Rent it, or own it.
Many programmatic platforms take a percentage of your media for as long as you use them. The ViSTARS software fee is not a percentage of your media, and your cloud bill comes to you with no markup. The decision is how much of the platform you want to run yourself.
We install the software in your cloud account, keep it updated and support your team. Own it when your team is ready.
The full source code is yours to use, running in your own cloud account.
The same software, two ways to run it.
Rent first if you want proof before you commit. Own it when the economics are clear and your team is in place.
| Rent | Own | |
|---|---|---|
| Who runs it | We install the platform in your cloud account, keep it updated and support your team. | Your team runs it, with our engineers beside you during the transition. |
| Source code | You use the software, and source code comes with the purchase. | Full source code and documentation, delivered to you. |
| Your rights | A rental agreement for a set term, scoped to your requirements. | Perpetual, worldwide, royalty-free rights. |
| What you build | Configured to your specification. | Every modification and extension you create is your property. |
| Where it runs | In your own cloud account. Your agreement describes the billing. | In your own cloud account, billed to you directly with no markup. |
| Who you need | Your trading and analytics team. We keep the software updated and support them. | Your trading team plus the engineers who run the platform. We size the team with you in the workshop. |
| Continuity | A short rental under contract, up to four months. | Perpetual, with no renewal date and no recurring fee for the software. Termination is limited to the grounds in the agreement. |
You hold the source code. You own everything you build on it.
ViSTARS keeps ownership of the core software. You get perpetual rights to use it, modify it and run it for your own business and your clients. What your team adds on top belongs to you outright.
Support, maintenance releases and custom work come under a separate services agreement.
- Full source code and documentation
- Installation help from our engineers
- A warranty that ViSTARS has the right to deliver the software to you, and that the code arrives free of malicious code
- An IP indemnity against third-party claims
- The right to run the software as a hosted or managed service for your own clients
- Every modification and extension your team builds, or that ViSTARS builds for you under a services agreement
- Your data and your logs, kept in your own cloud account
- The decision rules you build on the core
- The right to operate the software, and what you build on it, for your clients
- Ownership of the core software and its documentation
- The right to offer the same software to others. Your rights are non-exclusive
- Keep the source code inside your company, with employees and contractors you designate under confidentiality
- Do not resell the software as a stand-alone product
- Use the software for your own advertising technology business and your clients
Start from production code. Build what makes you different.
The code covers all six modules, and each one runs on its own or as part of the full platform.
Your team builds what is specific to your business, and what you build is yours. Our engineers can build with you, support what you run and customize what you need. If your team has the resources, you are free to take it from here.
See what you would hold before you commit. For any module, we share the full feature set in the technical briefing, after we both sign an NDA. Your engineers and your trading team can compare it line by line with what you run today.
- Your own engineering team
- Contractors you designate, under confidentiality
- ViSTARS, under a services agreement, when you want us to build it for you
Continuity: your rights are perpetual, with no renewal date and no recurring fee for the software. Termination is limited to the grounds in the agreement. Your counsel should review the terms.
Owning it gives you control. It also gives you the work.
The software is yours to run, and so is the operating burden. Plan for it before you sign.
- Engineers to run the platform, plus the traders and analysts who use it
- Coverage when something breaks
- Security, privacy and compliance for a platform you operate
- Core upgrades: ViSTARS keeps developing the core, and you reconcile your own changes with each release you take
- Cloud spend billed to you by your cloud provider, sized to your volume
- Supply and demand relationships, contracts and seat fees, which sit with you
We size the team with you in the workshop. Rent first if you want to test the economics before you build the team. Either way, the technology audit gives you a written view of all of this for your volume.
What ViSTARS is paid, and for what.
The software is not priced as a percentage of your media. These are the lines that apply, so you can compare the total against what you pay today.
A one-time fee for the modules you own, or a rental fee while you rent. Both are set in your agreement.
Priced in a statement of work, with milestones and acceptance criteria agreed in writing.
Billed to you directly with no markup if you own it, and described in your agreement if you rent.
You do not have to route supply through the ViSTARS Exchange. If you do, its fee is shown to you in writing before it applies.
We scope pricing for each client, based on the modules, your volume and the level of support, and quote it in writing. Rates are shared after we both sign an NDA. Ask any vendor, including us, for the all-in cost for your volume. That is the number to compare.
Four steps from workshop to a platform you run.
Every deployment follows the same plan. You sign off at each step, and we set the dates with you in the workshop. First live traffic depends on partner approvals and seat setup, which sit with you and your partners. You see the software work before you buy: rent first, and own it when you are satisfied.
Workshop and validation
We agree the scope, the plan and the acceptance criteria in writing, with an audit of what you run today.
Deploy and enable
We install the platform in your cloud account and connect your demand and supply partners, and you accept it against the agreed milestones.
Extend and optimize
Add modules, Vi-Models, custom features and Vi-Agent on top of the running platform.
Support
Technical support, maintenance releases and ad operations support, under a services agreement at the level you choose.
Start with a technology audit.
A workshop and audit of your current stack, contracts and supply paths, led by our senior engineers. You leave with a written recommendation: rent, own, extend what you have, or change nothing. The recommendation is yours whether or not we work together afterward. We agree scope and fee in writing before work starts.
Questions CMOs and CFOs ask first.
Do we own the code?
You receive the full source code and documentation with perpetual, worldwide, royalty-free rights to use it, and you own every modification and extension your team builds on it. ViSTARS keeps ownership of the core software and continues to develop it. Your rights are non-exclusive, so ViSTARS can offer the same software to others.
Can we run the platform for our own clients?
Yes. You can operate the software, and anything you build on it, as a hosted or managed service for your clients. Two limits apply. The source code stays inside your company, with people you designate under confidentiality. You cannot resell the software as a stand-alone product.
Can we speak with a current platform owner?
Yes. On request, we arrange a private call with a current platform owner. Owner names are not published.
Why don't you list your customers?
Platform owners run ViSTARS technology as part of their own product, under their own brand, and their agreements keep their names private. We honor that and offer private references in its place.
Where does the software run?
In your own cloud account, whether you own it or rent it. If you own it, the cloud bill comes to you directly with no markup.
How long until we are live?
It depends on your cloud setup, your partner approvals and how quickly your team reviews. We agree the dates with you in the workshop, and you sign off at each step.
What happens to our platform if something happens to ViSTARS?
Your rights are perpetual, with no renewal date. You also hold the source code and documentation, so your platform keeps running in your own cloud account. Your counsel should review the terms.
What does ViSTARS earn from us?
A one-time fee, or a rental fee, for the software, and fees for implementation and support under a statement of work. If you route supply through the ViSTARS Exchange, an Exchange fee is shown to you in writing before it applies. The software fee is not a percentage of your media. Cloud is billed to you directly with no markup when you own the platform.
What do we take on if we own it?
The operating work: engineers to run the platform, coverage when something breaks, security and compliance, and reconciling your changes with each core release. Renting is the lower-commitment way to test the economics first.
Does Vi-Agent act on its own?
Only within the permissions you grant. It starts read-only, moves to actions your team confirms one by one, and reaches policy-bound autonomy only after a track record on your stack. Some actions, such as moving money or changing margin, always require a named person's approval.
Do we need the ViSTARS platform to use Vi-Agent?
No. Vi-Agent works with the buying, selling and ad-serving systems you already run. Ask us about your setup on the strategy call.
How does ViSTARS relate to ViSTARS Agency?
They are affiliated companies under common ownership. ViSTARS, Inc. builds the technology, operates the ViSTARS Exchange and runs Vi-Agent. ViSTARS Agency, LLC is a programmatic media agency. It plans and runs media for brands on that technology, and also does marketing and strategy work for smaller brands. You can own the technology without the Agency, and use the Agency without owning the technology.
See where your margin goes.
A 60-minute working session with a ViSTARS founder or senior engineer on your platform, your supply paths and where the margin goes.