Ballast for luminous means, in particular LEDs, having a microprocessor with at least one memory unit and a printed circuit board, having at least one programming interface which is preferably accessible from outside the ballast and at least one signaling interface which is likewise preferably accessible from outside the ballast, wherein the microprocessor can be configured via the programming interface, and wherein at least one item of application software which can be executed by the microprocessor can be transmitted to the at least one memory unit via the programming interface, wherein the application software influences at least one of the following functionalities of the ballast: interaction with sensors, evaluation of signals transmitted to the signaling interface, control of the luminous means, activation/deactivation of interfaces of the ballast, activation/deactivation of communication protocols, acquisition, setting and/or evaluation of operating data and/or operating parameters of the ballast, setting-up of a network and linking of networks.