ActivePlatform 5.2: meet the new Kaspersky billing rules

April 28, 2021: ActivePlatform, the market player in automated cloud service brokerage systems, announced version 5.2 of ActivePlatform. The latest version supports the new charging models for the Kaspersky Lab products. It also adds support of Azure PEC in reseller charges. The ActivePlatform API gets new abilities for ordering subscriptions.

Kaspersky Lab started applying new billing rules for subscriptions. These rules have the changed billing logic and several limitations in the API. So our team implemented new integration. The integration uses suitable billing models and automated provisioning. We also took care of the existing subscriptions of customers.

Kaspersky Lab offered a free period for all commercial subscriptions. This period lasted until the first day of the next month. However, the billing model was pretty strict. The only option for customers was to pay monthly for the maximal number of licenses used within the month.

Customers now may choose how to pay for subscriptions to Kaspersky services. There are two options: pay every month with recurring payments or annually with a one-time payment. It is similar to Microsoft Office 365 billing.

Kaspersky refers to the new monthly billing as daily and pay-as-you-go. But in ActivePlatform, it is just a regular monthly billing type with an endless period. Customers can reduce or increase the number of purchased licenses. As a result, they pay for the exact number of days the licenses were used. It is also possible to switch the plan. That allows moving the subscription to another range of licenses. Any operations are available from the activation date.

For the "yearly" model, there is no way to reduce the number of purchased licenses. It is also not possible to switch the plan. Customers can only upgrade the number of licenses.

Consider two more constraints. One is the absence of free and trial periods in all plans. Customers always pay from the activation date. Another is that after stopping, a subscription cannot be re-activated. Kaspersky permanently deletes it. To continue using the Kaspersky service, it would be required to order a new subscription. With the new subscription, customers get a new activation code for all protected devices.

Kaspersky Lab allows distributors to have a discount. The discount is offered per subscription via the "approval code". Managers can specify the code while ordering a subscription in the Operator Control Panel. The discount is applied on the Kaspersky side only. It means you may need a third-party ERP system to process the ActivePlatform charges correctly.

All current Kaspersky subscriptions in the cloud brokerage platform are to be migrated. Their new model is "pay-as-you-go". Migration should be performed at once, on the first day of the month. Our technical support team will do this with an implemented migration script. No actions from customers are required. All user data is safe.

Version 5.2 can now help Microsoft CSP resellers to calculate their Azure PEC. Azure PEC stands for the partner earned credit. A third-party system can now retrieve the ActivePlatform charges with the new additional parameter. The parameter can be used for calculating the Azure reseller margin as the discount from Microsoft.

The team also improved the ActivePlatform API. For instance, one improvement allows ordering subscriptions to Microsoft CSP, Google Workspace, and Kaspersky services via the API.

ActivePlatform is a full-service automated cloud brokering solution for cloud service providers and internal IT hubs that makes it easier to manage and control the cloud delivery and profitability. ActivePlatform unites vendors, providers, developers, and resellers into a single ecosystem for buying, selling, and managing cloud services. With its open vendor integration framework, ActivePlatform creates a vibrant catalog of cloud services ultimately helping businesses gain access to the services they need to thrive.

ActivePlatform enables SaaS, PaaS, IaaS aggregation, delivery, and monetization, provides simplified administration through central management, and enables critical visibility into resellers and cloud services consumption and usage. The platform has implementations with distributors, cloud solution providers, and telecom operators. ActivePlatform is headquartered in Europe.