Jump into the Autodesk® Licensing Transition Without Breaking a Sweat

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Autodesk® has been a great partner for design, engineering, simulation, and technical companies around the globe. The demand for advanced technology by the digital market has been continuously evolving, and Autodesk has never failed to reach those expectations through continuous product development and introduction of more flexible licensing terms.

In 2016, Autodesk phased out perpetual or non-expiring licenses and introduced Token-Flex licensing, where consumption is counted per user per day. It was also the same year when Collections were introduced and Suites were withdrawn from the market.

Autodesk is set to pull out of the multi-user subscription options and convert to named-user subscriptions. The transition to named-user licensing subscription provides several user benefits, such as:

  • optimized license cost through the transparency of usage data;
  • managing license servers or tracking anonymous serial numbers will no longer be necessary;
  • well-dedicated access for all users who need the licenses; and
  • tailored support and learning content based on user insights.

Since Autodesk announced plans for the global licensing changes earlier this year, users that are still under the multi-user subscription have a few more months to plan for the transition.

The following are common online forum questions regarding these changes and corresponding ways to make this transition as smooth as possible.

What about my existing multi-user licenses?

Multi-user licenses can still be used until August 2021. Due to the COVID-19 global situation, Autodesk announced that multi-user subscriptions would continue to be sold until August 7, 2020, but the renewal of multi-user licenses after August 7, 2022, will not be available.

Autodesk has introduced trade-in offers to assist users who will be transitioning from multi-user to named user licenses. The users who will proceed with the transition will pay for the same renewal price with the ongoing discount until the 2028.

What are my new options?

Autodesk offers two options for current users: Maintenance Trade-in and Multi-user Trade-in. Maintenance Trade-in is for users who have yet to move from perpetual to subscription licensing. Multi-user Trade-in, on the other hand, are for those who will transition from multi-user to named-user standard subscription.

Maintenance Trade-in (offer starts May 2020)

Autodesk maintenance users have two options. The first option is to switch to subscription upon renewal with the current maintenance price, an absolute 1:1 trade-in. The second option is for users to stay on maintenance, but there will be a 20% price increase upon renewal agreement. On May 7, 2021, maintenance plans will be pulled-out.

Multi-user Trade-in (offer starts August 2020)

Users with multi-user licenses or network maintenance plans will be asked to switch or stay. In choosing the switch option, users will be able to trade one multi-user license for two standard named-user licenses. And if users decided to stay with their current plan, a switch to one multi-user license to one standard user upon the next renewal will be forcefully applied.

How do I prepare for the transition?

There should be minimal disruptions on the upcoming transition from multi-user to named-user license. However, without the right reporting tools and analytics to evaluate the new licensing option types, organizations may experience some challenges that can make the transition more difficult than it should be.

Software usage metering and optimization tools can be crucial in taking full control of the organization’s software license usage. Usage data is a critical component in helping managers decide on the most cost-effective option available without sacrificing productivity in the process. With a clear overview of the current license usage trends, organizations will be able to make the best decisions on which of the available options to choose based on their actual usage data.

With the three-level solution of Open iT® Analyzer for Autodesk® Licensing, organizations can better understand their true license usage, which will allow them to better manage these costly resources. Analyzer for Autodesk Licensing provides an enterprise view of Autodesk® licenses, showing when and by whom these licenses are used over time, by location, business unit, or project group, for all types of Autodesk® licenses.

Analyzer for Autodesk Licensing also provides a fully customizable and advanced web-based interface for license usage monitoring. Generated reports can range from a comprehensive enterprise view down to a single user, real-time or historical, and may be viewed on a web browser, printed, or exported to popular spreadsheets.

Dig deeper into the usage analysis of software licenses. Connect with us today and let us guide you in your engineering software management and optimization journey.

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