensing.

If the identity is within the agreed scope of Activate and is available for Activate to manage, it forms part of the licensed population.

Activate automatically records the number of Managed Identities within each applicable Identity Licence Type.

The standard Activate Identity Licence Types are:

Each Managed Identity is assigned to one Identity Licence Type at a time.

The same human identity is not counted multiple times where Activate manages multiple systems, applications or accounts associated with that person.

Non-Human Identities represent separate non-human (machine) identities and are counted separately from their human owners.

Activate tracks Managed Identities throughout the month.

For licensing and reporting purposes, the monthly licence count is the number of Managed Identities within each Identity Licence Type at the end of the month.

This includes terminated identities that remain within the managed population as part of the applicable termination or stand-down process at month-end.

This provides a consistent monthly measurement of the customer's licensed identity populations.

If an identity changes Identity Licence Type during the month, the type assigned to the identity at month-end is used for that month's report.

For example, if a contractor classified as a Custom or External Identity becomes a permanent employee and is classified as a Workforce Identity before the end of the month, that identity will be reported as a Workforce Identity for that month.

When a Managed Identity is terminated, it may remain within the scope of Activate for a defined termination or stand-down period in accordance with the customer's configuration and business rules.

While the identity remains within this process, Activate continues to treat it as a Managed Identity.

For licensing and reporting purposes, the monthly licence count is based on the Managed Identity population at the end of the month. A terminated identity is therefore included in the monthly licence count if it remains within the managed population at month-end. Once the termination process has been completed and the identity has been removed from the managed population, it will no longer be included in subsequent month-end licence counts.

For example, if an employee leaves on 15 August and remains within Activate's termination process for 30 days, the identity will be included in the August month-end licence count. Once the 30-day period has been completed and the identity has been removed, it will not be included in the September month-end licence count.

The Contracted Licence Count is the quantity of Identity Licences the customer has committed to purchase for each applicable Identity Licence Type during the subscription term.

For an annual subscription, this quantity represents the customer's committed licence level for the relevant 12-month subscription period.

For a monthly subscription, charges are based on the Managed Identity counts reported for that month.

Customers with existing perpetual licence allocations may purchase additional subscription licences to cover Managed Identities above their perpetual allocation. These additional licences may be calculated and billed annually or monthly, where expressly agreed with Activate. This does not alter the licensing commitments or billing arrangements under an existing annual subscription agreement.

Monthly subscription customers are charged based on the Managed Identity counts reported for each month.

Because the subscription charge reflects the licensed identity population reported for that month, an annual licence review is not required.

This provides a pay-as-you-go approach where monthly subscription charges reflect changes in the customer's Managed Identity populations.

Monthly subscription arrangements apply only where expressly agreed with Activate and do not alter the Contracted Licence Counts or commitments under an existing annual subscription agreement.

Annual subscription customers have a committed Contracted Licence Count for each applicable Identity Licence Type for the duration of the subscription term.

Normal changes in Managed Identity numbers during the year do not change the customer's annual subscription charge.

At renewal, Activate reviews the Managed Identity counts reported during the preceding 12 months in order to determine whether additional licences are required for the next subscription period.

For each applicable Identity Licence Type, Activate:

1.         Takes the 12 monthly reported Managed Identity counts from the preceding subscription period.

2.       Totals the 12 monthly counts.

3.       Divides the total by 12 to calculate the average Managed Identity population.

4.       Rounds the resulting quantity up to the nearest 10 identities.

5.       Compares the result with the customer's existing Contracted Licence Count.

This provides a representative view of the customer's Managed Identity population over the preceding year.

Where the annual review establishes that additional licences are required, the Contracted Licence Count is increased for the next subscription period based on the annual review calculation.

Any increase to the Contracted Licence Count takes effect from the beginning of the new subscription term.

A customer has a Contracted Licence Count of 2,000 Workforce Identities.

Over the preceding 12 months, their Workforce Identity population has varied as people have joined and left the organisation. The total of the 12 monthly reported Workforce Identity counts is 25,200.

The annual average is:

25,200 ÷ 12 = 2,100 Workforce Identities

The average is already a multiple of 10, so the reviewed licence quantity is:

2,100 Workforce Identities

The customer's average Managed Identity population is therefore 2,100 compared with their current Contracted Licence Count of 2,000.

As the annual review has established a higher licence requirement, the customer's Contracted Licence Count for the next 12-month subscription period will increase to 2,100 Workforce Identities.

Identity populations naturally change throughout the year.

Organisations hire employees, contractors finish projects, seasonal workers come and go, business units change and access requirements evolve.

Using the preceding 12 monthly licence counts provides a more representative view of the customer's Managed Identity population than basing the next subscription period on:

This approach allows normal changes in the customer's identity population to be reflected in the annual licence review without allowing a temporary peak or low point to disproportionately affect the calculation.

Where a customer uses more than one Activate Identity Licence Type, each licensed population is measured and reviewed independently.

For example, a customer may have Contracted Licence Counts for:

Activate reports each population separately and, for annual subscriptions, calculates the 12-month average for each applicable Identity Licence Type.

This allows the customer's subscription to reflect the different identity populations being managed rather than treating every identity as requiring the same type of licence.

Customers with existing perpetual licence allocations may purchase additional subscription licences to cover Managed Identities above their perpetual allocation.

These additional subscription licences may be provided under an annual subscription arrangement or a monthly usage-based billing arrangement, where expressly agreed with Activate.

These arrangements apply only to the additional subscription licences and do not change the customer's existing perpetual licence rights or any other contracted licensing commitments.

Where additional licences are covered by an annual subscription, Activate applies the standard Annual Licence Review methodology described above.

For each applicable Identity Licence Type, the customer's perpetual licence allocation is deducted from the reviewed Managed Identity requirement to determine the additional subscription licence quantity.

Any additional subscription licences required are committed for the next subscription period and billed in accordance with the customer's agreement.

Example

A customer has 2,000 perpetual Workforce Identity Licences.

The Annual Licence Review establishes an average Managed Identity population of 2,100 Workforce Identities.

The additional subscription licence requirement is:

2,100 − 2,000 = 100 subscription licences.

These 100 subscription licences are committed for the next 12-month subscription period.

Where Activate has expressly agreed to monthly usage-based billing for additional subscription licences, the additional licence requirement is calculated independently each month.

For each applicable Identity Licence Type, the monthly additional subscription licence quantity is the number of Managed Identities reported at month-end above the customer's existing perpetual licence allocation for that Identity Licence Type.

Example

A customer has an existing allocation of 2,000 perpetual Workforce Identity licences

The additional subscription licence quantity is calculated each month based on the reported Managed Identity population above the existing perpetual licence allocation.

Unlike the annual arrangement, monthly additional licences are calculated independently and are not averaged across the year.

Where monthly usage-based billing has been agreed, an Annual Licence Review is not required for those additional monthly subscription quantities.

Monthly usage-based billing is available only where expressly agreed with Activate and documented in the customer's quote or subscription agreement. It does not provide an entitlement to change existing annual subscription commitments, reduce Contracted Licence Counts or move from annual to monthly billing.

Identity Licence Types and licence counts determine the identity populations included within the customer's subscription.

The Activate Package purchased by the customer determines the capabilities available to manage those identities.

Additional specialised capabilities may also be purchased as Add-ons. Some Add-ons have their own licensing rules and quantities based on the capability being provided.

Where separate Add-on licensing applies, this will be identified in the customer's Activate quote or subscription agreement.

Activate licensing is based on the Managed Identities that are within the agreed scope of the purchased Activate solution subscription. Each Managed Identity is allocated one Identity Licence Type at any point in time.

Monthly subscription customers pay based on the Managed Identity populations reported each month.

Annual subscription customers commit to Contracted Licence Counts for the subscription term. At renewal, Activate uses the preceding 12 monthly counts to establish the average Managed Identity population for each Identity Licence Type.

Where the annual review establishes that additional licences are required, the Contracted Licence Count is increased for the next subscription period based on the annual review calculation.

Customers with existing perpetual licence allocations may purchase additional subscription licences under annual or monthly arrangements where expressly agreed with Activate. These arrangements do not change existing annual subscription commitments or provide an entitlement to reduce Contracted Licence Counts.

Packages determine the Activate capabilities available to the customer, while Add-ons provide additional specialised capabilities where required.

Together, this provides a consistent and transparent licensing approach that can adapt as an organisation's identity populations and requirements change over time.