Case Study: Siemens Energy Automation maximizes ROI with flexible, secure SICAM licensing from Thales Sentinel

Siemens Energy Automation Maximizes ROI for SICAM Power Automation Systems Using Thales Sentinel

Siemens Energy Automation, maker of the SICAM family of substation automation and power quality products, faced a legacy, inflexible licensing and protection system that limited feature-based licensing, trial usage, security and integration with back-office systems. To better monetize SICAM, secure software across complex sales channels, and enable faster market response, Siemens selected Thales and its Sentinel licensing portfolio (Sentinel LDK/EMS, Sentinel HL Max keys and Sentinel SL soft keys) to replace the aging technology.

Thales worked with Siemens via a one-day consulting workshop and an implementation integrated into a six‑month minor release cycle to deploy Sentinel for license production and entitlement management. The solution uses custom-branded Sentinel hardware keys for shipped systems and software soft-keys for trials, supports remote updates of keys, and enables feature-based, on/off licensing via Sentinel’s web server. The result was a quick, low-disruption migration with improved protection, greater licensing flexibility, reduced production and operating costs (no need to ship replacement dongles), better customer experience, and a maximized ROI on SICAM development investments.

Siemens

Gerhard Fürst

PLM manager