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Shift to a subscription model - your questions are welcome

Akos Pfemeter
Graphisoft
Graphisoft

Dear Community,

 

You may have already read the press release or the Insights post about our strategic shift to a subscription model. 

Here is a quick summary of the news:

 

BUDAPEST, April 2, 2024—Graphisoft, the leading Building Information Modeling (BIM) software solution developer for architecture and multidisciplinary design, today announced that, as part of its strategic shift to a sustainable subscription software delivery model, perpetual licenses will be gradually phased out by the end of 2025. This change does not affect the delivery of Software Service Agreement (SSA)/Forward subscription services to existing customers. 

Archicad perpetual and SSA/Forward licenses will be available for new customers through December 31, 2024, and to existing customers through December 31, 2025. Starting in 2026, Archicad will be available only through subscription. Active SSA/Forward contracts will continue to be serviced beyond 2025. Alternatively, SSA/Forward customers can convert to Archicad Collaborate subscriptions at the same price as SSA/Forward. This offer is designed to help existing SSA/Forward subscribers take full advantage of the Archicad Collaborate subscription, which combines award-winning Archicad for architectural design with BIMx and BIMcloud SaaS for fast, efficient, secure, real-time access to shared projects.

 

Please ask your questions and share your thoughts here -- Graphisoft's expert team will try and provide answer to all sorts of questions you may have!
Thank you.
----------------------

Edit by Moderator:  here is the link to the evolving information/FAQ page about this announcement:

https://graphisoft.com/convert-ssa-forward-to-archicad-collaborate/

Akos Pfemeter

VP Global Cross-Brand Sales, Graphisoft

381 REPLIES 381
mthd
Ace

The COVID crisis including the war pushed up energy and shipping charges but AC is effectively electronic delivery. So I would hope that future prices rises would be in line with inflation ?

We definitely cannot default on PL/SSA/FW from now on because there is effectively no more upgrades from that option. Once we default we will need a subscription if we want to use the latest version of AC as was explained to me by our representative.

 

My SSA/FW price went up 5% from last year.

AC8.1 - AC27 AC28TP ARM AUS + CI Tools
Apple Mac Studio M1 Max Chip 10C CPU
24C GPU 7.8TF 32GB RAM OS Sequoia

@mthd wrote:

We definitely cannot default on PL/SSA/FW from now on because there is effectively no more upgrades from that option. Once we default we will need a subscription if we want to use the latest version of AC as was explained to me by our representative.


Just to clarify.

If you have a perpetual license, you can carry on with your SSA/Forward support and you will get all version upgrades in the future.

Yes, from next year, you must carry on with your SSA/Forward support payments if you want to stay with that method.

If you choose to stop SSA/Forward payments, you will not be able to restart them, as SSA/Forward support will no longer be offered from the end of this year.

If you later choose to restart and upgrade, you will have to take out a new subscription.

 

Barry.

One of the forum moderators.
Versions 6.5 to 27
i7-10700 @ 2.9Ghz, 32GB ram, GeForce RTX 2060 (6GB), Windows 10
Lenovo Thinkpad - i7-1270P 2.20 GHz, 32GB RAM, Nvidia T550, Windows 11

But can we keep up with the SSA fees? Are they raising them exorbitantly to eventually price us out and force us into subscription. What is the price of the flat subscription vs. SSA?

Rex Maximilian, Honolulu, USA - www.rexmaximilian.com
ArchiCAD 27 (user since 3.4, 1991)
16" MacBook Pro; M1 Max (2021), 32GB RAM, 1 TB SSD, 32-Core GPU
Apple Vision Pro w/ BIMx
Creator of the Maximilian ArchiCAD Template System

Inflation is typically averaged out to be 2% per year, but in 2022 it was 8%. But is back down to around 3% now. Graphisoft has increased SSA by 10% each time, three times, over the last 24 months.

Rex Maximilian, Honolulu, USA - www.rexmaximilian.com
ArchiCAD 27 (user since 3.4, 1991)
16" MacBook Pro; M1 Max (2021), 32GB RAM, 1 TB SSD, 32-Core GPU
Apple Vision Pro w/ BIMx
Creator of the Maximilian ArchiCAD Template System

Going up way too fast for our liking and with hardly enough in the upgraded versions for a long time now. That’s why many companies are using subscriptions probably feeling that they can’t develop the product enough in a 12 month cycle. Telling us to basically take what you get in the way of upgrade content. Still they have to compete with other CAD/BIM vendors so R&D is very important in order for them to hold onto their market share and to increase it.

AC8.1 - AC27 AC28TP ARM AUS + CI Tools
Apple Mac Studio M1 Max Chip 10C CPU
24C GPU 7.8TF 32GB RAM OS Sequoia

Is there an update to this?
Is the move from perpetual to subscription still the planned way going forward?

Erik Bjornhage : SwedishChef, ETTELVA Arkitekter, Gothenburg, Sweden
Architect : Digital Development : Graphisoft Cert. BIM-Manager
ETTELVA Arkitekter : Eriks LinkedIn
DELL Precision 5570; i7-12700H; 64 GB; RTX A2000 [8GB] : AC12 - future

There´s no turning back, at least in the short term. Maybe, if in some years subscriptions fall through the floor, they would consider returning to the previous model. But it would problably mean the end of Archicad if it came to that situation. So this ship has sailed.

ARCHICAD 27 SPA
Windows 10

Only for new customers when perpetual license sales end.  The majority of customer on perpetual licenses can continue in SSA/Forward as at present.  For us, the Subscription conversion option is just that…and option.  An irreversible option though.

One of the forum moderators
AC 27 USA and earlier   â€¢   macOS Ventura 13.6.9, MacBook Pro M2 Max 12CPU/30GPU cores, 32GB
Karl Ottenstein
Moderator

Graphisoft has posted an updated page on subscription conversion options.  Some things are more clear, other things remain unclear…

 

https://graphisoft.com/convert-ssa-forward-to-archicad-collaborate/

One of the forum moderators
AC 27 USA and earlier   â€¢   macOS Ventura 13.6.9, MacBook Pro M2 Max 12CPU/30GPU cores, 32GB

Thanks Karl,

 

I find it interesting that this update was not announced with as much fanfare and attention as the first one.

No Press Release, no special Insights Post.

 

I guess we will see if there are any further changes...

Erik Bjornhage : SwedishChef, ETTELVA Arkitekter, Gothenburg, Sweden
Architect : Digital Development : Graphisoft Cert. BIM-Manager
ETTELVA Arkitekter : Eriks LinkedIn
DELL Precision 5570; i7-12700H; 64 GB; RTX A2000 [8GB] : AC12 - future

It is indeed much clearer. But bullet points 1 and 19 are still marketing nonsens and an insult. Every customer with an SSA is still paying a monthly fee. It is not our problem that GS is unable to maintain and support Archicad with the money they earn.

 

torben_wadlinger_0-1716881939765.png

 

torben_wadlinger_1-1716881952330.png

 

Pato99_0-1716893828038.png

Versions 10 to forced subscription
Metabox Prime-X P775DM2-G (Clevo),
GTX 1060 6GB GDDR5 VRAM - G-Sync,
i7-6700K (8M Cache up to 4.2 GHz),
32GB DDR4 2133MHZ,
512GB SATA 3 M.2 SSD,
Win 11 64

I couldn't agree more.

I have a lot more to say about this than I have the time now, and I  might circle back later but I'll just leave this....

 

It is absolutely not on customers that they find themselves facing this "sustainable revenue" versus "competitive edge" shortfall that's forcing them onto this model.

They've spent years frittering away license fees revenue that they were getting by delivering increasingly diluted version releases with less new features, more bugs and instability and more half-baked "new" features (when they actually bothered to have any), that didn't fully or properly work until 2 or 3 versions later and a whole host of hotfixes, and now most recently, the sort of tools and "new features" that leave long-time customers especially, scratching their heads wondering what product we're even using, given who they seem like they want to be marketing to.

 

Didn't we already get point #19 years ago when they made the decision to shift to a yearly release - to everyone's consternation - with them promising more features and frequent updates, but only to end up with a more and more diluted product,......exactly like everyone feared would happen?

And now here we are again, and we're right back to the same promise of more features and updates with this susbscription model.

Fool me once......and all that.

 

But at least their marketing department is really earning their keep and putting those "limited" resources they have to good use, because we all know how good those guys are at spinning a yarn and selling a marketing point. So someone's earning their money over there.

 

And the end result of that is they've eroded away a large portion of their loyal customer-base who formed that revenue base they were reliant on.

 

Suddenly, they realize that the Wishlist section needs to be addressed wtih this latest drive for a "spring-cleaning" of that section?

Really?

What about the last 20+ years? What's so different from these last couple of decades when they just kept ignoring it over and over again along with all our concerns  and requests for the program?

 

As a simple example - and bear in mind the Wish in question here is not the important thing. I'm just trying to illustrate a point.

Back in 2017, I believe, I made the one and only request to the Wishlist section (since I'd long deemed it to be a waste of time that they just ignore and have there to make people believe they're actually doing anything when they're not) by requesting to have ArchiCAD be capable of using dual monitors or dual screens. The following year I got a notification that someone had posted to that thread asking for the same wish. Same thing the year after and then again the one after that. I stopped following it in 2021 or so, I believe. My point had been made.

 

We're now in 2024 and every single one of their rivals' competitor programs is not only dual-monitor capable, but also has the option of using a Dark mode - another one of those often requested, but routinely and religiously ignored wishes. These are just illustrative examples of workflow/functionality wishes to improve our work experience, and not necessarily even the sort of pivotal wishes that denote the programs overall stability and majorshortfalls (of which they're plenty).

But the point is, when your competitors are not standing still like you are, and are instead addressing in their products the very things you're blatantly ignoring in yours, what exactly do you think is going to happen next???????!?!?!

Again, substitute "dual-monitor capability" for any oft-requested wish or request  - it's just a stand-in for this example - and it will be virtually the same.

 

It's also worth noting that when you spend years ignoring your customers and going out of your way to avoid interacting with them (outside curated "Key Client Conferences" and meet-ups in Cabo or Cancun), this is where you also inevitably end up where you can't even communicate in clear language and terms your shift to a new licensing model, and explain why you're doing it or how it will happen,.....or at least, in a way that normal human beings communicate in.

 

(*...and to think I was going to keep this short.

Oh well.....)

Miha_M
Advisor

This wish list cleanup manoeuvre is just adding to my disappointment. I don't believe anybody had a wish for structural analytical tools in Archicad, but there were a large number of wishes for workflow improvement, added functionalities, other optimizations, new architectural and BIM related feature ideas, etc..

I would like to see some data about the number of wishes granted from GS, if there is any. There would need to ba a number of stated wishes first, but I doubt that they kept track of them. I even had some of my wishes transported here from the old forum, some of them have been voted as essential, but I never got any response from GS that they took notice.

I guess this spring cleaning is more of a handwash now. We didn't care before, so maybe it's time to pass a few wishes to our development team. Everything else can be ditched and doesn't exist any more; we can have a new (clean) start. Well, if this new start will be a structured and analytical approach to a transparent roadmap formation, that's a plus. But throwing away all but the selected 100 wishes is disrespectful.

| Archicad 4.55 - 27
| HP Z840 | 2× E5-2643 v4 | 64 GB RAM | Quadro M5000 | Windows 10 Pro x64
| HP Z4 G4 | W-2245 | 64 GB RAM | RTX A4000 | Windows 11

And just to add on a little bit to this as well as to expound further on this whole "Wishlist Section cleanup", and Graphisoft's approach to addressing wishes and delivering new tools, all while expecting users to switch to a subscription model to faiclitate them a more sustainable revenue stream,.....you have playing out right before our very eyes in real time in another thread, why people don't trust them to do anything right nowadays.

 

In the new MEP Tool thread, which has been a catalog of comedic fumblingand errors on their part and also fascinating to watch from a far (not being an MEP tool user myself), - remember, this is not one of those tools that I would say, majority of people consistently and persistenly requested and asked for, nor for them to spend development resources on, but they did it any way, and this is what they've spent a better part of the past few versions working on while neglecting other areas - they're only now discovering that the new version 27 Tool, which is a revamp of the old MEP tool, lacks some major functionality in how people design ducts (splaying ducts to run on one side rather than centrally), and which they're informed will not be available until version 28.

Bear in mind already, that version 27 MEP tool being a total revamp is completely incompatible with version 26 and below (which had this functionality, by the way). 

So any project started with it will not be manipulateable with lower versions (that apparently have more functionality and stability).

 

This is how they handle a tool that wasn't even that highly requested, so how would they, or why should they be expected to handle the more comprehensive architectural focused tool revamps and new feature developments we've actually been asking for?

 

Releasing half-baked and not-quite-ready tools is nothing new with them these days (.....even though,.....why release it at all if it's not even ready? ).

The total incompatibility with lower versions is a new twist that begs new questions of how that will work with their Subscription-based model if you have to upgrade to a new version because they assure you it's better more stable  and whatnot, only to find you're confronted with tools that weren't ready to be used and are now hampering your projects as you either have to migrate back down or not upgrade at all until they're ready.

 

Again,.....we're just supposed to take them at their word that all these problems and sorts of issues will just disappar once we switch to subscription and they already have our money and there's nothing we can do about it?

 

Do you see where we're coming from, Graphisoft?

 

Thread and posts in questions.

Do yourself a favour and laugh or cry as appropriate:-

 

https://community.graphisoft.com/t5/Modeling/MEP-27-The-New-Feature-that-never-happened/m-p/605531#M...

torben_wadlinger
Virtuoso

Well, this whole thread is a 101-lesson in "how not to treat your client". I bet the Autodesk-Marketing-Team has a print out hanging on their walls and have a good laugh every day. In just five years GS destroyed thirty years of costumer relationship and crowned it with this desaster. This awfully slow, overhyped forum-software is a daily reminder off the total failure of GS as a whole and the graphic design in particular. It is unworthy.

🎯🎯🎯🎯

Jared Banks, AIA
Shoegnome Architects

Archicad Blog: www.shoegnome.com
Archicad Template: www.shoegnome.com/template/
Archicad Work Environment: www.shoegnome.com/work-environment/
Archicad Tutorial Videos: www.youtube.com/shoegnome
mthd
Ace

Yeah ! I think we all understand and it’s too late the horse has bolted. Now they have a chance to clean up the disarray that is left behind. Even if they are responsible to Nemetcheck’s management strategy. They have probably seen the benefits of the revenue stream from the VW product, now subscription only for new users as well ?

 

They will definitely face steeper competition with the other products being offered as subscription only. They will certainly now be forced to perform because many will just take a different ride with a different application when they feel the need to change to something better for their business model.

 

Welcome to new world of slot machine CAD/BIM systems.

AC8.1 - AC27 AC28TP ARM AUS + CI Tools
Apple Mac Studio M1 Max Chip 10C CPU
24C GPU 7.8TF 32GB RAM OS Sequoia

I would ask Graphisoft to consider one thing.

ArchiCAD is not a premiere product for construction here in the US.

It is the best product out as a software but not the best positioned for users in the US.

Most clients require Revit.

The Government contracts I have done for NASA, USACE. Military, Many Cities --------------Many only allow Revit

I faced the same issues with Bentley AECOsim.  - Similar to ArchiCAD and same issues I face now.  NO ENGINEERS

My Engineers have been across the US are now all Revit.  If Lucky they are 24Autocad or Microstation - Good for my 2d stuff but not the Modeling.

AECOsim is a good product but has been killed in the US by Revit.

 

I have looked for MEP Engineers in the Southeast.  And have found none - Still looking.

I have looked strongly in TN, AL, GA as I need to see the Engineer in person and have conversations with my staff.  That is very difficult when they are 500 miles away.

PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE make your pricing structure where others can move from Revit to you.

If this product equals or is even 75% of the cost of Revit - well It will not help us grow here in the U.S.  

Archicad is superior in so many ways but without some way to grow the number of users, it is not competitive nor supports us as users.

 

Note:  I have been working with Revit model for years with AECOsim.  Had no choice.  And have been trying to find models for Archicad  - all are Revit.  that means many never work.

 

I have fully invested my firm in Archicad as it is the superior product to AECOSim and Revit.

Please be aggressive in your pricing or provide a discount to those that might leave Autocad/Revit or AECOSim.

Please don't price Archicad so high that the alternatives (Revit) become a better value.

Eric Milberger, Architect | Master Planner

As Graphisoft continues to acquire additional companies to add toolsets that only benefit the largest of architecture firms, they will continue to RAISE pricing to maintain their 30% margins. All while allowing many problems to go unfixed and refusing to improve both modeling and drafting tools. Good Lord, when will they ever add a true site design toolset. Every new building needs site design!!!

They are pricing medium to small size firms out as customers.

 

 

Robert Mariani
MARIANI design studio, PLLC
Architecture / Architectural Photography
www.robertmariani.com

Mac OSX 13.1
AC 24 / 25 / 26

To be on the positive side - provide both products as equal with the same abilities Pricing and operation structure.

Keep it simple.  With a price that invites new customers who prefer the best product.  

You should have a singular price for those that want to switch (I still have $25,000 in SW from Bentley and am there first Architect) 
And I paid without a discount for a better product - Archicad

And I would suggest a 50% discount for the initial purchase from another product.

Picking up a new client you could not get any other way.  growing the users so we as existing users kind find others to work with.

Make our base competitive and not the outlier.

 

Eric Milberger, Architect | Master Planner