Next phase of subscription transition announced

[Richard Doll]

Dear Community Members, 

Following my recent Graphisoft Insights post on the Subscription transition update, we know how important this topic is for you as our clients and anticipate your comments and questions. To streamline communication, we’ve created this thread to gather everything in one place. We’ll also use it to identify topics that may need further clarification, which we’ll address on our FAQ page.

Please note that while we cannot respond to individual questions in the forum, your local representative is available for personalized support.

Best regards,
Richard

Link to Insights article: https://community.graphisoft.com/t5/Graphisoft-Insights/Important-update-Next-phase-of-subscription-...

[mthd]

@Barry Kelly wrote: 

“The last perpetual license can still be version 30 (2026).

Perpetual license holders can still keep paying SSA/FWD fees beyond 2026 (as they have already paid for the software) and they can upgrade to future version.

But should they stop paying support, then they fall back to the last perpetual license at version 30.”

Hey Barry, do you have confirmation of this ? The way I read it, is that AC29 will be the last version we can have because from 2026 AC will only be available by subscription only. Yes we will have our contracts serviced past 2026 but not renewed during that period for another year. Have I got it wrong ? I will find out when CI calls me in the future.

[Barry Kelly]

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@mthd wrote:

@Barry Kelly wrote: 

“The last perpetual license can still be version 30 (2026).

Perpetual license holders can still keep paying SSA/FWD fees beyond 2026 (as they have already paid for the software) and they can upgrade to future version.

But should they stop paying support, then they fall back to the last perpetual license at version 30.”

Hey Barry, do you have confirmation of this ? The way I read it, is that AC29 will be the last version we can have because from 2026 AC will only be available by subscription only. Yes we will have our contracts serviced past 2026 but not renewed during that period for another year. Have I got it wrong ? I will find out when CI calls me in the future.

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No, I  was saying that is what I hope would happen.

I don't know why all of the offers and licensing has to be so hard to deal with.

Keep it simple and GS should look after their existing customers that have already paid for the software.

Why should we have to start paying for it all over again.

Barry.

[mthd]

@Barry Kelly wrote: “No, I  was saying that is what I hope would happen.

I don't know why all of the offers and licensing has to be so hard to deal with.

Keep it simple and GS should look after their existing customers that have already paid for the software.

Why should we have to start paying for it all over again.”

I agree with you “that keeping it simple”. As we all know that treating your existing customers fairly is imperative in any business dealings. These will determine if they will continue to do business with that particular company or not. Every person will have different circumstances and needs and will make a decision to suit their business model.

Right now Graphisoft could be doing the correct thing by not terminating SSA/FWD contracts at all. They can certainly offer subscription only to new users and to anyone who has SSA/FWD and who also wants a subscription. When we retire and no longer need to use Archicad the SSA/FWD can cease when we stop using it or it dies with us so to speak.

I think that Graphisoft are going to deplete their market share with these new subscription only arrangements. What I am more concerned about is that the roadmap has been drastically altered now and that will also have an impact on future sales of subscriptions.

I can see Autodesk gloating at Graphisoft for following the same subscription policies as them because they will swallow up most of the disgruntled customers. In the end that is their decision to make and we will see the results in the near future of these decisions that have already been made by them.

[torben_wadlinger]

Architects:

Welcome to the first and only Architectural Software Debate in front of the next main decision of what software to choose. My first question goes to the Nemetschek-Party, represented by their leading product Graphisoft Archicad.

Graphisoft Archicad, what is your future licensing plan?

GS:

Well, I have a concept of a plan …

[Martin Jules]

I am not sure you will get a specific answer from Graphisoft here. As per my understanding, SSA/Forward users should be ready to convert their current plan into an annual subscription one. Either ArchiCAD Studio or ArchiCAD Collaborate. The company will bypass the legal aspect of the issue by providing SSA/Forward users with a perpetual Cloud Licensing. Hopefully ArchiCAD Studio will offer equivalent features, benefits, updates, and upgrades for a comparable price to that of SSA/Forward.

Mandatory internet, privacy, and cloud security to protect our projects from hackers are some of the issues we'll also have to face with in the future.

Here are some benefits expected from ArchiCAD Studio:

[torben_wadlinger]

First of all, Archicad Studio is 'til today not available in Germany and not announced. Second, AC Studio only includes Bimcloud Basic! That’s a totally no-go! By now I pay something like 15 or 17 EUR per Bimcloud-license. In the future I have to pay 47 EUR per license to use my bimcloud (not basic).

[Martin Jules]

Take a look at this press release from the Nemetschek Group. It seems ArchiCAD Studio subscriptions will be available for the "same price as SSA/FWD."

In your case, a special BIMcloud service should be negotiated with your local representative for your multiple licenses.

[Koji]

My distributor has confirmed to me that although the cost will initially be the same as the SSA service, it will increase progressively each year until it is equal to the new subscription service. It´s a trap!

I need to buy a work tool that I own and can update if I wish, I do not want to rent an architectural design service.

End of the road for my long adventure with Archicad, what a pity

[Martin Jules]

You will "own" a perpetual Cloud Licensing 😃.

[mthd]

I also do not want to rent an architectural design software tool that I should own outright.

If I want to upgrade to the latest model, then that latest model should be mine. If I buy an expensive sports car I own it and if I buy the latest model I still own it.

Commercial greed has taken over many of the CAD software vendors thinking that we are hooked to their product.

I will keep my options open after SSA/FWD upgrading ceases.

[Eduardo Rolon]

Time for a re-read…

https://every.to/p/breaching-the-trust-thermocline-is-the-biggest-hidden-risk-in-business

[jl_lt]

This is an excellent article. Graphisoft trully had plenty of time to take preventive action to stop this from happening. Actually they didnt need to do much, just continue to be (or pretend to be) "the underdog that could" with continuous developement of their tools.    Instead of wasting 5 years now chasing chimeras, by now they would have much more refined architectural capabilities making Archicad an even more specialized software which paradoxically would serve a potentially very big market, i.e. architects, of which there are plenty to populate new planets.

Someone at graphisoft at somepoint thought that Architects were not enough and that they could compete with revit in the engineering department wasting plenty of resources on it WHILE promising great growth.  At yet another point, they realized they couldnt (because they diluted themselves on too many fronts) and now are in damage control. And of course, we are going to pay for it

[Kalib Stewart]

This is almost verbatim exactly what has happened. 

[mthd]

Breaching the “Trust Thermocline” will be reached at its coldest point so to speak. That’s is when SSA/FWD ceases and add to it that the original roadmap has been drastically altered. The coldest point will then be reached and trust will be further breached.

What will be the new “Tik Tok” CAD/BIM that people will flock to in the future ? Time will tell.

Not to understate that Autodesk Revit and Nemetschek Vectorworks Architect are also being plunged into a “Trust Thermocline” with the introduction of subscription only policies. True some of those users may have come over to Graphisoft Archicad but they may be disillusioned because they now discover that it also is scheduled to become subscription only.

Users may choose to keep AC29 in the bag and spend their subscription money on another product like Revit or similar ? Time will tell where they will actually flock to next. I think Graphisoft already understands that the future of BIM is all about a “multi disciplinary” approach for bigger companies. They can already afford to use many BIM products at once.

The smaller businesses and sole traders are a different kettle of fish and they may settle for AC29 and not take out a subscription in AC 30+. They may instead spend their money on something else because the current roadmap doesn’t suit their business model.

If GS had stuck to its original roadmap, I certainly would not be phased about taking out a subscription for the future. I will be keeping a close eye on the roadmap in the near future and then see what I will do from there. An excellent roadmap is the key to avoiding the coldest point when SSA/FW ceases.

[jl_lt]

i would settle for archicad 22 as long as they let me keep using it. So far it's the best along with 25

[mthd]

Yeah that’s cool and everybody has a different point at which they will opt for another application. I like to use distance guides in my workflow and on board PBR and design options are all things I can use. I like to have my software up to date with things I know I will use to assist my workflow and save me some time.