Inventor Maintenance Subscription or Cloud License Instead of Ownership Plan

[MikeKovacik4928]

Hi all

Autodesk is currently offering you two options to renew your Maintenance Subscription.  As the final plan after 2019 will be to move all licenses to the Cloud, Autodesk have opted to phase out the Maintenance Subscription that you currently own in line of the Subscription model which will be easier to convert in 2019.

I am having to make a decision to move to the cloud now or in 2019.

My internet connection speed is around 2MP/s. Is that good enough.

I am really nervous about

1. No more ownership

2. This cloud thing

Who is working with this new cloud subscription thing.

There is a major price difference between getting the software pack (ownership- 17 500 Rand)

and working from the cloud (non ownership - 12500 Rand (1 US Dollar   = 12.7 South African Rand)

Advice needed from those who deal with this (cad managers I suppose)

Who is operating from the cloud with no ownership.

How does it work?

Michael Kovacik
2d & 3d Autocad and Inventor designer/draughtsman
.
Draughting/Designing (Manufacturing) (31 yrs)
-Drawing Board (3 yrs)
--Cad (28 yrs)
---Cadkey (4 yrs)
---AutoCAD 2d & 3d (16 yrs)
---Inventor (4 yrs)
---Autocad and Inventor Simultaneously (4 years)
---(and recently Autocad/Inventor Customisation)
.
Higher Diploma Mech Eng
Member SAIMechE
Technician Member ECSA
Collaborator (Rank 9) on Autocad & Inventor Forum
.
Autodesk Product Design Suite Ultimate 2018
Autocad 2018, Inventor Pro 2018
(personal licensed copy)
.
Johannesburg, South Africa
.
(Impossible only means you haven't
found the solution yet)

kelly.young has edited your subject line for clarity: Subscription or cloud

[mcgyvr]

---

@MikeKovacik4928 wrote:

Carlos

Thanks

I didn't realise that you no longer have to transfer licenses

One other question pops to mind.

Remember previously you had to keep up your subscription,

every year. If you missed a year then wanted to upgrade,

you then paid the full price of the software (ie started from scratch)

I presume that has fallen away, now that  there is no ownership,

you either pay your annual subs or else you lose the use.

Mike

---

With the new subscription model as stated above when you stop paying.. your ability to use the software stops too..

Once you start paying.. you can use the software again..

Some people might choose to pay monthly for a project then not need it for the rest of the year then get another project next year and they pay again for the month they need it and all is good..

Your files are saved locally and you do not lose them but you do lose the ability to open/access them if you stop paying..

[MikeKovacik4928]

okay

here's my final take on this sitiuation.

After thinking about it long and hard I have decided

I can't afford to lose ownership of my software, therefore I have to stick with 2018 forever.

Going on to Cloud License means that the day I can't afford the subs I loose everything,

including ALL the versions I already paid for.

This would leave me completely unable to operate, or even use the software

on a hobby basis, or even open any of my drawings stored over a lifetime!!

All I can say to Autodesk is, as well as loosing me, you will probably lose a lot

of other individuals as well as small companies.

But I guess you are now only interested in the big corporate companies!

I invite Autodesk to comment. Why are you doing it?

Michael Kovacik
2d & 3d Autocad and Inventor designer/draughtsman
.
Draughting/Designing (Manufacturing) (31 yrs)
-Drawing Board (3 yrs)
--Cad (28 yrs)
---Cadkey (4 yrs)
---AutoCAD 2d & 3d (16 yrs)
---Inventor (4 yrs)
---Autocad and Inventor Simultaneously (4 years)
---(and recently Autocad/Inventor Customisation)
.
Higher Diploma Mech Eng
Member SAIMechE
Technician Member ECSA
Collaborator (Rank 9) on Autocad & Inventor Forum
.
Autodesk Product Design Suite Ultimate 2018
Autocad 2018, Inventor Pro 2018
(personal licensed copy)
.
Johannesburg, South Africa
.
(Impossible only means you haven't
found the solution yet)

.

[rhasell]

Well, not entirely. 2019 might still be affordable, but I am not sure about anything after that. (With the huge % increases indicated)

[CCarreiras]

HI!

I understand your decision, and some of your thoughts are true, but in the other hand, a lot of people is moving from maintenance to subscription., so don't worry too much about Autodesk future.

Even people from other brands are moving the buyed software to Autodesk subscription(!!!)

Adobe is 100% subscription, Microsoft is changing... and all the main brands will follow.

Ok, maybe now youre saving some money, but when you will have to move to subscription you will pay more. Now (and the close future) Autodesk is giving some discont due you purchased the perpetual license.

"Why i have to move?" well,  to be able to open files from newer inventor versions, because 2018 versions will not install in future OS, (when you crash the current pc, or upgrade/buy new PC, comes new OS)

Just keep your pc for long years and take care of it, because i doubt that you would be able to intall inventor2018 in the future "windows2x"

[Anonymous]

There is a simple answer to running an older version of Inventor on a new OS.

The solution is called Virtual Machine.

They are included out of the "box" in Windows 10.

A VM example is a Windows 7 operating system (the guest) inside a Windows 10 operating system (the host). I am running Inventor Pro 2010 on Windows 10 this way.

Microsoft's VM is called HyperV (free)

There is Virtual Box (free), VM Ware ($300) and many more.

In VM Ware, I have a full screen window that holds Inventor, except for small sliver at the top of the screen that exposes the VM control panel when I hoover over it.

I can even extend my screen to another monitor, for full multi-monitor functionality.

All the while using the resources from the host (all printers, all storage, pointing devices, etc).

There is a feature called a snapshot, which allows me to snapshot a guest, and save it for later.  You can go back to the snapshot at any time and start from a clean install in a matter of minutes.

All you need is a Windows 7 disc and license key. And those are easily obtained.

My advice to the OP is to upgrade to Windows 10 and install VMware.

[MikeKovacik4928]

Thanks for that option.

I will bear it in mind.

Another option I was thinking about.

Buy a brand new cloud license for Autodesk Product Design Suite from Scratch.

As long as that is not like before where you have to pay the full price

(it shouldn't be!! as there is no longer any ownership), so that I am up to date

on the software and can open drawings from Inventor 2019

Lapse my other Maintenance subscription, so that if I eventually can't pay

the Cloud License, I still have the other old lapsed Maintenance Subscription to fall back on

and can run the old 2018 on this Virtual Machine you are talking about, and it won't be

disabled because I never converted it to a cloud subscription, but bought a new separate cloud

subscription.

What do you think. Is this feasible!

I don't see why not! Companies are allowed to buy multiple licenses, so why shouldn't individuals

Mike

[CCarreiras]

The question is: the new subscription will cost you almost two times of the maintenance cost... because you dont have any discount...

[MikeKovacik4928]

Okay

I will get a quote from my reseller when he opens in the new year.

If that is the case, it might not be an option.

Mike

[MikeKovacik4928]

Thanks everybody for all you input, really is much appreciated.

I have confirmed that it would be twice as expensive to buy a separate 2nd cloud subscription in order not to lose my 2018 and all previous versions , if I ever lapse payment, on that cloud subscription.

It is now up to me to make the decision to go cloud subscription or stay with 2018 for ever.

It is really a hard decision, considering I do it at home as a hobby, and have no private work to cover the costs.

Also AutoCAD and Inventor has been my career for the last 24 years, and I have always kept up with the

software, and with the discussion group and with learning different software  topics, even if I don't use them at work.

Michael Kovacik
2d & 3d Autocad and Inventor designer/draughtsman
.
Draughting/Designing (Manufacturing) (31 yrs)
-Drawing Board (3 yrs)
--Cad (28 yrs)
---Cadkey (4 yrs)
---AutoCAD 2d & 3d (16 yrs)
---Inventor (4 yrs)
---Autocad and Inventor Simultaneously (4 years)
---(and recently Autocad/Inventor Customisation)
.
Higher Diploma Mech Eng
Member SAIMechE
Technician Member ECSA
Collaborator (Rank 9) on Autocad & Inventor Forum
.
Autodesk Product Design Suite Ultimate 2018
Autocad 2018, Inventor Pro 2018
(personal licensed copy)
.
Johannesburg, South Africa
.
(Impossible only means you haven't
found the solution yet)

[MikeKovacik4928 · Accepted solution]

okay

decision made

I am not going to upgrade to the cloud subscription

I will stay with my Inventor 2018 .

1. I cannot risk the chance of all my previous versions being disabled, if

    at some stage in the future, I cannot keep up my payments.

   My software is my life, and what I hope to do after retirement also..

2. After speaking in depth to a Soildworks reseller, I see they are

    also offering cloud subscription, but not forcing it on you,

    only offering it as an alternative to maintenance subs.

   They say because of what Autodesk have done, they are

   getting lots of enquiries as well as customers switching from Autodesk.

I invite final comments from Autodesk!

Michael Kovacik
2d & 3d Autocad and Inventor designer/draughtsman
.
Draughting/Designing (Manufacturing) (31 yrs)
-Drawing Board (3 yrs)
--Cad (28 yrs)
---Cadkey (4 yrs)
---AutoCAD 2d & 3d (16 yrs)
---Inventor (4 yrs)
---Autocad and Inventor Simultaneously (4 years)
---(and recently Autocad/Inventor Customisation)
.
Higher Diploma Mech Eng
Ex Member SAIMechE
Technician Member ECSA
Collaborator (Rank 9) on Autocad & Inventor Forum
Certified Autocad 2013 & Inventor 2013 Professional
Authorised Autodesk Trainer
.
Autodesk Product Design Suite Ultimate 2018
Autocad 2018, Inventor Pro 2018
(personal licensed copy)
.
Johannesburg, South Africa
.
(Impossible only means you haven't
found the solution yet)