Between Perpetual and Subscription licensing there are differences you must consider in order to purchase the license that best fits your company’s needs.
To start you must consider that a perpetual license, is a license with an initial up front cost to purchase, it can also include an optional annual fee for support. In other words, there is a large upfront cost to a perpetual license, but you essentially own usage rights anytime and ongoing access. There is no cost to use the license and PTC will always provide you a new license file for your purchase. So as long as, your machine can run your perpetual license, you don’t have to additionally invest anything to it. An example of this would be if your Windows 98 machine was still running Pro/E 2000i2.
Now, as I mentioned, support is optional with a perpetual license. It provides you with features like, access to new releases, program updates and bug fixes, technical support and in some cases a home-use license.
If you choose not to keep your support active on your perpetual license, the license will still function; you just lose access to the support benefits. There is a penalty if you decide not to renew your support and later decide you would like to renew in order to get access to a new version. You become financially responsible for the missed support time from the date it lapsed.
On the other hand, a subscription license or the pay-to-use license is a bit different than the perpetual. The cost of this license is much less up front. This holds true for about 5 years after the purchase (support dependent of course). The annual cost of the subscription license includes support. So, you’ll always have access to the latest release, technical assistance and other support benefits.
The biggest difference among the two types of licensing is with a subscription license if you choose not to renew, you lose access to the program. You will still maintain all your files and progress, but you won’t be able to open and run the program.
However, if after a period of time (i.e. 2 years) you decide you would like to reactivate your license, there is no penalty cost. You simply pay the cost of the subscription license and pick up where you left off.
As you can see, depending on the needs of your business, owning a subscription license can provide advantages such as flexibility and lower cost.
Please know that MRC along providing personalized support to you and your team, can also have your software purchase up and active in less than 72 hours. Unlike other vendors, MRC is centrally located which allows us to increase our speed and response to you.