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Delivering Software, Electronically?

Posted by Cliff on from the beyond-simple-file-transfers dept.

zpengo asks: "I'm trying to find the best way to implement a large-scale Electronic Software Delivery (ESD) service for my software company. I've been able to find very little information online (after weeks of research) so I must take it to America's best and brightest. Have you ever worked with ESD on a higher than plain-vanilla FTP level, and if so, what did you learn from it? When do you consider the product 'delivered'? Was it worth it? (I'm planning to put together a public domain whitepaper on the subject with the information I gather, to help fill in the gaps I found while researching online)."

3 of 202 comments (clear)

  1. Web Based Software Delivery by BuildMonkey · · Score: 5, Informative

    My business is software configuration management. Electronic software delivery is a critical part of many solutions. Typically we use a web site. The system has access control, software submital, notification, approvals at various levels, retrieval based on approval level, and logging.

    For examply, only users identified as Development can submit software. At that point Software Configuration Management is notified to reproduce the software (can SCM build the same binaries as the developers?) SCM retrieves the software from the web site. Once SCM approves the software, Test is notified.

    Test retrieves the software and puts it through its paces. If it passes Test grants its approval through the web site. Otherwise the software fails and Test provides a URL explaining the problems. And on...

    At any point program management can see the state of the software in its track to customer delivery. PM has override ability to approve software for customer delivery even if it has, for example, failed testing.

    The web site makes it easy to access. Access control and approval manage the software delivery process. Notification keeps everyone on the ball. And logging provides CYA - and has covered my butt on numerous occasions.

    My boss particularly loves to be sitting in a Change Control Meeting and hear the development manager say, "The software's been delivered to SCM. We're waiting on them." And he can say with confidence, "Not yet it hasn't."

  2. Please restrain the knee-jerk reaction by Jucius+Maximus · · Score: 5, Informative
    As much as we like to poke fun at Steve Gibson, you might want to take a look at the way he delivers his flagship product SpinRite.

    It's also similar to the way F-Prot Antivirus is delivered.

    Basically each customer gets a login for the web site and can download from there. It avoids serial generators and cracks because you can't just download the shareware and then apply a crack. The only people who even get the opportunity to download the software are those who have paid so it's less likely (but still inevitable) that they will give it away, share it on kazaa, etc.

  3. Kagi.com by DreamerFi · · Score: 5, Informative

    Kagi has a lot of experience with this. Check them out.

    -John