LICENSEWARE
Contribute

Perceptive Content licensing

From the LICENSEWARE WikiLast edited 12 ReferencesCited

This article is about licensing Hyland Perceptive Content (formerly ImageNow): server hardware node and server licences, the License Group ID and system fingerprint, concurrent, per seat, named, transaction package and feature licences, and failover and overdraft options. It is not legal advice.

On This Page

Perceptive Content is the enterprise content management product formerly called ImageNow. Hyland acquired it with the Perceptive portfolio in 2017.[9] It is sold as on-premise Software or as a Cloud Service in the Hyland Cloud. It shares the multi-product Product Specific Terms with OnBase and other Hyland lines, under the Hyland Master Agreement.[6][7]

Its licensing mechanics come from its own history. Licences are files generated by Hyland for one installation. They are bound together by a License Group ID (LGID), enforced by node-locking for servers and per-seat clients, and enforced by tokens for named users.[1][2]

Editions

Perceptive Content has no editions in the retrieved documents. Licences come in several states: “Licenses are available as Live, Demo, Test, Not-for-resale (NFR), and Failover licenses.”[2] Live licences are production entitlements. Test licences correspond to the non-production environments that the Product Specific Terms allow for an additional fee.[6] Failover licences are a separate purchase for availability (see Programs).

Metrics

Every system needs three layers of licence: “server hardware node licenses, a Perceptive Content Server license, and client licenses”.[1] Client and component licences use one of five licensing types:[2]

Licensing type Catalog row How it is counted 
Hardware node Server hardware node license One per server computer running Perceptive Content Server, node-locked to that computer 
Concurrent use Concurrent use license Simultaneous users from a central pool, not node-locked 
Per seat Per seat license Computers on which the software is installed, node-locked by a local token 
Named Named license Perceptive Content user names, valid on any device 
Transaction package Transaction package Transactions (usually server calls or object retrievals) per period 
Feature none Server-level switch, “either available or not available for all users” 

Counting / floors

Servers. Hyland states that “every computer running the Perceptive Content Server must have a hardware node license”. A Perceptive Content Server licence and a minimum number of client licences are also required.[2] Only one Server licence is needed regardless of the number of server computers. The Server licence runs concurrently with the hardware node licences.[1] Catalog proof: Every Perceptive Content Server computer needs a hardware node licence.

License Group ID and system fingerprint. The Server licence creates the LGID, “a unique, random number that has no dependencies on hardware or software keys”. All other licences connecting to the server must carry the same LGID.[1] Hyland generates licences from a system fingerprint (SYSFP) file. The file lists every registered computer with its hardware fingerprint and licence status, the LGID and the product licences, and must be regenerated for every licence request.[10] Licence files (.lic) received from Hyland are uploaded through License Manager, and all server instances are restarted.[11] For an entitlement review, the SYSFP and the installed licence files are the system-side record of what Hyland issued.

Concurrent use. In a five-user concurrent licence, “after five users log in to the program, the program prevents a sixth user from logging in”. The licences form “a pool of available licenses that can be used from any client computer”.[2]

Named. Named licences are token-based. A token is acquired and validated for the user the first time the user reaches a named-licence feature, and then works “on any machine or device”. If none is free, access is refused.[2] Named licences can be distributed to license groups. When users move between groups, their allocations collect in an unassigned pool until an administrator forces an update with intool --cmd update-license-allocations.[12]

Transaction packages. Transactions are counted centrally and decremented over the period. “Once all of the transactions are used in a specified period, no more transactions can be done until the period expires.”[2]

Database access. As for OnBase, the on-premise terms allow access to the Product or its database only through Product client licences or a Product API, except for utilisation reporting, unless Hyland consents and fees are paid.[6] Catalog proof: Only client licences or a Product API may access the Product or its database.

Virtualization & partitioning

Hardware binding. Server licences are node-locked. “If you change your hardware, the Perceptive Content Server license becomes invalid and you must obtain a new Perceptive Content Server license.” Moving the server to another computer needs an updated SYSFP and a new Server licence. Other licences stay valid because the LGID does not change.[1] Per-seat clients carry a token that encodes 5 to 10 hardware properties, such as MAC address, disk serial number and processor serial number. “The license will work as long as 60 percent of the hardware comprising the original encoded hardware information remains the same.”[2] Virtual machine changes that alter several of these identifiers can therefore invalidate a per-seat token. Catalog proof: Perceptive per-seat licences survive while 60 percent of the hardware is unchanged.

Citrix and terminal services. Citrix does not affect concurrent or transaction licensing. Under per-seat licensing, however, Perceptive Content “counts each terminal services client as a separate machine and each client instance consumes its own license”. Every client that can reach a published application must be licensed, so scanner stations need a licence for each client machine that can access them.[5] Catalog proof: In Citrix each terminal client consumes its own Perceptive per-seat licence.

Environments. One production copy and one remote disaster-recovery copy are included on premise. Further non-production environments for testing, integration development and training are licensed for additional fees.[6] Catalog proof: One production copy and one disaster-recovery copy are included on premise.

Cloud / BYOL

On-premise Perceptive Content may run on third-party servers, with the provider acting as the customer’s contractor.[8] In the Hyland Cloud, the Cloud Service terms apply. They provide Development Sandbox (25 concurrent users, 100 GB) and Pre-Production (100 concurrent users, 500 GB) environments, Service Classes and the Cloud Software Version Policy.[7] Catalog proof: Hyland Cloud Development Sandbox and Pre-Production environments carry user and storage caps.

Programs

  • Failover licensing. A separately purchased licence that lets an application “run with full functionality for a restricted amount of time (typically 90 days)”. It is offered for per-seat products such as ERM Server, Fax Agent, Forms Processing Agent, Full Text Agent, Mail Agent, Output Agent, Recognition Agent and User Replication Agent. Failover licences “are not necessary with a Concurrent licensing scheme”.[3]
  • Overdraft protection. Lets an application keep running after the licence count is exceeded; “The system tracks and reports any overuse for later billing.” It is available only for Integration Server Transaction Pack, Perceptive Content Combo Client, Message Agent Transaction Pack and Interact Desktop.[4] Overdraft is a billing event, not a free buffer. Catalog proof: Perceptive overdraft use is tracked and billed later.
  • Healthcare Community Connect. The bed, provider and procedure-room fees in the on-premise terms apply to Perceptive Content as well as OnBase.[6] See OnBase licensing.

Out of scope

  • The full list of Perceptive Content product licences and the licensing type each uses, which the guides keep in a separate product licence reference.
  • Perceptive Capture (Brainware), Perceptive Forms, Interact integrations and CaptureNow scanner licensing beyond the Citrix rule above.
  • Demonstration-mode limits for unlicensed systems, which are not a production entitlement.

References

  1. What is the Licensing Process? (Perceptive Content Licensing Advanced Design, Foundation 24.1)Undated product documentation; guide published 2024-04-02.Retrieved 2026-10-02.
  2. About licensing in Perceptive Content (Manage Content, Foundation 24.1)Undated product documentation; guide published 2026-08-27.Retrieved 2026-10-02.
  3. What is failover licensing? (Perceptive Content Manage Content, Foundation 24.1)Undated product documentation.Retrieved 2026-10-02.
  4. What is overdraft protection licensing? (Perceptive Content Manage Content, Foundation 24.1)Undated product documentation.Retrieved 2026-10-02.
  5. About licensing Citrix environments (Perceptive Content Manage Content, Foundation 24.1)Undated product documentation.Retrieved 2026-10-02.
  6. Product Specific Terms: OnBase, Perceptive Content, Brainware, Saperion, RPA and Pacsgear on-premise SoftwareEffective 2026-06-23. Retrieved 2026-10-02.
  7. Product Specific Terms: OnBase, Perceptive Content and Brainware Cloud ServiceEffective 2026-06-23. Retrieved 2026-10-02.
  8. Hyland Master AgreementEffective 2026-09-01. Retrieved 2026-10-02.
  9. Hyland acquisitionsRetrieved 2026-10-02.
  10. What is a System Fingerprint? (Perceptive Content Licensing Advanced Design, Foundation 24.1)Undated product documentation.Retrieved 2026-10-02.
  11. Install Perceptive Content licenses (Manage Content, Foundation 24.1)Undated product documentation.Retrieved 2026-10-02.
  12. Manage named license allocations (Perceptive Content Manage Content, Foundation 24.1)Undated product documentation.Retrieved 2026-10-02.

See also

Catalog Rows Cited

5Metrics7Rules3Programs

Esc