For organizations relying on specialized engineering and design software, licensing costs often represent a massive portion of the IT budget. While subscription models are rising, the floating (or concurrent) license model remains a staple for high-end tools like MATLAB, Ansys, and Catia.
Understanding how these licenses work—and how to manage them—is the key to unlocking significant savings. With a smart license management solution such as OpenLM, floating license management can lead to enhanced efficiency—by ensuring your team has the tools they need without overspending on shelfware.
What are floating licenses?
Floating licenses explained simply: imagine a library. The library owns ten copies of a bestseller. Hundreds of people have library cards (authorized users), but only ten people can read the book at the exact same time. When one person returns the book, it immediately becomes available for someone else.
In the software world, a floating license server manages this pool. It grants access to users on a first-come, first-served basis until the pool is empty. This stands in stark contrast to floating vs named user licenses, where a license is strictly tied to a specific individual regardless of how often they use the software.
Concurrent software licenses are ideal for organizations where employees do not need 24/7 access to a specific tool. By sharing a limited number of licenses among a larger group of users, you can theoretically serve more people with fewer purchases.
Additional Read: Software asset management (SAM) vs. license management
The challenge: Why floating licenses are difficult to manage
While the concept is cost-effective, the reality is often chaotic. Without proper floating license monitoring, you fly blind. You might face:
- License hoarding: Users open software in the morning and leave it running all day—even while at lunch or in meetings—just to “hold” the license.
- Productivity bottlenecks: When the pool runs dry, critical work stops. These “denials” frustrate engineers and delay projects.
- Phantom costs: You might buy more licenses to stop the complaints, unaware that 30% of your current licenses are sitting idle on inactive workstations.
To effectively manage floating licenses, you need more than just a headcount. You need deep, real-time visibility.
How OpenLM optimizes your license pool
This is where OpenLM steps in. We move beyond simple counting to provide proactive optimization. Our platform supports over 140 license managers (both on-premise and SaaS), including the highest number of engineering licenses (90+) on the market.
Here is how OpenLM floating license management transforms your workflow:
Real-time visibility and reporting
You cannot fix what you cannot see. OpenLM provides accurate, continuous data capture through our Agents and Brokers. We deliver near real-time visibility into who is using what, where they are, and how long they have been active. This allows you to spot usage trends instantly and identify peak demand times.
Automated license reclamation
This is the game-changer for reducing floating license waste. OpenLM detects when a session is idle—meaning the software is open but the user is not actively interacting with it.
Through our active process monitoring, we can automatically save the user’s work and close the session after a defined period of inactivity. This releases the license back to the pool immediately, making it available for a colleague who actually needs it. This capability alone can increase license availability by 15-20% without purchasing a single new seat.
Denial reporting and optimization
Knowing when and why a user got denied access is critical. OpenLM tracks license denials in real-time. By analyzing denial patterns, you can determine if you genuinely need more licenses or if the denials are merely the result of hoarding or inefficient allocation.
Advanced allocation with Virtual License Manager
For complex organizations, we offer a Virtual License Manager (VLM). This allows you to “slice and dice” your global license pool into virtual groups. You can allocate specific amounts of licenses to different departments or project teams, ensuring that critical groups always have the resources they need while maintaining a centralized view.
Additional Read: The ArcGIS 2026 migration: Navigating the end of concurrent licensing
Why choose OpenLM?
Beyond the generic concurrent license monitoring tools, OpenLM stands out as the solution of choice for engineering-heavy organizations. Whether you use FlexNet, DSLS, RLM, or proprietary managers from vendors like Altair and Siemens, we cover it all.
Our solution helps you bridge the gap between IT and finance. With features like precise chargeback reporting, you can attribute software costs directly to the projects or departments that use them. This transparency ensures accountability and helps you maximize the return on your software investment.
Ready to start optimizing your floating licenses like never before? With OpenLM, floating license management can become a key source of ROI for your business.
Frequently asked questions
What are floating licenses?
Floating licenses (also known as concurrent licenses) are a software licensing model where a limited number of licenses are shared among a larger number of users. A central server manages the pool, granting access to users upon request until all licenses are in use.
How do floating licenses work?
When a user launches an application, their computer sends a request to a central license server. If a license is available, the server “checks out” a token to that user, allowing the software to run. When the user closes the application, the token returns to the server for others to use.
What is the difference between floating and named user licenses?
A named user license is assigned to a specific individual and cannot be shared. A floating license is not tied to one person; it can be used by anyone with access to the server, provided a license is available in the pool. Floating licenses offer greater flexibility for teams where users do not need the software 24/7.
Why are floating licenses difficult to manage?
They are difficult to manage because visibility is often limited. Without specialized tools, administrators cannot easily see who is using a license, if they are actually working or just idling, and why users are getting denied access. This leads to efficient usage and unnecessary spending.
How does OpenLM optimize floating license usage?
OpenLM optimizes usage by monitoring active processes to detect idle time. It can automatically save open work and close idle sessions, returning the license to the pool. Additionally, it provides detailed reports on denials and usage trends, helping you make data-driven purchasing decisions.
Which software commonly uses floating licenses?
Floating licenses are standard in high-cost engineering and design software. Common vendors include Autodesk (Token-Flex), Dassault Systèmes (CATIA, SolidWorks), Siemens (NX), MathWorks (MATLAB), and Ansys.
When should a company invest in floating license management software?
You should invest if you have a high spend on engineering software, frequently experience license denials, suspect users are hoarding licenses, or lack the data to justify your renewal budget to finance. If you have a mix of 140+ different license managers, manual tracking is virtually impossible.
