Precisely Spectrum and MapInfo cover installed software that the support site lists: the Spectrum Technology Platform, and MapInfo Pro, a desktop mapping application, together with the MapInfo Pro Runtime.[3][4] Their licensing combines product-specific key and activation mechanisms with the master EULA’s rules on virtual environments, sites and data.[5]
Editions
MapInfo Pro licences are categorised in two ways in the 2021 licensing guide. By feature: Advanced licences (second serial number character “A”), which add high-quality raster and grid analysis; Premium licences (fourth character “P”), which include optional premium services such as adding Bing Roads to a map and Move Map To; and Basic licences (second character “I” and fourth character “W”). By deployment: node-locked (third character “N”), concurrent (third character “S”) and distributable (third character “D”).[1] A serial such as MANPEW1111111111 combines these: here A for Advanced, N for node-locked and P for premium services.[1] Premium services carry an extra cost, although they are available during an evaluation.[1] See MapInfo Pro, MapInfo Pro node-locked licence and MapInfo Pro concurrent licence.
MapInfo Pro Runtime licences are requested through a support case; the support page states there are no self-service licence keys.[4] See MapInfo Pro Runtime.
Spectrum Technology Platform is licensed with a key file. The support page states that there are no self-service downloads or licence keys and directs customers to raise a case through the customer or partner portal.[3] See Spectrum Technology Platform.
Both products can come with third-party or product-specific terms. Precisely’s English terms page lists, among others, MapInfo Manager terms, Spectrum Spatial Analyst Extensibility Edition and Spectrum Visual Insights terms, and a large set of data terms such as USPS DPV/LACS and SuiteLink, Royal Mail, Canada Post, Ordnance Survey, Bing and Mapbox.[7] See Product-specific third-party data terms are listed on the English terms page.
Metrics
MapInfo Pro. Three models apply.[1]
- Node-locked licences run MapInfo Pro on a specific computer and must be activated, by automatic activation over the internet with the Precisely FNO server, or by email activation where there is no internet connection.
- Concurrent (floating) licences come from a licence server that the organisation buys and maintains; it limits the number of computers running MapInfo Pro at any one time to the number of concurrent licences purchased, and MapInfo Pro can be installed on any number of computers. Each session requires a checkout, and a licence can be borrowed if the server administrator permits, for 1 to 365 days (default 365), after which an unreturned borrowed licence is returned automatically.
- Distributable licences allow the company to distribute permanent licences from its own MapInfo License Server, for customers with limited email access or access to the FNO server; a licence can be returned to the server to move it to another computer.
Citrix. The guide states that Citrix installations require concurrent licences to comply with the licensing agreement.[1] See MapInfo Pro in Citrix needs concurrent licences.
32-bit and 64-bit. A 32-bit and a 64-bit edition can be installed on one computer and use the same licence; returning the licence for one stops the other.[1] See 32-bit and 64-bit MapInfo Pro on one computer share a licence.
Users. Under the master agreement, desktop products licensed for a number of Users may be installed on that many devices, or on more devices provided the number of individual Users does not exceed the licences purchased, and a User counts whether or not actively using the product.[5] That rule sits alongside the MapInfo serial-number model; where the two seem to differ, the Order controls. See User.
Spectrum. No public document states the Spectrum metric. The master agreement’s Schedule 2 defines Core, Processor, Node and Instance, and an Order for Spectrum may use any of them or Transactions, but this must be read from the Order.[5] The Developer API Services version of the address functions counts Transactions processed in a period.[8] See Core (processor core), Node and Instance (cloud virtual server).
Counting / floors
Spectrum licence key. The key is an encrypted XML file ending in .key. It must be installed within 45 days of receipt, otherwise another key is needed. It is installed by copying the file into the server’s import directory, with no restart required, and processed keys move to an archive folder or an error folder; an upgrade can continue to use the existing key.[2] See Spectrum licence keys must be installed within 45 days of receipt.
Floors. None are published. Under the master agreement quantities cannot decrease during a subscription term and excess use is paid at Order or standard rates.[5]
Courtesy period. An installed MapInfo Pro that is not yet activated, or an evaluation, runs with unlimited use for a thirty-day courtesy period.[1] See MapInfo Pro installs run unactivated for a 30-day courtesy period.
Virtualization & partitioning
The master agreement’s rule for virtual environments applies to Spectrum and to any server-based MapInfo component: the customer must license the entire number of the applicable licence metric within the environment that may be allocated or used, in whole or in any part, to access the software.[5] Cores may be physical or virtual, and a Node is a machine of up to four Processor Cores in a cluster, including edge and management nodes.[5] A Spectrum cluster of several servers, or a containerised deployment that scales out, can therefore multiply the licensed quantity if the Order is expressed in cores, nodes or instances. For desktop MapInfo, Citrix and virtual desktop deployments require concurrent licences.
The Site clause is also relevant: where an Order specifies a Site, the software may be installed only there and moving it elsewhere, including to the cloud, needs consent.[5] See Virtual environments are licensed for the full metric that may be allocated.
Cloud / BYOL
Deploying Spectrum on a public cloud is subject to the Site and Licensed Platform clauses in the same way as other on-premises software, and the Instance definition includes production, non-production and disaster recovery cloud servers.[5] No bring-your-own-licence programme is described. Precisely also sells address and geocoding functions, including Geocode and Verify, as hosted Developer API Services, licensed by Transactions rather than by installed capacity.[8]
Programs
- Evaluation and trial licences: a no-cost evaluation, with a 14-day default under the master agreement and a thirty-day courtesy period for MapInfo Pro.[5][1]
- Disaster recovery copies: DR copies for testing or platform failure, with ninety days before consent is needed.[5]
- Update test installation window: updates installed within thirty days, test copies for up to fifteen.[5]
- Excess use at Order or standard rates: charges for use above purchased quantities.[5]
Audits and compliance
Data and location rules. The master agreement prohibits using the products to provide real-time navigation or route guidance, in-flight navigation or a digital map database, and prevents using Data Output outside the products or disclosing it to third parties except as the Order authorises. It also prohibits storing or appending vector data, including latitude, longitude or x,y coordinates, to the customer’s database or giving it to third parties, though the customer may derive conclusions or recommendations from Data Output for its services.[5] A geocoding pipeline that writes coordinates back to a customer master table may therefore conflict with the standard terms unless the Order permits it. See Latitude and longitude from geocoding may not be stored or appended and Navigation and map-database uses are prohibited.
Service Provider use. The 2021 EULA defines and prohibits Service Provider use unless authorised, meaning using the products to verify addresses, provide analytics, process documents or perform other data processing for entities other than the licensee; the current agreement restricts use on behalf of third parties and white labelling.[6][5] Agencies and shared-service providers using Spectrum for clients should check their Orders. See Service Provider use needs authorization.
Verification. Precisely may verify compliance on ten days’ notice once per twelve months, during the Term and for six months after, and the customer pays for excess use and verification costs.[5]
Out of scope
This article does not cover Spectrum module-level entitlements, individual third-party data terms, or pricing. It does not describe the MapInfo License Server user guide, which was not retrieved.