An InterBase VAR license is simply a legal agreement between you and Embarcadero that allows you to redistribute InterBase. The benefits of this agreement are outlined below.
The Benefits of Being a VAR
- There are no registration and licensing headaches. VARs typically receive a .SLIP file which they deploy with their application. By simply copying it to the InterBase install directory it inhibits the need to register the InterBase server. VARs also typically receive a collection of user licenses they need with their applications. VARs deploy their SLIP file and user licenses as need be, then report back to Embarcadero quarterly what they have deployed and pay royalties on their deployments.
- Because VARs can deploy slip files, they can also build silent installs. With a silent install your customers do not even know InterBase is being installed. Your silent install also allows you to configure InterBase, and by using InterBase multi-instance option you can virtually guarantee that no other application will use your installation.
- InterBase version control: If you certify your product with the current version of InterBase, your customers purchase this current version of InterBase. However, Embarcadero generally only sells the latest versions of its software. So unless you plan to re-certify your products every time Embarcadero comes out with a new version of InterBase, you need to be able to get to your customers the version of InterBase you certified on. Because you can redistribute InterBase, this is not a problem.
- Volume discounts. If you deploy enough copies of InterBase you may be eligible for volume discounts. Volume discounts can be discussed with your Embarcadero sales rep.
How to Find Out More
Explore the InterBase VAR program in detail on the InterBase VAR License Portal
Detailed information is also available in the “Getting Started as an InterBase VAR – How to become an InterBase VAR?” training video below:
New to InterBase?
If you are new to InterBase then we would suggest going through the InterBase VAR License Portal Quick Start to find out more about getting started with InterBase. This includes details on how to embed InterBase into your application deployments and installers.
Customers interested in becoming an InterBase VAR need to contact Embarcadero sales. Information on contacting sales is available at http://www.embarcadero.com/company/contact-us.
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None of these reasons are very impressive.
“With a silent install your customers do not even know InterBase is being installed. Your silent install also allows you to configure InterBase, and by using InterBase multi-instance option you can virtually guarantee that no other application will use your installation.”
Silent installs where customers don’t know a server is being installed and which may be installing a redundant server at that don’t sound very desirable from the customer’s perspective.
“So unless you plan to re-certify your products every time Embarcadero comes out with a new version of InterBase”
I should sure as heck hope you would. Interbase doesn’t come out with a new version very frequently and the support of the previous version has generally run out by the time a new version arrives or shortly thereafter. One shouldn’t want to continue shipping old versions that are no longer supported. Customers who already have an Interbase server similarly may want to use the up-to-date version they already have installed and would look unkindly on a piece of software that wasn’t certified with the latest, supported version of Interbase.
“If you deploy enough copies of InterBase you may be eligible for volume discounts” And this advantage appears to be hypothetical.
There’s also no indication for what the benefit of being an Interbase VAR is over any other database VAR. And of course, if one uses an open source database (MariaDB, PostgreSQL, SQLite, etc.) all of these benefits vanish. No license files at all to worry about, no problem with silent installs, no difficulties finding any previous version to install, and redistribution of even one copy possesses a 100% discount 🙂 so long as the usually permissive terms of the license are followed.