Global License Agreement - Follow the sun

[Mark.Lancaster]

This topic recently came up and I wasn't sure the correct path forward.   I am posting here so others can benefit from it once I  hear back....

Certain global companies not currently on the enterprise licensing aspect, have global licensing agreement with Autodesk that allows them to purchase in a given country and use the license world wide.   From my experience this is usually network license because these companies follow the sun approach.

Granted these companies are going to get the 2:1 single user license deal when they trade in on the first renewal opportunity but in most cases they will need to purchase additional license because now they need actual license for each user around the world and follow the sun approach can no longer be a valid concept.

With that being said..

1.  Since there's an additional charge to have global usage right now, does the switch maintain that or do customers get a reduction in price because its no longer consider a global usage under single user subscription.  I have also heard a rumor when the premium level comes out in June 2020, that global usage is part of it.   Which leads to another question..  I had it, paid for it..   Could lose it when I switch over to single user, only to turn around and pay another $300 per seats to get it back again under the premium level..

2.  If the current global usages  is carried over, who manages those global user accounts?   The main location who purchased the global license agreement in the first place or does it fall upon the individual locations?.  In addition some companies have global license agreement on only certain Auto desk applications and local network license for other Autodesk products.

@amanda.k ?   

[amanda.k]

Hi @Mark.Lancaster , thanks for tagging me in this! There's quite a few important questions in it, so I wanted to let you know I am compiling an answer and will reply fully most likely tomorrow morning. 

Thank you!

[hermitch]

knock, knock... @amanda.k

It´s Thursday already...
😞

[amanda.k]

@hermitch @Mark.Lancaster , 

Thank you so much for your patience - I promise I have not forgotten about this, and am coming back to you with an answer. I promise to tag both of you on the reply.

Amanda

[chriswade]

When Autodesk first introduced the named user concept with subscriptions, we were specifically told that global rights apply to the subscriptions. If that is no longer the case, then this becomes and even more complicated mess to sort out.

[Mark.Lancaster]

@chriswade 

Global rights in the sense of global travel rights or global licensing where a company can purchase license in a single location/country and use it world wide?

Global travel rights and global licensing agreement are 2 different things..

Yes global travel rights are part of and always been a part of the subscription that allows a user to travel to other countries with their machine and use their license.   It doesn't mean that you could take a license that you have and allow someone else in another country to install and use it.

[chriswade]

No, the question wasn't about travel rights, it was about using licenses globally, allowing them to install and use it. We were quite specific and detailed at the time with it.

[Mark.Lancaster]

@chriswade 

No problem..

Global licensing aspect was never part of singe user subscription (as far as I know).  With Multi-user subscription or perpetual network on an active maintenance plan you add the ability to have Global ETR Rights or the ability to purchase in one location and install across the world (for your organization).    Thus the reason why I started this posting.

https://damassets.autodesk.net/content/dam/autodesk/www/Company/docs/pdf/legal-notices-&-trademarks/...

If you are currently doing it without that agreement you may be in a non-complaint state...  😁

[chriswade]

We didn't end up going that route, because it was far more cost prohibitive than the network license route, but I also have it in writing from numerous Autodesk sources about global use rights for single named user subscriptions. This was questioned, because if we purchase a subscription through Autodesk's website, we need to know what territory/country it was restricted to, as there was nothing to indicate such information.

As I said, I don't know if anything has changed since and if so, that could complicate matters.

[amanda.k]

Hi @Mark.Lancaster @hermitch  @chriswade ,

Again, thank you for your patience. I apologize in advance for this quite lengthy reply, but I wanted to gather up everything I could to hopefully answer your questions thoroughly. I'm going to re-state your question, and then the answer to keep it organized.

Since there's an additional charge to have global usage right now, does the switch maintain that or do customers get a reduction in price because its no longer consider a global usage under single user subscription. I have also heard a rumor when the premium level comes out in June 2020, that global usage is part of it.  Which leads to another question.. I had it, paid for it..  Could lose it when I switch over to single user, only to turn around and pay another $300 per seats to get it back again under the premium level.. 

All subscribers will continue to have Global Travel Rights to use their subscriptions wherever they are in the world.
As long as the subscriptions were purchased in the home country of the parent company, employees of that company can use their subscriptions globally. This does not require a Premium plan.
 
With Premium, a parent company can buy subscriptions in the country of their headquarters for employees and the employees of their subsidiaries to use globally. The main difference between global travel rights and centralized purchasing is that you can extend usage to subsidiary employees.
 
Premium will be $300 per subscription. With this, customers get features far beyond centralized purchasing, such as SSO, Usage reporting with user details, 24x7 real time live support – administrative features and benefits tailored to the need of larger mid-market customers. So comparing the price of ETRs to the price of Premium and the included benefits, customers will be getting much more for less spend.
 
 

2. If the current global usages  is carried over, who manages those global user accounts?  The main location who purchased the global license agreement in the first place or does it fall upon the individual locations?. In addition some companies have global license agreement on only certain Auto desk applications and local network license for other Autodesk products. 

If you are referring to Global Travel Rights, a switch from MU (multi-user) to SU (single user) doesn’t change the rules about where the subscription must be purchased. In both cases a customer may only buy the entitlement in the customer’s “Home Country” as defined in the Subscription Benefits Term tab in the Terms of Use. The customer’s “home country” does not change merely by switching subscription type.The only change with respect to Global Travel Rights related to switching from MU to SU is that in SU GTRs are a tiny bit broader. So long as purchased in the customer’s (not the user’s note!) Home Country, the customer’s authorized users may use the subscription anywhere in the world. There’s no constraint on use by contractors having to be onsite and/or on a device supplied by the customer to the contractor. If, however this is a question based on conflating MU subscription with ETR on ETR having anything to do with *where* software can be used, the answer is different. If you have MU + ETR you lose the right to allow users of subsidiaries to use the subscriptions for the benefits of/on projects managed or controlled by the subsidiary when moving to standard SU subscription.

If this affects you, please reach out to the Autodesk Representative here to inquire as to any extensions that may be granted. To regain that benefit you would have to purchase Premium Subscription to receive Centralized Purchasing rights.

I hope this cleared some points up- if not, I'll be here!

[Mark.Lancaster]

@amanda.k 

Appreciate the feedback but I've read your response now a couple of times and either because its been a long day & something not sinking in or your response leads to more questions or clarifications.

Granted the topic of global travel rights came about in this discussion, but my original posting has nothing to do with that..   My posting is about multi-user subscription with the added GLOBAL ETR RIGHTS.  So lets put aside that aspect (global travel rights) for right now..  😁

Your statement at the end

"If you have MU + ETR you lose the right to allow users of subsidiaries to use the subscriptions for the benefits of/on projects managed or controlled by the subsidiary when moving to standard SU subscription".

As I read this (and correct me if I interpreting this incorrectly)..  A customer who currently has GLOBAL ETR with their network license allows "a parent company can buy subscriptions in the country of their headquarters for employees and the employees of their subsidiaries to use globally" will be lost (their GLOBAL ETR rights) when they trade in or forced (after May 7 2021) over to single user subscription...   Correct?

If what I'm reading..   Let me break this down or the reason why I started this posting..

Let's say customer "A" has 100 network seats with the added Global ETR ability.

Customer "A" pays 7000 dollars for their 100 network seats + another 3000 dollars (for a grand total of $10,000) to have the Global ETR capability and uses their licenses world wide.

Let's say Customer "A" will elect to trade in on the first renewal consideration and get the 2:1 deal (at no extra cost).

Going forward are they paying for the 2:1 deal based on the 7000 dollars or the 10,000 dollars (in my example above).   If they are only paying for $7000 going forward then its basically the same if someone else doesn't have global ETR rights with their network location.  That can be covered with the customer..   But if going forward they are paying an extra $3000 dollars for a capability they no longer have..   That will be hard discussion to have with the customer.

In addition if they lose their global ETR rights on the trade in, that means the company who originally purchased the 100 seats and used them global (follow the sun), will now get 200 network seats and those seats can only be used in the country they were originally purchased in.    Meaning that given location most likely won't require 200 seats now and their other global locations must now either purchase their own license or the company upgrades to the premium level (after June 2020) to get the ETR rights back at a cost of $60 Grand (per my example).

Let me know...

[Mark.Lancaster]

I've head from another source..   That the customer 2:1 deal (upon first renewal) or even if they renew and get the 1:1 deal, its based on just the license cost and the extra cost for the global license agreement is dropped.

[amanda.k]

Thanks @Mark.Lancaster , I had gotten a reply over the weekend but you beat me to it.

[Mark.Lancaster]

@amanda.k 

Sorry for another question related to this..

If the company:

• Had network license with global ETR
• Traded them in (first renewal opportunity)
• Lost the ETR (rights) - Because of the trade it
• Gained twice the amount of licenses (2:1 deal)
• Didn't elect to upgrade to the premium level

Are they allowed to transfer (transfer of ownership) their extra licenses they obtain in this deal over to another entity of their company located elsewhere in the world?

[lynn_zhang]

Hi @Mark.Lancaster 

Good question! We're checking with our internal team and will get back to you on this once we have the answer. Thanks for your patience!

[hermitch]

Shouldn´t all those answers be right there already, even before such a change goes public?

I am really surprised about Adesk project management and on what low level staff is prepared.

Looks like this case as well as others during the past years haven´t been scrutinized as one would expect from a global player like Autodesk...

Let´s see how this will go on.

[amanda.k]

Hi @Mark.Lancaster ,

As a reply to this post question (I'll post another reply to your follow up question in a moment) - 

Wow Mark - honestly, what a great gap to notice. Kudos to you! Yes, for the moment, in the situation you described - they would lose their ETR rights -  but there is an offering coming to be released before Aug 7th that replaces this challenge of being able to assign entitlements purchased by a parent company to subsidiaries no matter where they are located. More information to be released on that in the upcoming months. For anyone who is reading this that needs to switch before that offering is released, please reach out to talk to an Autodesk Representative here.

[amanda.k]

Hi again @Mark.Lancaster,

In reply to this post - 

Sorry for another question related to this..

If the company:

• Had network license with global ETR
• Traded them in (first renewal opportunity)
• Lost the ETR (rights) - Because of the trade it
• Gained twice the amount of licenses (2:1 deal)
• Didn't elect to upgrade to the premium level

Are they allowed to transfer (transfer of ownership) their extra licenses they obtain in this deal over to another entity of their company located elsewhere in the world?

---

- Autodesk needs to approve any transfer of license request, for any reason in general, which has been the same over the last years. Even though we do normally consent to transfers with the example scenarios as detailed on AKN, those are not automatically approved - and they can change over time. I would not advise that the customers attempt to transfer these licenses in the way you are describing.

Thank you for this question!