Much was written about this topic in a recent Autodesk announcement. Here are the meat and bones as they pertain to the majority of our customers. These refer to AutoCAD for simplicity, but they are the same for other Autodesk products.
Q: First - what is a perpetual license?
A: A perpetual license is what you have now. Once you buy AutoCAD, or any other Autodesk product, you can use it 'forever' (in perpetuity).
Q: So, what is changing?
A: Come February 1st, you will not be able to buy a new perpetual seat of AutoCAD. Instead you will be buying a rental version of AutoCAD, which they term a 'Desktop Subscription'.
Q: Will my existing seats of AutoCAD still work?
A: Yes. Nothing is changing there. If you own a seat of AutoCAD, you will continue to own it.
Q: Does the new Desktop Subscription version reside on my hard drive or in the cloud?
A: It works from your hard drive just like it does now.
Q: How does the licensing work?
A: It occasionally checks for the license on the cloud. As is stands now, you must be attached to the internet once every two weeks for this check. Autodesk has indicated that they re-evaluate this time period occasionally to see if it causing problems and they may adjust it in the future (having already done so in the past).
Q: Will I still be able to get new versions of my perpetual license?
A: Yes. Customers who have a perpetual license on Maintenance Subscription will continue to receive updates as long as the subscription remains active. In fact, there is an offer of 5% off a three-year (the maximum term) subscription until July 31st.
Q: What terms are available for the Desktop Subscription?
A: Hydratec can offer monthly, quarterly, one, two and three year plans for most Autodesk products. The plans all include the latest versions available.
Q: Can I convert a perpetual license to a desktop subscription?
A: Yes, you can
Q: Are there any deals going on to encourage this?
A: Yes, in fact you can convert AutoCADs all the way back to AutoCAD 2005! see the article on rebates, below.
Q: Why are they doing this?
A: Autodesk states that is will give customers more flexibility and lower up-front costs, and they will be able to update users with bug fixes and new features more quickly.
Visit
Autodesk's announcement page for their details on this, or refer to their
FAQ document.