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-...

[Marcel Cooper]

Thank you all for such helpful feedback.

We had an internal meeting today to discuss this matter and our unanimous decision is that we will run with the existing support until Archicad pull the plug and live with V29 or V30 (whichever we have by then) until such time as we must upgrade or we see another piece of software that really tickles our fancy.

We feel that the GS approach to this is going to alienate a significant portion of their hitherto loyal customer base and to paraphrase Shakespeare, hell has no fury like a user scorned.  

[mthd]

To all above, I am already semi retired and in my circumstances I can live with the last SSA/FWD version available.

If however you are still in full time business and want the latest versions and they give you a decent upgrade for the future, then it’s up to you if you choose to covert to a subscription. 

Although I don’t like subscriptions, if I was still in full time business I could be persuaded to convert to a sub if it was in the best interest for my particular business model.

If another software brand helps your business model then you just go ahead and add it to your CAD tool box. 

Archicad is just a piece of CAD/BIM software and a means to an end and just a tool to help your architectural business. 

Ok they want to rent out it now and go ahead with that business model and they have to live with the consequences of that decision. As well as how they choose to deal with SSA/FWD customers in going forward. 

They have nothing to loose and everything to gain by keeping SSA/FWD active indefinitely while the user is still paying the fees. They will certainly stop offering perpetual licenses and then rent only to new users.

The bottom line is to look after your loyal customers and they will reward you.

[Eric Milberger]

OK - So I purchased 2 p-erpetual license within the last12 months.

I Did this (due to a cost saving.  i purchased so that I would have a life time license and thought that after a few years I might have to pay a yearly fee but I never realized I paid $8000 for a product only good for 1 year.  That is not what I was sold.  For future license - it your call.  But to make it even harder to compete with Revit and AECIsim does not make sense.

It also is not was I paid for.

And I expect Graphisoft to support software and upgrades as promised.

I hope this is a bad interpretation due to poor explanations.

Turn away new users - that is your option.

But to take advantage of your customers is, well , not customer friendly.

I hope someone can speak layman, and be very direct as I feel screwed.

[Karl Ottenstein]

I’m not sure why you think your new license is only good for one year?  It is a perpetual license…to the extent that you maintain hardware/OS that it can run on.  You can purchase SSA/ArchiPlus for an annual fee for support and upgrade to the next release… up through Archicad 30.  Each version along the way is also perpetual.  Yours forever, not for one year as you said.

if you convert to subscription, your annual cost can be similar to what your annual ArchiPlus/SSA payment is… so in some sense your cash outlay will be the same as if continuing on SSA.  If you cancel subscription then you will fall back to the most recent non-cloud release, which we understand to be (but are not guaranteed to be) version 30.  Your reseller can explain all of this to you with examples that show your actual pricing.

[Ransom Ratcliff]

Well said Karl!

Indeed, I have been able to keep ArchiCAD versions 28 back to ArchiCAD 7 (and matching PlotMakers) functional on my Windows 10 machine. (Not so on the Mac, but not too upset about that. It's a Mac issue rather than a GS issue.)

Unlike PDFs, or even DWGs, the Intellectual Property embodied in the old models is the fact that they are BIM. In other words, yes, the drawings and designs are IP, but the BIM, which is a deeper well of information and thought, is a treasure; and your crafted engine for production of more IP. (Especially if you are one of those of us who were seduced into building more detail than was absolutely necessary for the scale-appropriate detail of your deliverables. lol)

If perpetual licenses end with AC30, it isn't even a small a problem for me yet. But I'm reminded of my detachment from Adobe after a long relationship. I still use perpetual licenses for PhotoShop 7 and Acrobat Standard 11, which work perfectly fine. But I won't pay a subscription for any tool... - Not a car, a drill, a chain saw, a refrigerator, or a sump pump. Much less my personal library of books.

So, I am hoping there is a solution for the subscription model that retains SSA revenue for GS and still opens up revenue from those who need a shorter step (and shorter term) into ArchiCAD. A growing user base will be profitable. A shrinking user-base seems less profitable, even if subscriptions reduce fluctuations and uncertainty, in the revenue stream.

[ryejuan]

Hi All,

I'm not sure what offers did your Local Graphisoft made but here in Singapore they offered several packages but you need to make decision or purchase within this year (2024) offers are the following...

1 year contract (they provide 3 year discount locked in)

3 year contract billed annually (they provide 6 year discount locked in)

3 year contract billed upfront (they provide 6 year discount locked in but a bit cheaper license price)

They will also refund the unused SSA/Forward fees.

Since the cloud license is not compatible to AC25 to AC13 versions they will provide another set of license for this.

They also offered the Perpetual Fallback.

In my opinion seems not that bad but of course still depends on your company or each person financial standings.

[laembert]

The decision to switch to subscription means paying it forever, in effect. Fallback is just a return to version 30, so anything processed in 31 and above will no longer open flawlessly.

[ryejuan]

well yes at least for 3 years you got lock in to an SSA price in subscription which you are paying already vs paying the regular price of the subscription then after 3 years you gauge if you still want to continue if not just revert back to perpetual license but other than the license part they also offered BIMcloud bundled in so I guess it really depends on the users now but I hope really by doing this move Graphisoft will have 3 years to deliver those "wishes" that the users are asking for. 🤞

[Jp1138]

The problem with the fallback is that, after three years using the program, you have to come back to a much older version to keep the perpetual license. Not very nice for all the work you´ve done during those subscription years...

[ryejuan]

What I understand the perpetual will be the last version you will be using in the subscription... Correct me if I'm wrong.

[Karl Ottenstein]

---

@ryejuan wrote:

What I understand the perpetual will be the last version you will be using in the subscription... Correct me if I'm wrong.

---

No, that is not correct.  The last perpetual / non-cloud version that subscribers can revert to will be (we are told) version 30 in 2 years.   So, if you are a subscriber and are on what might otherwise be thought of as 34 in 6 years and want to revert to perpetual, you will go back to 30.  All of your files created since version 30 will be unreadable.

[mthd]

@Karl Ottenstein, wrote: “No, that is not correct.  The last perpetual / non-cloud version that subscribers can revert to will be (we are told( version 30 in 2 years.   So, if you are a subscriber and are on what might otherwise be thought of as 34 in 6 years and want to revert to perpetual, you will go back to 30.  All of your files created since version 30 will be unreadable.”

That being the case, if you decided to take out a subscription with a perpetual fallback. Then there is no purpose in doing or starting jobs in latter versions beyond 30. Just stay with V30 perpetual or stay stuck on a sub even after you retired.

Really Graphisoft has to deal differently with existing perpetual license holders and those new subscription only clients. Why freeze the perpetual license at V30 ? ? ? 

[ryejuan]

Thanks for this info, then I guess on the 3rd year we should evaluate if the software upgrades is worth it before proceeding further... Or is there a way to save to lower version? Don't tell me that they will also remove that function??

[mthd]

I would read the updated FAQ’s carefully and speak to your representative. From what I understand, when a converted subscription finishes and you fall back to perpetual you can keep the current version of the software. That is the impression I get from the updated information.

[Jp1138]

Everytime Graphisoft has talked albout this they have been somewhat obscure, but to my knowledge they have never denied the latest perpetual version would be the last SSA served version, that is, apparently, Archicad 30.

Reading all this, the latest perpetual version will be the one at the end of 2025.

It would be very easy for Graphisoft to clarify this, but it seems they don´t want to. And it´s very important in order to make the decision of what to do.

[Jp1138]

The problem with saving back - you can only fall back one version. Will you be able to install Archicad 33, 32 and 31 to fall back to Archicad 30 (if that is really the last perpetual version). It would be seem yes, but who knows.

And every new feature they introduce in this lastest versions would be lost in translation falling back so many steps...

Giving you the option of having three neew versions and falling back to an older one is a no option for me. It makes no sense for a functional practice to take this path.

[mthd]

Very true for me as well. It’s not worth taking the risk of doing any work in the latest subscription versions if you are made to fall back to V30 (The last Perpetual Version).

[ryejuan]

Yes correct, unless you are willing to continue we are just getting the best offer now which is much cheaper that the original price. 

At least they gave you an option to revert back to perpetual if you don't want to continue using the subscription lets see what will be the future updates for the software and we as users evaluate if it is still worth using the subscription or we just fall back and go perpetual. 

[Srinivas]

Namaste,

I need a clarification regarding the conversion program. If we decide to move forward, will we still have access to versions earlier than 25? The FAQ (question 13) mentions that new licenses are compatible up to version 25, but it seems versions below 25 may not be supported.

Could you kindly confirm on this?

Thank you in advance for your help.

[ryejuan]

Yes, what I have understand is that apart from the cloud license that you will get AC28 up you will also have another set of license that is AC25 to lower versions.

[Eric Milberger]

The reason I purchased the perpetual as I am a small firm and working until I cannot.

I bought it to make sure I only had  to maybe pay for updates.

 I thought the agreement for what I purchased was backed by the company.

This is very concerning as it means Graphisoft can change their subscription to anything at any price that they want.

So next year they might might start charging by the hour.  Please correct me if  I am not wrong