SOLIDWORKS Business Model Changes Coming in July 2023 - here we go again!!

[Frank_Oostendorp]

Frank.
This is what you do..?
How does that work..?

Well, less than two years ago, there was no option for offline use, but had to be created. And many other tiny details keep changing, affecting the use of the software just a bit.

https://r1132100503382-eu1-3dswym.3dexp ... 2vsEUW575A

https://r1132100503382-eu1-3dswym.3dexp ... UnAU9micBg

[SPerman]

SPerman wrote: ↑Wed Jun 07, 2023 7:30 am
What they don't tell you is that in 2 years this feature will be eliminated. At that point, working offline will cost an additional $xxx per license.

As above.. Is this documented somewhere.? Or do you have first-hand experience..?

That was mostly sarcasm, but is the SOP for DSS. Home license, online license, draftsight, etc.

[Frederick_Law]

Online license was the best thing they ever did.
That would avoid lot's of attempts to use illegal license.
Remove the calls to VAR to reset license switch counts.

I don't know why they can't maintain it since they're maintaining the whole SWYM already.

[dave.laban]

Can't use it as a selling point for 3DE if it's in SW standard.

[Damo]

That was mostly sarcasm, but is the SOP for DSS. Home license, online license, draftsight, etc.

Ahh. But truth is you are probably correct..

[Damo]

Well, less than two years ago, there was no option for offline use, but had to be created. And many other tiny details keep changing, affecting the use of the software just a bit.

https://r1132100503382-eu1-3dswym.3dexp ... 2vsEUW575A
image.png
https://r1132100503382-eu1-3dswym.3dexp ... UnAU9micBg
image.png

This is indeed something to think about. I do NOT like the idea of working in the cloud environment..

[AlexLachance]

Well, less than two years ago, there was no option for offline use, but had to be created. And many other tiny details keep changing, affecting the use of the software just a bit.

https://r1132100503382-eu1-3dswym.3dexp ... 2vsEUW575A
image.png
https://r1132100503382-eu1-3dswym.3dexp ... UnAU9micBg
image.png

You certainly are one patient fella Frank, hats off to you

[Frederick_Law]

You certainly are one patient fella Frank, hats off to you

Just watching paint dry.


You guys will like this.
AutoDesk killed a good software by buying it and put it on rental:
https://hackaday.com/2023/06/09/they-us ... s-no-more/

[AlexLachance]

Just watching paint dry.


You guys will like this.
AutoDesk killed a good software by buying it and put it on rental:
https://hackaday.com/2023/06/09/they-us ... s-no-more/

Certainly sounds familiar

[bnemec]

Just watching paint dry.


You guys will like this.
AutoDesk killed a good software by buying it and put it on rental:
https://hackaday.com/2023/06/09/they-us ... s-no-more/

NNOOOOOO!!!!!

image.png (72.73 KiB) Viewed 2833 times

[SPerman]

I've used Eagle for years. I'm not sure I would blame it on the pricing change. They built that functionality into Fusion 360. Why support 2 pieces of software when you can force the users into your new all encompassing online environment?

[RichGergely]

Well I have gave in to the latest blackmail subscription incentive.

I've gone to a new VAR which gave about 20% off to update my perpetual licence plus 12 months subs where my old VAR offered zero off.

[bnemec]

Just watching paint dry.


You guys will like this.
AutoDesk killed a good software by buying it and put it on rental:
https://hackaday.com/2023/06/09/they-us ... s-no-more/

Thinking about Eagle, I miss how it would select the element nearest to the cursor when clicked. I think that would be nice in sketching mode of 3D CAD.

[mp3-250]

local replication of a PDM environment is a must. there is no way we could trust to put 1TB of data in the cloud only, it is impossible to phisically cache it in real time on 100s workstations that work concurrently on the same data.
Let alone industrial espionage issues.

[mp3-250]

I would like to add that at some point the cost of a CAD system will be untenable for a manufacturing company with not so high margins. The whole data administration, training, bug chasing, data loss, skyrocketing licensing fees, prepaid years of limited support.

Avg salary in Japan is around 4.5 million yen per year (35k USD), PDM SW and Simulation are already costing us a two digits % of a person salary, let alone we have to pay Microsoft, HP and the other direct and indirect costs.

Cloud security aside, what is the SLA for DS cloud services?
how much does it cost the storage, the backup, the virtualized hardware?
how about the performance on the workstations side?
How much does it cost to "upgrade" those if I want to increase performance?
How much will it cost me 10 yrs from now?

[RichGergely]

Oh there is a new 'incentive' by the way released this week.

If you renew after July 1st but have been off subs for less than two year you DON'T NEED TO PAY BACK PAYMENTS.

The catch to that of course is -
1) You will be permanently on the new subs where you pay extra for the cloud storage service
2) You have to pay two years maintenance initially
3) Yes you save money initially buy in years to come it will cost you more unless you need the cloud storage + the bits you get with it

[zxys001]

..you notice how most cost go down over time..... hmm. yet, we see these mcad corps constantly trying to get more and more and... then buy other companies/technologies.... wow, they're just so innovative.

[idesignhaus]

How about no to all this?

[RichGergely]

..you notice how most cost go down over time..... hmm. yet, we see these mcad corps constantly trying to get more and more and... then buy other companies/technologies.... wow, they're just so innovative.

At this point I wish someone like Microsoft would buy one of the capable 3D vendors and then go about delivering a great product at a great price. The incentive is you just can't afford not to use it.

[idesignhaus]

I've slowly come to a realization that's been helping me.

I used to ask, "Who is the real customer?" in hopes of figuring out whose interests are really being primarily served. For instance, consider a newspaper who sells both subscriptions as well as ads. Things get muddy quickly, and though this begins to explain a conflict of interest, it doesn't do so with much clarity.

So now I ask, "Who are the patrons and who are the consumers?" In other words, who funds the operation, and who consumes the product of the operation? Perhaps that's where we can plug back into the current CAD situation...

With Solidworks, who are the patrons? My guess is the target patrons are the purchasing managers at large plants. Obviously, the single-seat businesses (like mine) are of no account.

With Solidworks, who are the consumers? I'd say this is the user base. They're the ones who attempt to derive benefit from Solidworks and have to deal with all the problems.

The trouble, in my mind, is that it would be more ideal if the patrons and the consumers were unified---but they're not. Long ago, late in the 20th century when I learned Solidworks, it still felt as though we had patron/consumer unity. Certainly no more, since Solidworks is part of an entirely non-functional "platform" that apparently sells fairly well to whoever the patrons are.

I've read some of the justifications for why moving to the "platform" model is a necessity, and I don't buy it. Increasing complexity, approaching infinity, is simply not sustainable---so it won't be sustained. My career was never intended to revolve around a CAD app or "platform" or whatever---my career was about creating useful things for people.

Perhaps I was simply being naive with such a focus?

For me, the good news is that I'm not chained to this ball anymore. I'm doing other things with my time/focus/energy and can more easily decide to walk away from this nonsense. Unfortunately for most in the industry, the same cannot be said. I wish you luck through this battle of seemingly pointless frustration.

[Frederick_Law]

The one buying and paying for the tools are not one using them.
And they became the tool.
The cart is way ahead of the horse.

[matt]

Another comment on the forced march to 3dx

https://www.linkedin.com/feed/update/ur ... 719326208/

[Damo]

Another comment on the forced march to 3dx

https://www.linkedin.com/feed/update/ur ... 719326208/

This is an interesting product (Drew) Peter is talking about here..
Does anyone here use it.?

[nevillew]

They are pushing hard now to get suckers oops..... customers. From a VAR down here.
BTW the $ values look horrendous, because our $ is only worth 60c US I'm pretty certain though when converted over to USD, will still be relatively expensive compared to US rates.

I thought this might be of interest to you…

A unique offer has just come across my desk specifically for Early Adopters.
SolidWorks have just launched their new cloud connected services in NZ
Check it out here:
It allows you to store your CAD design data on their new cloud platform, access it from anywhere on any device, have revision/version control of your designs, easily collaborate, share & markup CAD files without requiring E-drawings, build communities around a specific project, have access to dozens of cloud-based apps from Simulation to PLM (Product lifecycle management) that allow you to take your product designs and business to the next level.

The Notorious Backdating Policy
Ever since SolidWorks introduced their controversial back dating policy in 2016, its annoyed a lot of loyal customers since. Right now, to renew one of your SolidWorks licences it would incur the maximum 3 years of backdating costing your around $9000-$12k depending on the type of SolidWorks licence you have.

If you sign up for 3 years of support/updates it would usually cost around $19,740-$27k including backdating fees.

An Unbelievable offer for Early Adaptors (Expires July 26th)
Become an early adaptor of the new SolidWorks Cloud services, and we will Wipe off 100% of your backdating fee when you purchase 3 years of maintenance/updates with the new cloud services.
You will have access to 3 year of licence updates and support from Central Innovation:
Total cost to renew one of your SolidWorks licences: $9828 +gst $21,840 (THIS INCLUDES 3 YEARS OF LICENCE UPDATES with new Cloud Service)
Easy-Pay option available: Spread payments month over 12/24/36 if required.

[AlexLachance]

They are pushing hard now to get suckers oops..... customers. From a VAR down here.
BTW the $ values look horrendous, because our $ is only worth 60c US I'm pretty certain though when converted over to USD, will still be relatively expensive compared to US rates.

I thought this might be of interest to you…

A unique offer has just come across my desk specifically for Early Adopters.
SolidWorks have just launched their new cloud connected services in NZ
Check it out here:
It allows you to store your CAD design data on their new cloud platform, access it from anywhere on any device, have revision/version control of your designs, easily collaborate, share & markup CAD files without requiring E-drawings, build communities around a specific project, have access to dozens of cloud-based apps from Simulation to PLM (Product lifecycle management) that allow you to take your product designs and business to the next level.

The Notorious Backdating Policy
Ever since SolidWorks introduced their controversial back dating policy in 2016, its annoyed a lot of loyal customers since. Right now, to renew one of your SolidWorks licences it would incur the maximum 3 years of backdating costing your around $9000-$12k depending on the type of SolidWorks licence you have.

If you sign up for 3 years of support/updates it would usually cost around $19,740-$27k including backdating fees.

An Unbelievable offer for Early Adaptors (Expires July 26th)
Become an early adaptor of the new SolidWorks Cloud services, and we will Wipe off 100% of your backdating fee when you purchase 3 years of maintenance/updates with the new cloud services.
You will have access to 3 year of licence updates and support from Central Innovation:
Total cost to renew one of your SolidWorks licences: $9828 +gst $21,840 (THIS INCLUDES 3 YEARS OF LICENCE UPDATES with new Cloud Service)
Easy-Pay option available: Spread payments month over 12/24/36 if required.

lol what a load of crap filled with buzzwords and fake discounts.

[gristle]

Central Innovation. They were my reseller, but they used some pretty poor tactics in emails to try and get me back on maintenance. Fear, doubt and unknowns... They shot themselves in the foot though, as their email encouraged me to look around and guess what, there is more than one reseller in NZ now!

[nevillew]

Central Innovation. They were my reseller, but they used some pretty poor tactics in emails to try and get me back on maintenance. Fear, doubt and unknowns... They shot themselves in the foot though, as their email encouraged me to look around and guess what, there is more than one reseller in NZ now!

Interesting....I was not aware there was another. I've been off subscription now for 3 years ... still using 2020 SP5
They will probably have to toe the DS line though in $$ offerings etc

[HercalloY]

Central Innovation. They were my reseller, but they used some pretty poor tactics in emails to try and get me back on maintenance. Fear, doubt and unknowns... They shot themselves in the foot though, as their email encouraged me to look around and guess what, there is more than one reseller in NZ now!

They bought out the other reseller here in AUS. And that other reseller offered better savings (~800 AUD on subs). can't do that now. Subs pricing is RIDICULOUS here.