"Greater value, More flexibility, and a Simpler way to access the...software"

[rkmcswain]

I just received an email from Autodesk that states "As we continue our transition to a fully subscription-based business, we remain committed to providing you greater value, more flexibility, and a simpler way to access the Autodesk software you need."

1. greater value
2. more flexibility
3. simpler way to access the Autodesk software

I would like to see your comments on 1, 2, and 3.

TIA.

[bushj]

I just received an email from our reseller about the transition from the suites to the new industry collections. My comments to her...

Our Ultimate, Premium, and Factory Suites turn into the one Product Design Collection for $2460/year per user. Combining those suites we have 43 licenses that would total $105,780. Our 3 Building Design Suites for Revit turns into the Arch, Eng, Construction Collection for $2690/year to total $8,070. That would make a grand total of $113,850 compared to our current maintenance of the exact same products for $65,416/year. Unless I am really missing something, we would be absolute fools to ever leave our existing plan and buy another single license from Autodesk.

That is smart business? Smart for Autodesk for sure. Effectively doubling the cost of your product for the sake of flexibility and simplicity in your licensing. I get that…I am buying one product instead of three. That is really attractive concept for cost. Am I really adding all this up correctly? Hope not.

Sorry, but I don't find the greater value in any of that. I am hoping someone can tell me I am not fully understanding this new move to greatness.

JBush

[pendean]

https://forums.autodesk.com/t5/perpetual-license-changes/upcoming-changes-to-perpetual-licenses-amp-...

[bushj]

I've seen the post, and all the info on licensing changes. Is there something in particular you are referring to about the "greater value"?

[TravisNave]

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@rkmcswain wrote:

I just received an email from Autodesk that states "As we continue our transition to a fully subscription-based business, we remain committed to providing you greater value, more flexibility, and a simpler way to access the Autodesk software you need."

1. greater value   (For Autodesk)
2. more flexibility  (Yes, you have to now 'bend over backwards' to get it to work)
3. simpler way to access the Autodesk software  (Pay to play.  You pay, you play.  Simple.)

I would like to see your comments on 1, 2, and 3.

TIA.

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How's that?

[Mark.Lancaster]

@bushj

Your math is correct but you're comparing apples to oranges.

Meaning your looking at your current cost of $65 grand to maintain your current suites.  The $113 grand is if you went out and bought everything new as of Aug 1st.   Add your original cost of your license purchase to your yearly maintenance fee and that will tell you the overall dollar amount you spent.   WHich I assume is more than the $113 grand..

On average it takes about 3 years of term license payments to equal the purchase price of a perpetual license.   In the first year people should see a a 40 to 60% discount in term payments over buying a perpetual license with maintenance subscription.   The following year, it should be 15 to 20% savings and around the 3rd year, you would be about breaking even.  Granted over the long haul, you will be paying more.  

The greater value (in my opinion) means:  I'm getting a suite that has all of the required software to fit my needs and it cost less up front to get started with it.   Yes when Aug 1st rolls rolls around and you want a new suite you have to go with the collection or just purchase the software that you need which ends up costing you more.  But right now no one is forcing you to go to the collections.  If you need a suite I would suggest getting it before Aug 1st.

[spacefrog_]

Whats up to the M&E suite licenses which still did'nt get a 2017 release ?

If you are on maintainence subscription, according to the FAQ you can keep paying the subscription free but to not get any 2017 licenses ?

And you can't get onto the M&E collection either, as the FAQ states:

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 5.4 Will I be able switch from a perpetual license on a maintenance plan to an industry collection?
No, switching from a perpetual license on a maintenance plan will not be available until a later time.

[felice.s]

Hi there,

Customers who are on active M&E Suite maintenance plans or who are active M&E Suite subscribers will recieve the update when it is released, in July. 

When the switch capability becomes avaialable, you will be able to cost effectively and easily switch from eligible individual product subscriptions and Design & Creation subscriptions to an industry collection subscription. 

Do let me know if I can help to answer any other questions about switching for you.

Regards,
Felice

[jeff.wright]

Hi R.K.- Thanks for your post.

Here's a bit more on how we believe industry collections will provide greater value, flexibility, and simpler way to access your software:

• Greater value - Industry collections will provide more value that Premium Suites at a price point that's intended to be very attractive.
• More flexibility - We will offer both single-user and multi-user access options for industry collections, along with multiple term lengths, to provide licensing options intended to best fit our customers’ needs.
• A simpler way to access Autodesk software - The simplified packaging of collections (3 industry-specific offerings) will make it easier for customers to choose the right set tools for their profession. 

I hope this helps frame the benefits more fully. More information can be found on our industry collections web page.

Thanks for being an Autodesk customer and an Expert Elite!

Jeff Wright

VP, Customer Engagement

[spacefrog_]

thanks felice, thanks jeff

Most important info for me was that bit about existing, upcoming 2017 M&E suite releases, as it sounded too strange to me that Autodesk would invite people to pay their maintainence subscription fees for another round without having an actual release ready. The following line from the Design&Creation FAQ is as unspecific as possible and does'nt say anything about the 2017 releases

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 Customers with perpetual licenses to Suites on a maintenance plan will be able to access their benefits for as long as they renew their maintenance plans.

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At the same time the collections FAQ tells those customers that they can't switch ther maintaince subscription to a collection later on - which essentially would. mean that the have to stick to 2016 release ( if there weren't 2017 M&E suites coming ). This all does not really spur customer trust and confidence ...

[jeff.wright]

@spacefrog_ A new release for the Design & Creation Suites is coming as Felice noted. So, as long as you have an active maintenance plan or (term-based) subscription, you'll receive it. Sounds like you're on maintenance, so you should be fine. Maintenance customers can remain on maintenance for as long as they like and continue to receive the software updates to their product/suites as they become available.  

Since industry collections will only be available through subscription (and not as perpetual licenses with maintenance), the ability to switch to your plan to an M&E collection, after collections launch, will only be possible for those who are switching from a (term-based) subscription for another product or suite. 

So, if you choose to move from D&C Suite to M&E collection, you'll need to simply start a new subscription to the M&E collection and let your D&C suite maintenance contract expire.  

Hope that helps.

Jeff

[Steve_Johnson]

Jeff, I'm genuinely pleased to see you doing what your job title states and engaging with customers. Having put your head above the parapet, I hope you don't get it shot off! It's important that you remain around long enough to understand what most of your customers want and need, and how that differs from what Autodesk is offering. I've had a lot to say about this elsewhere so I'll confine myself to the 3 points in the OP:

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@jeff.wright wrote:
Greater value - Industry collections will provide more value that Premium Suites at a price point that's intended to be very attractive.

No, it's not greater value and it's not remotely attractive. Except for short-term users, the annual cost to rent an industry collection vastly exceeds the annual cost to maintain a perpetual license of a Suite. We all have access to calculators and spreadsheets and not all of us are entirely stupid, so we have worked out that this is the opposite of the truth.

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@jeff.wright wrote:
More flexibility - We will offer both single-user and multi-user access options for industry collections, along with multiple term lengths, to provide licensing options intended to best fit our customers’ needs.

Single and multi-user access isn't anything new, is it? It's not flexibilty when you discontinue the "access options" that the vast majority of your customers want (perpetual licenses with upgrade and maintenance options) and insist they can only use the access option that the market has already proven a dismal failure when attempted in the past (rental). Providing exactly what you want against the wishes of your customers isn't flexibility. It's the worst kind of inflexibility. Again, this point is the opposite of the truth.

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@jeff.wright wrote:

• A simpler way to access Autodesk software - The simplified packaging of collections (3 industry-specific offerings) will make it easier for customers to choose the right set tools for their profession. 

This point is alone of the three in having a glimmer of truth behind it, but "A smaller set of choices when selecting collections of Autodesk software" would be more accurate. Putting more stuff into the collections may make them seem like more value, but that's based on the assumption that all of that software is going to be used. In most cases, it's not; it's shelfware. Many Suite users already use only a small subset of the software they are paying for, and making the collections bigger than Suites will worsen this. Many of us need the opposite; genuinely flexible Suite options that allow us to select and pay fairly for much smaller groups of software, not huge take-it-all-or-leave-it blocks.

Actually accessing the software in use is more, not less complicated. For example, it insists on phoning home every 30 days even if you have paid up front for a much longer period. Again, what Autodesk is claiming and the reality for customers are a long way from each other. That's the politest way I can bring myself to say this.

Please listen to your customers. We don't want compulsory rental and we don't like being played for fools. We're not buying it.