A few weeks ago, we had Ray Savona, VP of Americas Sales at Autodesk, join us to talk about Fusion 360 and the future of Autodesk licensing. People had many good questions for him about how they would be effected by the upcoming Autodesk license changes, so we hosted a second event dedicated to this to answer any questions people still had.
Got Questions? We’ve Got the Answers
We’ve compiled a collection of questions and answers from our second Q&A session below. If you’d like to see the whole event you can watch it here.
(Here’s a link to the previous questions and answers)
What Exactly is Changing?
Autodesk will stop selling perpetual licenses of most Autodesk Design & Creation Suites and individual products in 2016. The purchase of new licenses will be available only by subscription. After January 31, 2016, Autodesk will end the sale of perpetual standalone products. Sales of perpetual Suite licenses will end after July 31, 2016. In addition, the option to cross grade to any of the affected products will be discontinued when they stop selling new perpetual licenses. Similarly, the ability to convert your Perpetual license to a Networked license will no longer be available.
How Does This Change Help Me?
You’ll see an immediate difference with things like: lower cost of entry on new licenses, a more customizable and flexible experience for users, and easier product upgrades. Anthony answers this question in depth here:
Can I Still Purchase Perpetual Licenses?
Yes. Today you can still purchase Perpetual licenses with Maintenance subscription. You have until January 31st to purchase Perpetual licenses for individual products. The last day to purchase Perpetual licenses for Suite products is July 31st. You will also still be able to purchase Maintenance subscription for these products in the future.
What Is Desktop Subscription? Does Desktop Subscription Use the Cloud to Store Applications and Data?
Desktop Subscription gives you access to Autodesk software—the same full version as with a perpetual license—but with a flexible, pay-as-you-go approach for a software budget that’s easier to manage. The desktop software application delivered through Desktop Subscription, as well as associated user data, continue to be stored on a local machine.
What Are the Key Features/Benefits of Desktop Subscription Licenses?
Desktop Subscription grants license holders the right to use the software for a specified period of time with the option to renew their contract. Customers who purchase a Desktop Subscription receive benefits such as Basic Support, options for more advanced support, access to the latest software and prior versions, Global Use rights, product enhancements, and in some cases, access to select cloud services. Desktop Subscription provides flexibility through which the user can install the software on multiple devices as it follows the user and not the user’s machine.
Can I Have a Mix of License Types: Maintenance, Desktop and Cloud?
Yes. You can have any combination of licenses.
Will Autodesk Be Increasing Maintenance Subscription Fees to Move Everyone to Desktop?
There are currently no plans to increase the Maintenance subscription fees. If you’re worried about price increases you can purchase a 3 year renewal today to avoid any potential increases.
I Have Multiple Sites With a Mix of License Types and Users. What Do I Do Now?
This was a popular question that Anthony answered. Listen to his response below.
I Have a Perpetual License but Not Maintenance Subscription. Is There a Deadline to Purchase Maintenance Subscription?
If you have a current 2016 license, you have until January 31st to purchase a Maintenance Subscription for your Perpetual license. Starting on February 1st, there will be no more grace period to get your Maintenance subscription current, so it’s important to get it back up to date before then. Right now, until October 31st, Autodesk is waiving any late fees for people who want to get their Maintenance subscription current but have lapsed sometime in the last year.
Are There Network License Options for Desktop Subscription?
Currently there are no options for Network Licensing on for Desktop Subscription. We know this is an important issue for many customers. Autodesk has announced that Network Desktop Subscriptions will be available and we should have more information about this soon.
What Is Home Use License and How Does It Work?
With Maintenance Subscription one of the included benefits is being able to install your Autodesk product on a secondary machine like your home computer or laptop. With Maintenance subscription, your product is attached to a user rather than a computer (only one instance of the software can be active at any given time either at work or at home). As long as you are a Named User you can login to your account center at manage.autodesk.com and download your software to the secondary computer from there. Your contract manager may need to set you up as a Named User if you’re not already. For more information about this see here.
All Autodesk Software on Desktop Subscription can be used from any computer.
My Maintenance Is Going to Expire After 2016. Can I Extend It Now?
Subscriptions can be renewed as early as 90 days prior to expiration. There are no plans to remove Maintenance subscription renewals, these will continue to work as they are now.
Where Do We Go From Here?
At KETIV we’re committed to helping you through this transition. We want to make sure you’re ready for the coming change, so we’re offering a free Subscription Preparedness Assessment so you can feel confident navigating this new landscape.
Do you still have questions? Then we want to hear from you. Give us a call at 866-465-3848 or send us an email at support@ketiv.com.