GravityZone yearly licensing is Bitdefender’s prepaid licensing model for its business security packages. A customer buys a licence key for a number of endpoint seats and a Validity Period. It can then add further keys for add-on modules. Bitdefender distinguishes a main licence, which works on its own, from add-on licences, which unlock more features but need an active main licence.[1] Keys are managed on the licensing page of the GravityZone Control Center. For each product, that page shows the licence key, its status, expiry date, total seats and current usage.[9] The alternative model, monthly usage-based billing for managed service providers, is covered in Bitdefender GravityZone MSP monthly licensing.
Packages
The small-business packages build on each other. Business Security adds Network Attack Defense, Web Access Control, Device Control and Endpoint Risk Analytics to Small Business Security. Business Security Premium then adds HyperDetect, Sandbox Analyzer, Fileless Attack Defense and Microsoft Exchange coverage.[3] GravityZone Small Business Security is sold only online, and its subscription prices depend on the number of endpoints.[4] Business Security Premium can be bought online for up to 100 devices or through partners. It covers desktops, physical and virtual servers, and Microsoft Exchange mailboxes.[5] Business Security Enterprise adds endpoint detection and response. It is licensed with a key obtained from a Bitdefender Partner after the trial.[6] XDR is built by combining Business Security Enterprise with a separately purchasable add-on for each sensor category: network, identity, cloud and productivity applications.[12]
Seats and counting
Seats in the Order. The customer may install or use the Solutions on as many devices or endpoints as necessary, up to the total number of licensed seats in the Order. Depending on the product, the licence covers physical computers, endpoints, virtual machines, Amazon EC2 instances or Exchange mailboxes.[2] The customer may make one backup copy. It may not exceed the total number of endpoints, servers or protected resources just because the product supports several platforms or languages, arrives on several media, or is bundled with other software.[2] Catalog row: Licensed seat (endpoint); proof: Deployment is capped at the licensed seats in the Order.
When a seat is used. A seat is used once the Bitdefender client has been installed on an endpoint.[15] A decommissioned machine may keep its seat. To release it, the agent must be uninstalled and the endpoint removed from the Network inventory, after which licences are reassigned automatically to endpoints waiting for a seat.[10] Catalog proof: Decommissioned endpoints keep a seat until removed from the inventory.
Servers and endpoint types. The online packages include desktops and laptops plus file servers up to 30% of the seats. Linux operating systems count as servers.[3] Some licences grant seats only for specific endpoint types. Their usage is broken down into workstations, servers, physical workstations, physical servers, virtual desktops and virtual servers.[15] The agreement also tells customers to check the Commercial Documentation and Bitdefender’s websites for limits on usage between endpoint categories.[2] Catalog proof: Online packages cover file servers up to 30% of seats; Linux counts as a server.
Going over the seat count. If a licence runs out of seats, the Bitdefender client can still be installed on new devices. Those devices get trial coverage for up to 30 days at no additional cost while the customer arranges an extension.[7] Once that coverage ends, endpoints without a valid seat show expired protection modules. Over-quota licence usage is one of the documented causes.[10] Catalog proof: Devices beyond the licensed seats receive 30-day trial coverage.
Licence keys
Registration. A Bitdefender Account and a valid licence are required to register a Solution. For all products except Bitdefender Security for AWS, registration needs the subscription key from the Commercial Documentation. This control helps ensure that the product runs only on validly licensed devices, virtual machines and mobile devices.[2]
A new key replaces the old one. Activating a licence does not add its features or seats to the active licence. The new key overrides the old one, so activating a 10-endpoint key on top of a 100-endpoint key cuts coverage from 100 endpoints to 10.[1] Adding some keys on the licensing page can likewise replace a current product and change the feature set.[9] Catalog proof: Activating a new licence key replaces the current key. To combine or restructure keys, customers use standard support, whose scope includes adding seats and splitting, merging and extending licences.[16]
Activation effective dates. Some yearly keys carry an activation effective date, and activating them before that date fails. Their expiration date is fixed and does not depend on when the key is activated.[8] Catalog proof: Yearly licence expiry is fixed and does not move with activation.
One console at a time. A Solution may be used on only one console instance at a time, cloud or on-premises but not both. Migrating between the two goes through Enterprise support.[2] Catalog proof: A licence may run on only one console instance at a time.
Term, renewal and updates
In the console, the pre-paid plan covers a trial key or a licence key with a predefined validity of 6 or 12 months.[9] The online store offers subscriptions of 1, 2 or 3 years. An online subscription starts on the purchase date and renews automatically unless the customer cancels automatic renewal.[3] When a yearly Validity Period ends, the Solutions are deactivated automatically and receive no further feature or content updates.[2] Updates and upgrades require current payment or an active subscription.[2] Customers who bought online renew and add seats in the console. Customers who bought through a partner or reseller go through Bitdefender’s commercial support.[7] Catalog proof: Yearly subscriptions deactivate at expiry; monthly accounts are suspended for non-payment.
Trials
The yearly-licensing trial lasts 30 days and is free. It gives 50 seats with Business Security Premium features plus the Full Disk Encryption, Patch Management, Security for Storage and Email Security add-ons.[1] Existing customers can also try individual products from the console through Product Trials.[1] Evaluation use is internal and non-production. Unless agreed otherwise, it is capped at three concurrent console users, 50 endpoints and one month from activation.[2] Catalog row: GravityZone trials and evaluation; proof: Evaluation use is limited to 3 console users, 50 endpoints and one month.
Add-ons
Full Disk Encryption and Patch Management are optional add-ons that work with any GravityZone endpoint security package. Both can be bought online or through partners.[13][14] Full Disk Encryption uses the native BitLocker and FileVault mechanisms and manages them from the GravityZone console.[13] The business agreement gives several add-ons their own metrics:
| Add-on | Catalog metric | Counting rule | Over-usage |
|---|---|---|---|
| Security for Mobile | Active mobile device | Devices online at least once in the calendar month; Chrome extensions count as mobile devices. For annual billing, usage equals the number of devices sold.[2] | Additional fees backdated to the point of over-usage.[2] |
| Security for Email (end-of-life) | Active primary mailbox | Primary user mailboxes that sent or received mail in the month. Shared mailboxes and distribution lists are excluded.[2] | Difference invoiced, backdated.[2] |
| Cloud Security (CSPM) | Billable cloud resource | Limited to the billable resources in the purchase order.[2] | Scanning restricted to the purchased number; more resources need a new order.[2] |
| Security Data Lake | Daily Ingestion Volume | Daily ingestion, Data Lake Feature size and retention, as set in the commercial documentation.[2] | Next higher tier, backdated, if ingestion exceeds the purchased tier on more than five days in a month.[2] |
Catalog proof: Mobile and email over-usage is invoiced backdated; Cloud Security scans are restricted to purchased billable resources; Security Data Lake overage moves the customer to the next tier.
Security for Mobile counting traps. Without a mobile device management (MDM) integration, a device that is uninstalled and reinstalled is charged twice. A device running both the mobile agent and the Chrome extension also counts as two devices unless the MDM registers them under one ID.[2] GravityZone aggregates mobile usage once a day, so the seat count shows the devices active on the previous day. Notifications are sent 90, 30, 7 and 1 day before the licence expires, and data is deleted automatically 60 days after expiry.[11] Catalog proof: Reinstalling Security for Mobile without MDM counts a new device.
Security Data Lake retention. Data is kept according to the retention and storage options purchased. After the Validity Period ends, the customer can still access it for 30 days, except under NFR and trial licences.[2] If a renewal switches to a licence without the Data Lake Feature or Archive, the data held there is deleted within 5 days.[2]
Other add-ons. The agreement also sets conditions for Risk Management and Compliance Manager, and for External Attack Surface Management. External Attack Surface Management requires Business Security Premium, Business Security Enterprise, GravityZone EDR Cloud, MDR or Cloud MSP Security.[2] The Windows 7, 8 and 8.1 legacy support add-on puts the risks of unsupported operating systems on the customer.[2] Use of the CLAIRE AI assistant may be subject to usage entitlements, limits or consumption-based metrics set in the commercial documentation.[2]
Practical notes
- Record every key’s seat count, expiry date and product type from the console licensing page before adding a new key, because a new key can replace the old one rather than adding to it.[1]
- In estates with many servers or Linux systems, compare the server count with the 30% allowance of the online packages.[3]
- Remove retired machines from the Network inventory so they do not keep seats.[10]
- For Security for Mobile, integrate an MDM before large rollouts or reimaging to avoid double counting.[2]