topic Re: Licensing POST-2015 in Perpetual License Changes (Read Only)

Licensing POST-2015

Anonymous — Wed, 23 Dec 2015 23:06:40 GMT

Good Folks,

Seasons Greetings

What can you tell me about this new licensing paradigm?

If I understand it correctly, permanent licenses that are permanent can remain permanent, but after this year, all new licenses will become "subscription only" which means that we'll have to pay a monthly fee in order to use the software.

Is that correct?

I'm wondering because we have a decision to make in the next year whether or not to continue with Inventor or switch to SolidWorks.

What I want to make sure, is that even if we switch to SolidWorks, that we can still have our last permanent seat of Inventor available to make minor design changes or exports on our existing products, without having to pay for maintenance each and every year.

With the permanent license idea, this should work. With the new "subscription-based" paradigm, if you don't pay your rent they'll lock up your stuff is how it seems.

Not to bash, but seriously I have been having lots of trouble getting good support on licensing issues and such thru Autodesk. Especially lately, where the licensing issue had me dead in the water and my call went to a foreign call center and I was told that it would be 24 hours for a reply to help me.

I didn't get any help, and so pursued other avenues to get some help. But instead of setting up a webEx online and helping me fix problem for software I JUST BOUGHT, they sent me 15 links to the knowledge base so I could what? Go and read a bunch of stuff that wasn't relevant and still have the problem?

So beyond the strategic reasons we have for making a switch, I just feel that the support is not good.

Not trying to start an argument. But I'm 36 hours into this and I have only gotten emails asking me for more information and I swear, it feels like they do not understand my problem.

Happy Holidays and thanks for reading

Re: Licensing POST-2015

mdavis22569 — Wed, 23 Dec 2015 23:11:31 GMT

I'd ask on the Lic'/ Installation forum ..you'll get more information that you're looking for

http://forums.autodesk.com/t5/installation-licensing/bd-p/24

But in a round about answer yes. You'll keep your perpetual licenses

but here are more answers on that

http://www.autodesk.com/products/perpetual-licenses/perpetual-licenses-faq

Re: Licensing POST-2015

JDMather — Thu, 24 Dec 2015 01:02:23 GMT

@Anonymous wrote:

What can you tell me about this new licensing paradigm?

I'm wondering because we have a decision to make in the next year whether or not to continue with Inventor or switch to SolidWorks.

I didn't get any help, and so pursued other avenues to get some help.

TB

Did you contact your VAR?

If you are making decision based on licensing scheme - I recommend that you visit the SolidWorks Forum as well (I can search the relevant thread for you if you can't find the information), or check with your SolidWorks VAR as well.

Re: Licensing POST-2015

Anonymous — Thu, 24 Dec 2015 01:37:30 GMT

Yes, I have talked to the VAR, it is really only thru them that I can get any support of any kind. But, we don't pay them for their support plan as I never need their support except when there's a work stopping bug or work stopping licensing issue that I can't overcome.

We have whatever support plan that entitles you to phone and email support direct form Autodesk. Like I said though, it's not for sure that you'll get a person on the phone, and they work hard to minimize if not eliminate this entirely.

What I haven't talked to them about, is this specific issue, whether or not my perm license will live on if we switch to Solidworks. I dunno, I have covered the ground before with my rep that I feel the support via Autodesk is really getting substandard compared to VAR support from SWX VARs..... I've never had someone hesitate to do a Web meeting to get to the bottom of it and with any reg problems they'll get right on it, would be rare that more than a few hours would pass before you were up and running.

So are you guys verifying that with perm license, if we don't renew our license come next July we'll still be able to use it with the latest version?

I would have asked in the license forum but to be honest I didn't realize there was one.

I do have an account on SWX site from a few years back, and I do intend to figure out if their support is still solid, and I want to know if they are moving to this monthly subscription thing too.

I really don't like the idea, and business owners won't either. I realize that AutoCAD has been pirated probably more than any software in the world ever has. And because the new versions of ACAD (in my uninformed opinion) really don't change much, there's not so much reason for people to stay current. With ACAD it makes more sense.... But we don't like the idea and in the past year, every support issue I've had has taken a day or more of my own time to overcome, and that's not acceptable.

And guys, I'm not a supreme user of inventor, but I have done my time in the CAD world. I'm a CSWP so I'm a little biased, and have taught solidworks and deployed it and supported it, so I definitely know what good service feels like. Just sayin....

Thanks again

Re: Licensing POST-2015

Mark.Lancaster — Thu, 24 Dec 2015 14:34:51 GMT

Just wanted to add to this posting...

Any perpetual license (stand alone or network) you currently have stays as is prior to/after Feb 2016 (or somewhere around that time frame). Any new license that you purchase after that time must be purchased as a desktop subscription. Meaning you either pay a monthly, quarterly, yearly, or multi-year fee to use the software. If you stop payment then you no longer have access to the software. As a reminder desktop subscription is based on a user account and you always have access to the latest version (not referring to service packs/hot fixes)

For perpetual license you need to maintain the yearly maintenance subscription in order to get the latest version. If you stop payment on the maintenance subscription then you are only entitled to use the current version that is released by Autodesk.

Edit: Also (from my understanding) if you do have an active network perprtual license (meaning on subscription) you can still add to it after Feb 2016 and not pruchase a desktop subscription. I also think there's a new network licensing option coming out as well around that same time frame.

Re: Licensing POST-2015

Anonymous — Tue, 05 Jan 2016 19:53:13 GMT

Thanks, that makes this clear enough.

So if we decide to move on with a different CAD tool, we can still use Inventor 2015 to do maintenance changes to our product.

Don't know that is what we'll do, but I like to know what my options are.

Thank you.