Before Genesys Cloud, Genesys sold on-premises contact-centre software under two product families. PureConnect, whose server is called CIC, is an all-in-one application server in which most features are present and are turned on by licensing rather than installed as modules.[1] Genesys Engage is a suite of separately deployed components built on the Management Framework, with licensing that combines a legal software licence, technical licence keys and usage reporting.[2] The two families have different counting rules and different compliance mechanisms.
Editions
PureConnect licence models and levels
PureConnect has two licence models. The legacy perpetual model is paid upfront and used indefinitely, with optional annually renewed support. The subscription model was introduced in PureConnect 2018 R2 Patch 2, and starting 1 January 2020 Genesys offers only the subscription model; existing customers can continue to use perpetual licences, and Genesys recommends converting.[1] See PureConnect perpetual licence (legacy) and PureConnect subscription licence model.
Licence levels indicate what kind of server holds the licence:[1]
| Level | Use |
|---|---|
| Production | All purchased features in production; production servers request re-registration after one year in the older scheme |
| Development | Test environment only; a small non-ordered development licence (8 Access and Sessions licences) comes at no cost with a Basic or Intermediate Production Server, and a large one (30) with an Advanced Production Server; ordered development licences last one year; interactions disconnect hourly |
| Trial | Lets existing customers deploy a product they do not own; expires after 60 days |
| Evaluation | Small purchased configurations to which no other components can be added |
Beyond the core CIC licence, some external application servers need their own licence, such as the Media Server licence for VoIP and Multi-Site Administration.[1] Catalog row: Genesys PureConnect (CIC) subscription.
Genesys Engage
For Genesys Engage on-premises customers the legal terms are set by the contract between Genesys and the customer, generally the Genesys Master Software Licensing and Services Agreement (MSLSA), together with the order that records the sellable items and unit of measure purchased and the software maintenance agreement renewed annually.[2] The guide states that software licences allow use as designed and documented but not modification of the code.[2] Catalog row: Genesys Engage on-premises licences.
Metrics
PureConnect Access licences
A PureConnect user’s capabilities depend on the licences associated with both the user ID and the station. The Basic Station licence enables station audio and every active station needs one; the Client Access licence enables the CIC client; the ACD Access licence lets users take part in ACD workgroup queues; and add-on and module licences cover Interaction Process Automation, Recorder, Optimizer workforce management, Quality Manager, Dialer, Supervisor plug-ins and similar modules.[1]
There are two allocation methods:[1]
- Assignable. The licence is allocated to a user or station and acquired immediately, whether or not the user is logged on. Station licences can only be Assignable. See PureConnect Assignable licence.
- Concurrent. Applies to users only; the system allocates the licence when the user logs on and releases it at logoff. With 50 Interaction Tracker Access licences, Assignable allows only 50 users to be given the right, while Concurrent allows more than 50 users to be configured but only 50 to use it at once. When a concurrent user opens one module, the system allocates all of that user’s concurrent licences. See PureConnect Concurrent licence.
A single system can use both methods, but all licences for a specific user must be either Assigned or Concurrent.[1]
Agent and Business User counting
Subscription billing counts usage by category. PureConnect has two main categories, Agent and Business User, which are mutually exclusive. A user holding only the Client Access licence is a Business User; a user with the ACD Media 1 licence or any add-on licence is an Agent, and each agent add-on category, such as Recorder, Dialer, Quality Manager, Supervisor or Multi Channel, is counted in addition.[1] Usage tracking watches logon and logoff events and the licences applied to the user at that time; it does not consider which application the user logged on to or the user’s status.[1] Genesys cautions that it updates the mappings for every release, that the list is not a definitive legal statement, and that a licence impacts the bill once it appears in MyCloud.[1] See PureConnect Agent and Business User categories.
Engage technical licences
Genesys Engage separates three things. A software licence is the legal right to use a product. A technical licence or licence key is an entry in a licence file that enables specific quantities of a product or component. Usage reporting reports actual use expressed in the sellable items purchased.[2] Many Genesys products need no technical licences, and the guide notes that technical licences do not map well to the licensed products, which is why usage reporting is expressed in sellable items.[2][3] See Genesys Engage technical licence.
Counting / floors
Under the PureConnect subscription model there is no limit on the number of licences available or used, regardless of allocation method; counting and processing occur in MyCloud, and nothing prevents simultaneous logons at peak unless the customer manages how it allocates licences.[1] How the system is used each month affects the bill, so the practical floor is control of assignment: Genesys recommends assigning only the licences each user needs.[1] Usage data is collected in encrypted files that upload automatically to AWS S3, or manually.[1] For perpetual customers, licences are generated in the Activation File Management Tool; only a person holding a current CIC Core Technology Certification can generate a licence, and perpetual licence files carry an expiry date of 1/1/2100.[1] Subscription customers request a licence from the Genesys Licensing Team.[1]
Virtualization & partitioning
PureConnect subscription customers on 2020 R2 or later can run CIC and Media servers in a fully virtualised deployment, because Genesys removed the hardware dependency on the HostID property of the perpetual licence file, provided they meet the requirement to pair with Genesys Cloud and hold the appropriate licence file.[1] Genesys Engage uses a FlexNet Publisher licence server: a central licence manager and Genesys vendor daemon hold the licence file, applications request keys at startup or in real time, licence files can be tied to a host ID, and the daemon can run redundantly on three server nodes.[3] The Genesys guide notes that licence controls have become more difficult to manage with virtualisation and rapid deployment change.[3]
Cloud / BYOL
The virtual cloud licence key makes a PureConnect server check in with Genesys Cloud. A subsystem attempts to connect through the Genesys Cloud Public API every 12 hours and expects a good standing response. A ramp date and grace period in the licence file determine when enforcement begins, and if the check fails the server moves through stages: a status-bar warning, an obtrusive warning, Interaction Supervisor disabled, a limit of 20% of licensed call ports, and finally an unlicensed state with only two call ports.[1] Customers should make sure the server is connected and that usage data uploads daily before the ramp date expires.[1] See PureConnect virtual cloud licence.
Genesys’s Engage guide distinguishes pure cloud offerings, where no licences are issued and no licence compliance tools are needed, from hybrid arrangements, in which software installed on the customer’s premises is subject to the same licence terms as any other purchased Genesys software.[2] The pricing hub also records that SMS short codes differ by product: Genesys Cloud customers can use only the Genesys lease, while Genesys Engage and PureConnect customers can choose the Genesys lease or a customer lease.[4]
Programs
- PureConnect development and trial licences: no-cost non-ordered development licences with production servers, ordered development licences for one year and 60-day trials.[1]
- Genesys Engage usage reporting: from release 8.5, deployment and use of License Reporting Manager (with ICON and GAX) is mandatory, technically enforced at Framework installation, free of charge for the software, and customers must provide valid reports on Genesys request.[3] The same guide states that LRM is no longer supported and will enter End of Life when Billing Data Server is available for on-premises implementations.[3]
Audits and compliance
Genesys Engage defines compliance as ensuring customers use the product according to licensing terms and investigating and resolving potential violations, and says it is the responsibility of partners and customers to understand and comply with the terms and to report and correct any deficiencies.[2] Licence controls are intended to make over-use technically impossible, while usage reports let customers verify compliance internally and with their financial auditors, and the guide states a goal of moving the compliance conversation toward mutual understanding of usage and advance planning rather than enforcing limits by technical means that can interrupt service.[3] For PureConnect subscription customers the compliance record is the MyCloud usage data, so uploading it correctly is the key control. For the general disciplines see software licence audits.
Out of scope
This article does not cover maintenance and support policies for on-premises products, product end-of-life dates, migration offers to Genesys Cloud, or the Master Software Licensing and Services Agreement text, which is not public. The PureConnect and Engage documents cited are dated 2020, and later releases may have changed the details; the table of part numbers and licence keys in the PureConnect reference is also not reproduced here.