topic Re: ArcGIS Pro License : Subscription license - will expire when maintenance stops in ArcGIS Pro Questions

ArcGIS Pro License : Subscription license - will expire when maintenance stops

MarkChilcott — Wed, 25 Mar 2015 02:15:29 GMT

Hi Peoples,

After discussions with Esri Australia, it is our understanding ArcGIS Pro is only available as a subscription, cloud based license that will expire if you choose to stop paying maintenance. This would appear to be a paradigm shift in the current permanent license model.

It is also striking there appears to be no Esri documentation spelling this out.

Were other people aware that ArcGIS Pro is a cloud based subscription license, that expires if you stop maintenance?

What do you think?

Additional notes:

ArcGIS Pro licensing:
http://www.esri.com/software/arcgis-pro/licensing

Cheers,

Mark

Re: ArcGIS Pro License : Temporary use rights ONLY - will expire when maintenance stops

GraemeBrowning — Wed, 25 Mar 2015 04:43:11 GMT

Surely that cannot be the case for the perpetual license that I purchased.

I just looked through that license agreement and I cannot see it say that anywhere so I'm really hoping that you did not get accurate information.

Re: ArcGIS Pro License : Temporary use rights ONLY - will expire when maintenance stops

MarkChilcott — Wed, 25 Mar 2015 04:54:07 GMT

Hi Graeme,

Our advice is:

"As long as your desktop licenses are maintained, the associated ArcGIS Pro licenses will remain available. Should you decide to not renew the maintenance, the core Desktop software (ArcMap, ArcCatalog) will continue to work, but the associated ArcGIS Pro licenses will be revoked."

Cheers,

Mark

Re: ArcGIS Pro License : Temporary use rights ONLY - will expire when maintenance stops

GraemeBrowning — Wed, 25 Mar 2015 05:39:24 GMT

When maintenance lapses it would seem fair that ArcGIS Pro upgrades are withheld (like they are for the rest of ArcGIS for Desktop) but I cannot see why entitlement to use the last version downloaded should be revoked. After all, I suspect that it is our ArcGIS for Desktop Maintenance (by far my biggest expenditure item each year) that will have been funding the development of ArcGIS Pro.

Perpetual ARC/INFO licenses rolling over to perpetual ArcGIS for Desktop licenses would seem to set the precedent for rolling over to perpetual ArcGIS Pro licenses.

To be able to access the upgrades is the only reason I pay Maintenance each year and I have been doing that on the assumption that entitlement to use the software supplied by that Maintenance would be uninterrupted even if my payment was not always made by its anniversary.

I'm glad you raised this here.

Re: ArcGIS Pro License : Temporary use rights ONLY - will expire when maintenance stops

MarkChilcott — Wed, 25 Mar 2015 21:20:54 GMT

Hi Graeme,

It is interesting your have raised that point. At the beginning of March, even though we had the purchase order in for our maintenance, we saw our licenses for ArcGIS Pro go to 0 (the big Zero). It took Esri over a day to fix the problem.

This is what made us aware of what would seem a shift in the licensing of ArcGIS. I don't think people are aware of this change.

I suspect a shift to subscription licenses should generate some debate and discussion, so please feel free to contact your Esri manager to discuss further and confirm this advice is correct.

Cheers,

Mark

Re: ArcGIS Pro License : Temporary use rights ONLY - will expire when maintenance stops

StephenLead — Wed, 25 Mar 2015 23:13:06 GMT

This seems to be the way things are moving. Eg all of the Adobe products on my machine will stop working if I stop paying.

The happy trade-off with Adobe is that it's much cheaper for me to 'rent' than buy them outright - I'm not sure if this is the case with ArcGIS Pro.

Re: ArcGIS Pro License : Temporary use rights ONLY - will expire when maintenance stops

StuartFletcher1 — Wed, 25 Mar 2015 23:22:38 GMT

Stephen,

Yes does seem to be the way things are going and I am happy with the Creative Cloud concept however in this case it appears that you are buying a product outright (i.e ArcMap + ArcGIS Pro) however it stops working if you dont pay maintenance. This is a completely different concept and as far as i'm concerned quite worrying.

It would be great if someone from ESRI Inc could clarify the situation as I must say the paradigm shift has not been explained well (and based on this thread understood well!).

Cheers,

Stuart

Re: ArcGIS Pro License : Temporary use rights ONLY - will expire when maintenance stops

GraemeBrowning — Thu, 26 Mar 2015 23:24:25 GMT

Initial results from the Poll entitled seems to indicate that, if the information you got is correct, then it is going to be very unpopular.

Re: ArcGIS Pro License : Temporary use rights ONLY - will expire when maintenance stops

Robert_LeClair — Fri, 27 Mar 2015 21:46:22 GMT

You are correct that ArcGIS for Desktop (not including ArcGIS Pro) are perpetual licenses. If you discontinue maintenance, then a user can continue to use ArcGIS for Desktop (i.e. ArcMap, ArcCatalog, etc.) without future upgrades. ArcGIS Pro uses a new licensing model that is subscription based. As long as user is current on maintenance, they may continue to use ArcGIS Pro. Many software companies moved to the subscription based licensing model a while ago. With ArcGIS Pro, Esri uses this model. It is a paradigm shift from perpetual licenses certainly.

As to the why's of changing the licensing model, I'd had to defer to the ArcGIS Pro team as I'm an ArcGIS Pro Instructor for Esri. Hope this clarifies the question.

Re: ArcGIS Pro License : Temporary use rights ONLY - will expire when maintenance stops

GraemeBrowning — Sat, 28 Mar 2015 00:49:48 GMT

To summarize, you seem to be confirming that if ArcGIS for Desktop Maintenance lapses then licenses for its ArcGIS Pro application are revoked.

For me that is incredibly disappointing because:

I am otherwise very excited about ArcGIS Pro
I feel like something I bought into from my own pocket has significantly evaporated

Changing license models in exchange for a much reduced annual cost (perhaps $1,000 for Standard) would be far more palatable.

Re: ArcGIS Pro License : Temporary use rights ONLY - will expire when maintenance stops

WoodyHynes — Sat, 28 Mar 2015 01:04:16 GMT

When you purchase ArcGIS for Desktop you now receive access to a number of new things.

First of all, you still get the latest and greatest version of ArcMap and ArcCatalog as you have in the past. These applications continue to be licensed as they have in the past. Additionally, at no extra cost, you receive access to a new application called ArcGIS Pro and access to ArcGIS Online or Portal for ArcGIS (your choice) via a Named User account. In turn providing you with access to data, ready-to-use apps, and the entire ArcGIS platform.

Your first year of maintenance is included in your purchase and this entitles you to updates to the software, software support and additional benefits. If you choose not to renew your maintenance after that first year, your access to all of these additional pieces (ArcGIS Pro, ArcGIS Online, Updates, Support, Etc.) no longer applies. Also, to answer a related question on the poll thread, the yearly cost of maintenance is not the full price of buying new software.

Re: ArcGIS Pro License : Temporary use rights ONLY - will expire when maintenance stops

GraemeBrowning — Sat, 28 Mar 2015 01:41:38 GMT

My position is not that of a new user/license. I have chosen in the past to renew Maintenance and this year the timing on that was entirely based on gaining access to ArcGIS Pro 1.0.

It would not concern me in the least to lose access to ArcGIS Online or Portal for ArcGIS when/if my Maintenance lapses. Last year I used 0 of my 100 credits and so far this year I have used 1 of 100 credits. After using ArcGIS Pro for some time, I suspect I may start to use more, maybe all, of those credits, but at the moment I look at ArcGIS Pro first and foremost as being a replacement for ArcMap as my desktop GIS application which is why I assumed that the flagship desktop licensing model I signed up for would remain perpetual. The importance and positioning of ArcGIS Pro as a desktop application is evident from the opening sentence of its Help:

"ArcGIS Pro is the essential application for creating and working with spatial data on your desktop."

I'm not sure if you realize how expensive ArcGIS for Desktop maintenance is in Australia but on the related poll thread I am talking about the Annual Maintenance and not the purchase price.

Re: ArcGIS Pro License : Temporary use rights ONLY - will expire when maintenance stops

MarkChilcott — Mon, 30 Mar 2015 05:02:24 GMT

One of the main questions here is have Esri been up front, honest, and transparent in relation to what would appear to be a new license model?

Have Esri made it clear ArcGIS Pro is a subscription, temporary-use license?

Can anyone point out in the documentation where is specifically says ArcGIS Pro will expire when maintenance is not paid?

No - they have not. And this is what makes people suspicious.

Re: ArcGIS Pro License : Subscription license - will expire when maintenance stops

MarcoGiana2 — Thu, 02 Apr 2015 00:30:59 GMT

I'd say, that is one good reason to try and lock your database technology with ESRI goedatabases, and use native spatial database technology with the RDBMS of your choice. This was if it does expire, you can still access your corporate data with opensource GIS software like QGIS.

Re: ArcGIS Pro License : Subscription license - will expire when maintenance stops

AndrewQuee — Thu, 02 Apr 2015 00:35:35 GMT

I believe the issue is that if the access ends when maintenance does, that creates a problem where an organisation may pay a large sum of money for full access to all products, with an enduring licence to continue using them unsupported outside maintenance, with Pro being an exception to this. I don't have access to the ELA contract, so I don't know what the exact conditions around this are.

The equivalent example would be Microsoft releasing a new replacement version of Word+Power Point (bring the two together into one application, with enhanced online collaboration) alongside the existing standalone products, but can only be accessed online (through 365). So even if you licenced the full suite, your use of this program would be prevented if you do not keep up your support, even though you had already paid for it. Which is not how this type of licensing has traditionally worked.

Robert LeClair mentioned that "It comes with ArcGIS for Desktop at 10.3" - so the conclusion I make from that is that if you have paid for a permanent licence for 10.3, you should also have one for Pro seeing as 'it comes with it'. In the same way that extensions you have licensed also do not expire.

I guess the concern among users is that some time in the future obviously Pro will become the replacement for Desktop, yet Pro is not available under any condition except a subscription model, so if you fail to keep paying, you will lose your entire GIS capability.

Re: ArcGIS Pro License : Subscription license - will expire when maintenance stops

MattWilkie2 — Tue, 07 Apr 2015 21:26:18 GMT

My biggest concern, at the moment, is what happens when we need to open an old project that requires the old program? I'm in up to my eyeballs in ArcInfo and AML this month. That's not covered in the subscription temporary use model. If this were an Adobe project it wouldn't even be possible "rent" Acrobat v3 (or whatever) long enough to extract what is meaningful.

Digital obsolescence is bad enough all on it's own, bringing subscriptions and expiring-because-of-a-date programs in to the mix is just a bad idea, through and through.Don't touch that tar baby.

Re: ArcGIS Pro License : Temporary use rights ONLY - will expire when maintenance stops

Robert_LeClair — Thu, 09 Apr 2015 09:00:07 GMT

Graeme - correct. If maintenance lapses or is not renewed, then the use of ArcGIS Pro is not available. But your ArcMap/ArcCatalog licenses remain at their last maintained release. As far as software costs, that's a question for our sales team as well as the executive team - well above my pay grade.

Re: ArcGIS Pro License : Subscription license - will expire when maintenance stops

GabrielYarlequé — Thu, 09 Apr 2015 14:48:57 GMT

You cannot use ArcGIS Pro if you stop paying maintenance for ArcGIS for Desktop. Remember ArcMap is a perpetual license, whereas ArcGIS Pro is a subscription license tied to your annual maintenance. You will be able to continue to use ArcMap if you don´t pay your maintenace just like now. But you will not be able to use your entitlement to online or ArcGIS Pro if you don´t stay current on maintenance.

Re: ArcGIS Pro License : Subscription license - will expire when maintenance stops

TomShindler — Thu, 16 Apr 2015 21:29:12 GMT

ArcGIS Pro is, indeed a subscription license. ESRI has not been very forward with this fact simply because they know it is unpopular. I was at a presentation where it was discussed, and even the staff were sheepish about it.

I believe we need a user insurection to change this model. Esri has been an exemplary organization for most of it's history. This seems to be a major turning point. Support for older platforms is disappearing at a more rapid rate than it used to, and now there is a huge marketing message about ArcGIS Pro's wonderful function, and a timid whisper about the new protection racket that will hold us hostage to whatever they want to charge to keep using it.

I don't know who infected their corporate culture with this parasitic approach, but I'm sure they have been emboldened by the other vendors that have moved this way. That still doesn't make it right, especially in a field where there are so few options.

This summer's user conference should be an opportunity to organize a large voice in opposition to this change. Hopefully Esri's culture has not also abandoned the element of listening to their customers.

Re: ArcGIS Pro License : Subscription license - will expire when maintenance stops

MattWilkie2 — Thu, 23 Apr 2015 16:01:02 GMT

At the risk of trending off-topic, it's not access to the data that's the biggest risk. It's possible, and not very hard, to read native Esri file-gdb and to some extent SDE with QGIS and friends in place (as a matter of fact using the open source file-gdb driver you can read more data types than the official Esri file-gdb driver can). You don't get everything, relationship classes come to mind, but the core there.

Similarly I can still read all the data for any of our thousands of archived ArcView 3 projects with any current GIS program today, regardless of whether they are free or very expensive. However without running the program we can't get to the projects, and that's important.

Projects are where the business logic is, the queries stacked on queries. It's where the cartography is.It's where the value added thought goes. In ArcGIS Desktop it's in the .mxd's custom chained tools and scripts and models. ArcGIS Pro has it's own version of the same. In any given working-on-gis day I'll spend a quarter to a third of time on raw data creation and manipulation, the rest of the time is on things that aren't captured in shapefiles or database tables.

In short, I'm not (very) concerned about losing access to the data. Data value is portable, more or less, with a relatively low investment and time and energy compared to exporting Project value.