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New subscription punishment policy here
5

New subscription punishment policy here

New subscription punishment policy here

(OP)
Matt Lombard published the letter he received from his VAR here:
http://dezignstuff.com/blog/?p=305

Any thoughts on this?  Check out the survey results.  If I remember correctly this has been rumored in this forum once before.

 

Jeff Mowry
www.industrialdesignhaus.com
A people who value security over freedom will soon find they have neither.

RE: New subscription punishment policy here

I was not happy with my VAR anyway. I usually ended up trying to solve my own issues. I would like to see users that have purchased SW, get free updated versions with proof of license...if there was a way to do it.

Chris
SolidWorks/PDMWorks 08 3.1
AutoCAD 06/08
ctopher's home (updated Jul 13, 2008)

RE: New subscription punishment policy here

This really bites.  Any stumbles I have came upon in SW have actually been answered on here.  All you guys charge are purple stars yet we pay our VAR a few $thousand.

Well there is the sticky thing called service packs to fix bugs on there software.  As much as users complain about Micro$oft, at least they don't charge you for all of the fixes for there software.  On a similar note, there was a recall on a radiator hose and Chrysler paid for there mistake instead of charging us extra for it.  Basically I think that service packs should be free for the version that was purchase (07,08, etc.)

soapbox

Flores

RE: New subscription punishment policy here

2
Wait a minute...we don't get paid for posting to the forum?!?  They told me the check was in the mail!

I really don't understand the SW corporate logic on this one.  The way I see it is that they should be grateful that we stick with their software at all.  After all, in a free market there are usually other alternatives that are competitively priced.  It sort of smacks of a corporate buyout in the works.  Eek a little more cash from the loyal subscribers just before closing your doors...

Chris, is this the reason your company isn't upgrading (if you don't mind me asking)?

Dan

www.eltronresearch.com

RE: New subscription punishment policy here

Our standards are CATIA and ACAD. The CATIA guru's are God, they want everything thrown out and burned except their own.
Funny thing is they have their own seats of SolidWorks, but don't anybody else having it!flame
 

Chris
SolidWorks/PDMWorks 08 3.1
AutoCAD 06/08
ctopher's home (updated Jul 13, 2008)

RE: New subscription punishment policy here

(OP)
Welcome to corporate America!

 

Jeff Mowry
www.industrialdesignhaus.com
A people who value security over freedom will soon find they have neither.

RE: New subscription punishment policy here

I have been dealing with corporate America too long...

Chris
SolidWorks/PDMWorks 08 3.1
AutoCAD 06/08
ctopher's home (updated Jul 13, 2008)

RE: New subscription punishment policy here

(OP)
I hit that point in 1997 when I had trouble seeing the difference between Dilbert and where I worked.

 

Jeff Mowry
www.industrialdesignhaus.com
A people who value security over freedom will soon find they have neither.

RE: New subscription punishment policy here

Matt, did you say "get paid 50 cents" or "pay 50 cents"?  My hearing isn't so good anymore. smile

Geeze, guys.  Maybe we should start a hippie commune.  I'm mean Westcliffe isn't too far from that already...

Dan

www.eltronresearch.com

RE: New subscription punishment policy here

(OP)
Ha, ha, ha!  Good--it means the disguises are working as planned.

 

Jeff Mowry
www.industrialdesignhaus.com
A people who value security over freedom will soon find they have neither.

RE: New subscription punishment policy here

Funny they are doing that.

We had all of our guys off maintenance for 2 years. Last year we added maintenance to my PC only. They zinged us $500 EXTRA because I was off it for 2 years. So we told them we are not renewing everyones then. So, by fining us the 500 bucks, they lost out on at least 7 additional seats of maintenance being purchased.

Apparently they were ok with losing 7 maintenance seats just to gain 500 bucks from mine. Duh.

Now they are adding another 850 if over 120 days? HA. Well those 7 seats we still have off maintenance are definitely never going back on it now.  

RE: New subscription punishment policy here

I think it will hurt them. Autodesk will probably pick up the slack...

Chris
SolidWorks/PDMWorks 08 3.1
AutoCAD 06/08
ctopher's home (updated Jul 13, 2008)

RE: New subscription punishment policy here

I just read this on Matt Lombard's blog. I figured it was posted on a public blog so it was ok to copy and paste:

Hey guys
Let's address the two issues raised here individually. First, the issue of the late fees.
There is a very small handful of customers who let their subscription support lapse, but continue to take advantage of the benefits of paid support for weeks, months, or even years before renewing their service. These late fees have existed since SolidWorks was founded in 1995 as a way to recoup some of the money that we lose by providing ongoing support to these customers while the vast majority of customers continue to pay for support on schedule. Again, these late fees are nothing new—they've existed since the subscription support program began, and have historically been applied only to those very few customers who opt to stay on a specific version of software for an extended period of time. If you take a look at the document Matt posted, you'll notice that it's not discussing a new policy, but that the late fee is simply increasing by $350 for people who go past a new time threshold. Like Matt has said himself, this only affects people who have been using subscription support but have not paid for it for more than 120 days/3 months.

As to the second issue regarding the increase in the fees themselves, there are a few reasons why the new tier and price was added. There are major improvements in the product itself that warrant ongoing investment in both core functionality (performance and quality) as well as new functions. These new functions require more support in order to make our customers as productive as possible. And, all of the revenue generated from these subscription program fees is 100% dedicated to improving and enhancing the software's functionality so that our customers can be more productive and efficient. It costs SolidWorks money to continue to provide subscription-level support to people who aren't paying for it. There's also the fact that things just cost more over time. And again, this late fee increase doesn't affect the overwhelming majority of our customers—only those who continue to take advantage of support past that 120-day/3 month period.
Does that make sense to everyone?

If not, let me know.

Rich Welch - VP Customer Services SolidWorks

 

Jeff Mirisola, CSWP, Certified DriveWorks AE
http://designsmarter.typepad.com/jeffs_blog

RE: New subscription punishment policy here

(OP)
Jeff, I was just about to post that.  If you want to see things on the verge of getting out of hand with this brilliant policy, visit Matt's post--lots of users checking in with opinions:
http://dezignstuff.com/blog/?p=317

 

Jeff Mowry
www.industrialdesignhaus.com
A people who value security over freedom will soon find they have neither.

RE: New subscription punishment policy here

Quote (Customer Service says):

It costs SolidWorks money to continue to provide subscription-level support to people who aren't paying for it.

So people that aren't paying for support, get the same services as those that do?  Well that make sense.  ponder

Joe
SW Office 2006 SP5.1
P4 3.0Ghz 1GB
ATI FireGL X1

RE: New subscription punishment policy here

Wouldn't it be smarter to not support the customers who aren't paying for it?

I have 7 seats to renew that have been off maintenance for 2 years.

They have never called for help. So, now we are expected to pay $6,000 to support the people who called in for help and didn't have a subscription?

I guess next time I go to the car dealer for a new vehicle they are going to charge me $500 for the gas in the car because 50 people test drove it before me.

 

RE: New subscription punishment policy here

Quote:

There is a very small handful of customers who let their subscription support lapse, but continue to take advantage of the benefits of paid support for weeks, months, or even years before renewing their service.

I don't buy that excuse.  First if a VERY SMALL HANDFUL of customers get help without paying for it, why do they punish the majority who do pay for it?  On the flip side, I bet more than a LARGE handful of customers NEVER use customer support.  Have any of you been reimbursed for not using your VAR for customer support?



 

Flores

RE: New subscription punishment policy here

Every time SW crashes I fill out a report and ask for support to help me resolve the issue.  NOT ONCE have these people called me.  I am almost fed up with 08.  I have 2 uninstalled seats of CATIA on my shelf and management said they don't really care which package I use as long as i get the work done.   

SW2008 Office Pro SP3.1
Intel Core 2 Duo CPU
2.2GHz, 2.00GB RAM
QuadroFX 3700
SpacePilot/SpaceNavigator  

RE: New subscription punishment policy here

I actually like CATIA, but is much more complicated and more powerful than SW. It's like SW on steroids. I have been trying to get official training on CATIA here at work...someday.

Chris
SolidWorks/PDMWorks 08 3.1
AutoCAD 06/08
ctopher's home (updated Jul 13, 2008)

RE: New subscription punishment policy here

Does he think that Autodesk is not reading this stuff? SolidWorks is only shooting itself in the foot!

Chris
SolidWorks/PDMWorks 08 3.1
AutoCAD 06/08
ctopher's home (updated Jul 13, 2008)

RE: New subscription punishment policy here

Guys, I think we're all looking at this in the wrong way.  It's clear that the SW execs don't care what we have to say about the new policy.  So I think that if we are forced into paying for some added value from our VARs we should utilize it.  I propose that we all start calling them up for random day-to-day issues.  How do you make a rectangle?  What is a drawing?  How do you open a file?  Where did I put my keys?  Can you pick up my son from soccer practice?  Let's make them work for it.  Maybe stop by with your laundry and ask them to have it done by lunch.  Then we'll see if they really want to keep the same business model, or if giving us a couple of options really isn't such a bad idea after all.

Dan

www.eltronresearch.com

RE: New subscription punishment policy here

I have the latest Inventor loaded on my laptop...waiting for training. From what I have seen so far with Inventor, SolidWorks had better get more motivated and try harder to not get their user's upset.

Chris
SolidWorks/PDMWorks 08 3.1
AutoCAD 06/08
ctopher's home (updated Jul 13, 2008)

RE: New subscription punishment policy here

(OP)
No kidding.  Have you noticed all the technology/software companies Autodesk has bought up in the last couple of years?  It's truly astounding the juggernaut they're working on--everything from ID to engineering to architecture to film production.  Next they'll integrate everything to make it cross-compatible (well, if they're smarter than they have been in the past).

 

Jeff Mowry
www.industrialdesignhaus.com
A people who value security over freedom will soon find they have neither.

RE: New subscription punishment policy here

Hi guys

I've received this unpleasent letter to. I think SW is going the wrong way.

IMO the costumers have the right to suspend the subscription for some time as they understand that the money does not correspond to the pretended enhancements. We have seen a lot of this, when SW was investing time in nice icons and new bugs (I think only since 2007 things have changed), instead of what realy was needed: more stability, more speed, more features.

AFAIK, with no subscription there's no support nor new SP's. So, I think it isn't unfair that the fee to return to subscription it's less than the subscription*year.
After all, who stayed in subscription had a better service than the others, and skyping subscriprion it´s a way of "punish" SW for not doing the work properly.

Lets make it clear that I pay subscription.

Another problem it´s the support quality. It's common to get a better and faster support here, in this forum, than from a var. Sometimes I need to solve problems myself (like running the flexlm driver in XP x64, one thing that my var told me it was not possible). One big problem VAR's have, it's that they don't realy need to work with SW, as we all do. So all of you (at least all together) are far better than (I suppose) any VAR. So the money we pay for support realy worth it?

My company is growing, so we are considering installing more SW lics and PDM Enterprise. When my VAR sended me the subscription fees of PDME, my eyes poped out! And they say that the payement it's more for support than for enhancements, as the software it's very mature! And also to keep up with new releases of SW.
It's almost impossible to justify all the costs with SW and PDM Enterprise subscription. So the solution will be: buy PDM Enterprise without subscription and end SW subscription; let the IT guys decide to buy another software. Anyway, SW will loose.

Regards

RE: New subscription punishment policy here

Face it, SW is growing up.  While I agree that their subscription methods stink, you are still getting a lot of bang for the buck.
NX (was UG) costs an order of magnitude more, and if you just work with basic geometry, it is overkill.  However, they do have it right in how they charge the customer; an annual invoice is sent for any services expected.  If you don't pay that invoice, don't expect any support.  Pay it, and many avenues of support are opened.
It's a shame that SW is ruining their customer relations as they are, for they really do have a good product for the money.

When the people fear their government, there is tyranny; when the government fears the people, there is liberty. - Thomas Jefferson
 

RE: New subscription punishment policy here

(OP)
I don't mind paying for what I use.  My pricey mouse at my hand pays for itself.  My annual "maintenance"--at least this last year--has paid me $0.00 in returns.  However, SolidWorks means to take the option of making a good investment in my own business away from me through these extortive tactics.  Yes, I can choose to pay and play or not pay and not play.  But what's behind the business interference from SolidWorks, and how can this move possibly play well for them in the medium- to long-term?  I don't see it.

 

Jeff Mowry
www.industrialdesignhaus.com
A people who value security over freedom will soon find they have neither.

RE: New subscription punishment policy here

It's almost like being married...paying for something that you never get to use...

Dan

www.eltronresearch.com

RE: New subscription punishment policy here

Like marriage...pay for good service for a while, then it stops for a while. When it's gone for good, it comes back and demands $$ for past service! tongue

Chris
SolidWorks/PDMWorks 08 3.1
AutoCAD 06/08
ctopher's home (updated Jul 13, 2008)

RE: New subscription punishment policy here

I think you're pickin' up what I'm layin' down.smile

Dan

www.eltronresearch.com

RE: New subscription punishment policy here

2thumbsup

Chris
SolidWorks/PDMWorks 08 3.1
AutoCAD 06/08
ctopher's home (updated Jul 13, 2008)

RE: New subscription punishment policy here

I got a few calls from my VAR "encouraging" me to get up-to-date before rates go up.

Why do I need to pay for past service I did not need or use?  Why should I pay for future service I will not need?  They should pay me.  By the time I call them with a problem, it's over their heads and becomes a real issue.

I'll just start fresh with a new seat if/when the need arises.

RE: New subscription punishment policy here

There are two main issues being discussed here.  The original topic is the fee for reinstating a subscription that has lapsed.  The second is that users do not have access to upgrades without also paying for technical support regardless of weather they need or want it.

We have 3 seats here, and I do not think that any of us have contacted our VARs for tech support in the last two years.  I have a hard time coming up with anything of value that we receive from the portion of our subscription fee that goes to the VAR.  The best that I have is that they use some of that money to attract new users and retain existing users whose purchase and subscriptions support further development of the application.  That is an indirect return on investment at best.

Having a fee for reinstating a subscription that has lapsed is reasonable, but poorly presented.  The portion of the subscription fee that does not go to the VAR can be viewed as purchasing an upgrade from your current version to the next version.  By starting a subscription mid version and going one year on and one year off, a user could get all the versions while paying only half of the subscription fees.  The late fee serves to discourage this practice.

The upgrade through the subscription does cost less than buying a new license.  This takes into account two things.  The user already has an older version so the new version has less value to them than to someone who doesn't already own an older version.  And, the user already contributed to the development of the application when they bought their old version.  While not the usual practice, it seems fair that the older the version that is being upgraded, the greater the cost to upgrade.  This is similar in nature to the fee for renewing a lapsed subscription increasing for each year that the user is off subscription.

A reasonable and fair system would be to allow users to purchase upgrades for a price based on how old their current version is, with no requirement for subscription based tech support.  The previous version could be one price, the one before that a higher price and so on.  Users who want tech support via subscription through their VARs could purchase that separately.

Eric
 

RE: New subscription punishment policy here

I concur with several of your opinions regarding the effectiveness of VAR support.  If you get plenty of help, bully for you, but in my case it's usually me that teaches them.  Except for deactivating a license on a stolen laptop I can't remember needing my VAR for anything in the last 5 years.

The only thing subscription buys my company is access to service packs which should be free anyway.  Why do I need to pay to make sure the software I purchased is bug-free as advertised?  I know we also receive upgrades to the newest version, but it's a bit shady to charge me for an upgrade that I may or may not use.  Specifically, my company has paid the last two years' dues.  However, I have no intention of upgrading from 2007 until 2009 because there's no way I'm getting mired in the shite that is 2008.

As Eric mentioned, it's fair to assume an upgrade from a 2 year old software should cost more than an upgrade from last year's version.  However, the difference here is we're being forced to incrementally pay for this upgrade at the beginning of the subscription year.  Each year I wonder:
"Is this year's version worth the money I've already paid for it?"
"No?"
"Ok, let's pay again in another year and hope for the best."

I would prefer to let our subscriptions lapse and backpay the fees, except that this route leaves us out in the cold when it comes to SPs.

People and/or companies are generally willing to pay for the specific services they use, so why incur the disdain of loyal users by forcing open their pocketbooks unnecessarily.  The new (and old) fee structure is more like a good reason to abandon subscription and stick to a stable old SP5, not a reason to make sure you pay on time and not get fined.  So long story long... bite me SW.  I like money hungry corporations about as much as pickpockets and meter maids.  Can you tell I'm tired and cranky today?

-Mahir

RE: New subscription punishment policy here

takedownca,

You are correct in all you say except that you are not out in the cold with regard to service packs.  You are entitled to all the service packs on the version you purchased.  I know because I am still on SW2005 and I was supplied with all the service packs by the VAR from which the software was purchased.  I do not subscribe to support and never have.  Some day I may feel the need to upgrade and at that time I will pay the necessary fees and get the latest version.  In the mean time, I do not need the latest and greatest so I do not need support.  This path has always been open per SW policy.

Timelord

RE: New subscription punishment policy here

Timelord,

Wow, if that's true I feel quite the retard (where are the Special Olympics folks?) for letting my current and past employers fall into the subscription trap for so many years.  It's not my money, but it still stings a bit.  I'll be checking with my VAR and/or SolidWorks, and if this pans out my last subscription fee will hopefully be the last one I pay before I actually want to upgrade.

RE: New subscription punishment policy here

Timelord,

Did you buy SW2005 before or after all the SPs were released? I know you're entitled to whatever SPs were released at the time you purchased SW, but I'd like to confirm you were given access to future SPs that were released after your purchase date.

RE: New subscription punishment policy here

This is strange, I am typing this response a second time.  The first time it did not appear in the thread, just disappeared when I pushed the submit button.  Weird!!

As to the SW service packs, my boss bought the copy and never used it.  I got the copy in 2006 and the install discs were at SP0.0.  I called the VAR and asked for the service packs and they supplied them on a disc.  They updated their records to show me as the user at that time.

Timelord

RE: New subscription punishment policy here

Then you were lucky. Your VAR did not have to do that. If more/all of them did that, the current anti-subscription movement would not be flourishing.

cheers

RE: New subscription punishment policy here

CBL,

I was told that supplying all the service packs for the purchased version was SW policy.  Others (on this forum) have told me that they had to complain about some bug and then they got the service packs.  If what you say is true, and SW will not supply service packs for legitimate purchased copies, then I am indeed lucky, although I know several people around town who are on support and I bet they would be willing to help out if I needed it.  Another solution would be to buy only one year of support which would most likely get you all the service packs to a single version and then drop the support.

Timelord

RE: New subscription punishment policy here

Ok, if you look at this forum and the many other forums and the blogosphere for SW, and the podcasters and the SWW presenters and then calculate the hours put in by non-SW people either on their company's time or there own time to provide quality answers to paid and non-paid subscribers the whole raison d'etre of Welch's email becomes moot. Wouldn't it be nice if we could put a click through charge on our answers like advertisers do? I mean people are actually paying money these days to find out what size fuse goes in a 20 amp fuse holder. SW answers should be worth something. Of course the difference between replacing a fuse at home and SW is that SW should work right from the get go.

The only reason I pay for subscription is to a) have the most recent release b) get bug fixes because I can't fix them myself. And to be fair every once in a while the VAR helps with using some new feature or installation issue that is beyond me.

For day to day I go to the forums.

TOP

 

TOP

www.engtran.com
 

RE: New subscription punishment policy here

so i sent an email to my VAR with a simple question.

Day 3 and still no phone call, no email reply, no acknowledgment. Nothing.

I am very tempted to throw out the name of the VAR but I wont.

SW2008 Office Pro SP4.0
Intel Core 2 Duo CPU
2.2GHz, 2.00GB RAM
QuadroFX 3700
SpacePilot

RE: New subscription punishment policy here

^ ditto. I have been trying to get some questions answered and an official price quote for a week now from my VAR.  

RE: New subscription punishment policy here

I believe getting unlimited upgrades and a maintenance/tech support for the price I am paying is good value.  

If I have a problem I e-mail or call and always get a prompt response. Access to the customer portal area inc forum has given me many tips and other info. I also get free web info via webinars made available by my VAR.

The price paid initially for the Solidworks programme included a fixed price subscription for a number of years forward.

I know this won't be popular, but the current system is fine by me.

Regards

WP
www.whitney-paine.com

RE: New subscription punishment policy here

Why are people complaining about 'corporate America' in this thread? Vive la France, dudes.

--
Hardie "Crashj" Johnson
SW 2008 SP4
Nvidia Quadro FX 1000
AMD Athalon 1.8 GHz 2 Gig RAM

 

RE: New subscription punishment policy here

Vive la who? lookaround
lol

Chris
SolidWorks/PDMWorks 08 3.1
AutoCAD 06/08
ctopher's home (updated Jul 13, 2008)
ctopher's blog

RE: New subscription punishment policy here

Whitney,

Everyone is entitled to their own opinion whether it is popular or not. I am pleased that you are happy with the status quo.

I assume by "unlimited upgrades" you actually mean updates (SPs). An upgrade being a new version of SW. (eg. 2008 to 2009).

In my opinion, the SPs should be free. If you bought a brand new car (or any product) and then discovered it had several defects, would you expect to (and be happy) pay for the fixes?

Also if you are using the VAR tech support, then you are getting value for your subscription cost. For those who do not need (or want) Var tech support, the VARs portion of the subscription is a waste.

I believe it is fair practice to charge, and am quite happy to pay, a yearly SW licence renewal fee providing it entitles me to a new version of SW whenever it is ready for production release; not necessarily yearly.

I would be very happy if, instead of a major yearly release, SW released incremental updates/upgrades to the existing version ... similar to (but hopefully better than) Microsoft does for its products.

cheers

RE: New subscription punishment policy here

I can see you're point, but my view is that I like having the latest version and also like access to resources that improve my ability with the product.

I also genuinely think that a lot of effort has gone into the functionality of the SW product and that has cost money. I guess, that I may be unusual in that I negotiated a long term price for the subscription so it is not too big a deal for me.

From SW's point of view, I can't see how it would be economic to deal with loads of versions. Encouraging people to get the latest version, would probably save them money and improve customer satisfaction.

To use the car analogy, you buy a car and it is as it is for the duration of your ownership. After 1-5 years depending on your warranty you are on your own. SW gives you a new car every year if you pay a small proportion of the purchase price.

Also, SW files stored in the newest version will not work on the old. I have never been in this position, but would that not start causing collaboration problems the older your version is? I know that works both ways, but I would not like to ring up a client who has the latest version and tell him that I cannot help because I have got an older one.

Just my view.


WP

Regards

WP
www.whitney-paine.com

RE: New subscription punishment policy here

Just thought of another point that may help square this particular circle.

I used to have to pay a subscription to a specialist insurance computer software/hardware supplier. Their prices went ballistic, but they had us over a barrel so we had to pay. I looked up their accounts and my suspicions were confirmed when I found they were making over a 110% profit.

What is Solidworks profitability? This may give a good indicator as to whether they are profiteering to whatever extent.

Regards

WP
www.whitney-paine.com

RE: New subscription punishment policy here

(OP)
User complaints seem to go far beyond the subscription itself to other, more tangential items.  Sure, the value of the subscription is still an issue, but there are also these:
I'm forced to pay for that which I don't use--why?  I'd like other options.
Often support cannot/does-not answer my questions at all.
Often support cannot/does-not answer my questions on time.
I've got "free" alternatives to support, such as this forum.
Version 2008 was a terrible "upgrade" for many users.
Why meddle in the business of customers who don't find upcoming versions a good match for their business models?  Why the punitive treatment?  It's an odd thing to bite the hand that feeds you.

For those who find value in the combined services/goods model from SolidWorks, why change anything?  But looking at the backlash from customers, there seem to be many, many customers who do not find value in this static model.

 

Jeff Mowry
www.industrialdesignhaus.com
A people who value security over freedom will soon find they have neither.

RE: New subscription punishment policy here

Great news!
Thanks!

Chris
SolidWorks/PDMWorks 08 3.1
AutoCAD 06/08
ctopher's home (updated Jul 13, 2008)
ctopher's blog

RE: New subscription punishment policy here

Victory.

The humans defeat the Zentradi.

SW2008 Office Pro SP4.0
Intel Core 2 Duo CPU
2.2GHz, 2.00GB RAM
QuadroFX 3700
SpacePilot

RE: New subscription punishment policy here

I don't really consider that a victory.  They repealed the part of the subscription policy that affected the least number of people.

Dan

www.eltronresearch.com

RE: New subscription punishment policy here

i consider their backpedaling victory enough.

SW2008 Office Pro SP4.0
Intel Core 2 Duo CPU
2.2GHz, 2.00GB RAM
QuadroFX 3700
SpacePilot

RE: New subscription punishment policy here

Quote (Whitney):

I also genuinely think that a lot of effort has gone into the functionality of the SW product and that has cost money. I guess, that I may be unusual in that I negotiated a long term price for the subscription so it is not too big a deal for me.

No doubt SW has added functionality, but for me that functionality has been unasked for and largely bypasses the things I do day to day.

It is also no doubt that SW quality and performance has sunk proportionately. And that does affect me on a day to day basis.

But what you are forgetting is that SW has had an ever increasing customer base year by year while the cost of development remains fixed. Not only that but the cost of fixing bugs remains fixed too because there are only so many. The only part of support that increases is the cost of logging the same bug more times as the customer base grows.

Not too many years ago SW was crowing about having 100,000 seats. Now they are over 1/2 million. So just in new software sales they have seen their revenue increase far faster than inflation. 400,000 x 3,995 = 1.6 billion dollars for new seat sales and 1/2 billion dollars a year in subscription fees for the same. A lot of those seats were sold in Europe where prices are double the USA. You can do a lot of bug fixing for those kind of dollars especially when outsourcing the work to India.

I hope you got your subscription deal at some kind of discount.

TOP

TOP

www.engtran.com
 

RE: New subscription punishment policy here

Not implementing the penalty is good news for users. It shows that SW are listening to its user base. And while the penalty was the catalyst which started this whole debate/uprising, its repealing is only a partial victory.

We will have to patiently wait to see the result of how SW "are carefully weighing this input and reviewing our overall subscription policies".

cheers

RE: New subscription punishment policy here

Quote:


ctopher (Mechanical)      
28 Aug 08 12:04
Vive la who?
Chris
France. Y'know, as in Dassault Systèmes, S. A. (Suresnes, France), where, I betcha, these big decisions get made.

--
Hardie "Crashj" Johnson
SW 2008 SP4
Nvidia Quadro FX 1000
AMD Athalon 1.8 GHz 2 Gig RAM

 

RE: New subscription punishment policy here

I was kidding.
Probably some decisions made there, and also in Connecticut. thumbsup2

Chris
SolidWorks/PDMWorks 08 3.1
AutoCAD 06/08
ctopher's home (updated Jul 13, 2008)
ctopher's blog

RE: New subscription punishment policy here

I doubt that Dassault is involved at that level. I believe SW is pretty well autonomous in the dealings of its software.

cheers

RE: New subscription punishment policy here

Strangely enough the day that the Three Amigos meeting was held, Mr. Charles was also at Concord. Take that for what it is worth. He knows where they live.

Some products like 3DVia and Cosmos/M are now/were sold through both channels.

Stockholders demand better returns.

Key people like Hirstick and Payne went over in the early days. McEleny is gone. So also many of the early key people in development have gone.

The original leadership present in the buyout days is now largely gone and with them the values of independence from Dassault. The values of independence largely remains with the older users.



 

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RE: New subscription punishment policy here

Older users?  I think he's taking to you, CBL...smile

Dan

www.eltronresearch.com

RE: New subscription punishment policy here

rofl

cheers

RE: New subscription punishment policy here

Hi everyone,

You probably already know this, but the reinstatment fees have been canceled.  This is a letter from the SolidWorks executive team:

*************************************************

This note is to clear up any confusion over SolidWorks Subscription policy changes that, if they had been implemented, would have affected a very small percentage of SolidWorks users. It is also to assure you that subscription prices are absolutely not increasing. The subscription price has been constant since our inception and will remain so for the foreseeable future.

We understand that you need to focus on designing better products and improving your business performance, not worrying about software tools or subscription terms.

You may have heard of plans to increase a fee for late subscription payments (and late payments only). Based on valuable input from customers and resellers over the past few weeks, we have decided not to implement these changes. Instead, we are carefully weighing this input and reviewing our overall subscription policies. We have two imperatives in this review: 1) to remain easy for you to do business with and 2) to ensure you receive the best value for your investment. This means that you will continue to gain value from our subscription offerings, and non-subscription customers can rejoin our community any time at an affordable price.

Nothing is more important to us than our relationship with you. We're pleased that your overall satisfaction with our support services and value added-resellers continues to increase and has never been higher, according to our annual independent satisfaction survey of nearly 10,000 customers conducted in July. Although the ratings are good they need to be better, and we will continue to provide better performance, value, and quality throughout our entire product suite and services.

*************************************************
 

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