Licensing Simbound
for your institution

What to ask for

• The right to use and employ a high-quality educational technology product.
• A combination of content and services, including website technology, simulation software, and various media and instructions.
• Technical and customer assistance, provided in a reasonable timeframe.
• The right to cancel your order according to each company's return policy.

Check device compatibility

Check if the simulation displays and works correctly on different mobile devices, such as smartphones or tablets. Sometimes, the only computer students have is a mobile phone or tablet. Also ask about the accessibility standard that the product meets.

Bring your own content

Ask yourself if the product lets you easily set up and test your own simulation content and conditions as some courses might need to be changed every new academic year. It would be great if you could do this right after the company presents you with their solution.

Get it in writing

Once you've figured out the simulation that meets your course requirements, go ahead and ask for a commercial proposal and/or licensing agreement from the company. The business and legal papers will outline how the simulation company has decided to sell access to its software.

Popular Licensing Methods

Most simulation companies offer two types of licenses. Some are for one-time use, and the number of users determines the price. Others are for the whole site, and clients can use the simulation for different subjects and for longer periods of time. The last item in this presentation is about an entirely new licensing system based on platform credits. This system was created by Simbound and was a first in the academic simulation software market.

Items to look for

Each licensing agreement should clearly state the rules for using the software. The licensing proposal should include a number of key items, including general access and usage rights, licensing conditions and limitations, warranty, support and service.

Pricing and Payment terms

Prospective clients should look to receive a commercial proposal that shows the price of each license and the total amount they will have to pay. There are two ways to pay:

1. The client pays for all end-user licenses (bulk order and payment).

2. The end-user, who is usually a student or course participant, is responsible for paying for their own license.

Another option is a combined approach, where the client first buys licenses and then sells them to the student. The payment method you choose will affect the final cost of the software and the terms offered by the simulation company.

Example of Licensing

Simbound is the original digital marketing simulation game launched in 2012. Here is how licenses get from our pioneering company to our end clients.

The digital marketing simulation product is available online and sold by the Apollo Edtech SRL, a limited liability company located in Cluj-Napoca, Romania, The European Union. Apollo Edtech owns the intellectual property (IP) of the simulation content and all of the derivations or product versions that result from it. Clients can easily buy licenses in several ways. This allows them and their students to access and use the content directly through the main www.simbound.com website or through authorized resellers of our product around the world.

Conditions that come with the license.

Simbound has six different simulation modules: Websites, Search Engine Advertising, Email, Social Media Marketing, Community, and Affiliate. Most of Simbound's products are world firsts and they are all available under one single integrated simulation game platform.

One academic license costs between €30 and €80 (converted to local currency). The final price depends on a few things: First, how many licenses you order matters. Second, which modules you want to use in your course will also matter. Third, where your school is located matters. Finally, the currency you will want to pay in matters, as well as whether the school will make payments in bulk or if each course participant will make their own payment. We provide payment services suited to over 20 different currencies and markets.

Clients may choose to buy extra services such as onsite support or the creation of custom content. These will be discussed and paid for separately from the licenses needed to run the simulation.

The need

The current licensing and pricing model worked well in most cases because it was simple. People ordered and used licenses based on the number of students in each class. For course managers, this model offered a flexible and predictable budgeting method because it created the right environment for renewing agreements with each new course period.

Limitations of existing Licensing Models

We've learned that not every course manager has the same budget for using the latest simulation educational technology in their course. Education is a huge sector, but it often doesn't have enough resources to keep things going.

Credits in Practice

Credits are now a standard part of our licensing packages, and more and more schools are adopting them. With a credits-based course, users can decide which parts of the simulation they want to access, which gives them a lot of flexibility in buying and allowance plans. Students and schools will only pay for what they use. That's a wrap on our primer on licensing methods! We hope this resource helps you find the best academic simulation software for your needs.