← Back to all projects
CASE STUDY

LicenseHub: Replacing the $50B software reseller with AI

We researched the enterprise software reseller industry, found that the middleman model is ripe for disruption, and built a full AI-powered platform that demonstrates the alternative.

Status Live
Stack Next.js · TypeScript · Claude API

Enterprise companies pay millions to middlemen for work that's already automated

Enterprise companies spend millions per year on software licenses across dozens of vendors. Companies like SoftwareOne, CDW, Softchoice, and Computacenter act as intermediaries — sitting between the customer and the software publishers, managing procurement, renewals, compliance, and optimization.

The problem? These resellers charge 5-15% margins (sometimes up to 40% with bundled services) for work that increasingly boils down to tasks any admin portal already handles. The "expertise" they sell is documentable, automatable, and becoming unnecessary.

25-35%
of enterprise licenses are inactive or unassigned
90%
of negotiations are just tier pricing lookups
2-5 days
typical turnaround for basic seat changes

We went deep on the reseller business model

Before writing a single line of code, we spent time understanding how the reseller industry actually works — the economics, the relationships, and where the model is vulnerable.

The scale of the industry

SoftwareOne alone represents 9,000+ publishers and 65,000+ clients. They employ 1,900+ certified specialists and 9,000 software experts.

The revenue model

Resellers earn through vendor commissions, license markups, and value-added services. Margins range from 5-15% on enterprise deals, up to 40% bundled.

The vulnerability

Every major publisher already has a self-service admin portal. The licensing rules are documented. Renewal tracking is a calendar with API calls. The rep is the business model — not the product.

The underserved market

Mid-market companies ($500K-$5M software spend) are too small for dedicated reps, too big to manage 15+ vendor portals manually. Nobody serves them well.

Key Insight

The reseller's value proposition is expertise — knowing licensing rules, negotiating volume discounts, handling compliance. But that expertise is documentable, automatable, and increasingly unnecessary. The rep isn't a bug in the system — the rep IS the business model. Remove the rep, and the reseller has no reason to exist.

A complete product — not a prototype

LicenseHub isn't a mockup or a pitch deck. It's a working product with a marketing site, an interactive dashboard, and a real AI advisor powered by Claude. Every feature demonstrates what a reseller-replacement platform looks like in practice.

🎯

Marketing site with industry positioning

Hero messaging, cost breakdowns showing reseller margins vs. flat pricing, industry statistics, competitive comparison table, and 3-tier pricing model.

📊

Interactive dashboard

Full dashboard with stat cards, license tables, compliance alerts, quick actions, utilization bars, spend breakdowns, and publisher management — all with a $3.8M demo dataset.

🤖

Working AI License Advisor

A real chat interface powered by Claude API with streaming responses. Pre-loaded with the full demo dataset — visitors can ask real questions about the company's software estate and get specific, data-driven optimization recommendations.

🔗

Real publisher integrations

12 publisher cards with actual admin portal URLs. Every "Manage at Publisher" button links to the real admin console — Microsoft, Adobe, Salesforce, SAP, Oracle, and more.

The 12 publishers integrated:

Microsoft
Adobe
Salesforce
SAP
Oracle
ServiceNow
Atlassian
VMware
CrowdStrike
Okta
Snowflake
Zoom

Built with modern tools, deployed in a day

Next.js 14 (App Router) TypeScript Tailwind CSS Claude API (streaming) Vercel

Not just code — business thinking

LicenseHub isn't a todo app or a weather dashboard. It's a researched, opinionated product that takes a position, backs it up with data, and demonstrates the alternative with working software.

Market researchCompetitive analysis of $50B+ industry
Business model analysisReseller economics, publisher relationships, margin structures
Product strategyIdentifying underserved segments, positioning against incumbents
Full-stack engineeringNext.js, TypeScript, Tailwind, API integration
AI integrationClaude API with streaming, context-aware system prompts
UI/UX designDashboard, marketing site, responsive layouts
View the live product →

Try the AI advisor — ask it about Adobe optimization or unused licenses