Member Article

Afraid of Commitment? SOLIDWORKS’ Presents New Payment Options

Purchasing CAD software can set you back several thousand dollars. It’s not cheap for anyone, but for small business owners, it can be a particularly painful punch in the wallet.

SOLIDWORKS, the world’s most popular 3D CAD software, costs a cool $4,000-plus up front for a perpetual license. After the hefty price tag is settled, annual maintenance fees and upgrades often follow. Perpetual software licenses don’t work for every buyer.

You may love the way SOLIDWORKS does 3D design applications on Microsoft Windows but hate having to make a lifetime commitment to one software. You may need SOLIDWORKS for only one specific job, and after six months, it sits on your desktop–a pricy and unused icon. Or you might be a cash-strapped startup needing to earn money not spend it.

Whatever your story, a traditional and expensive lifetime commitment to SOLIDWORKS may not be right for you. In that case, check out SOLIDWORKS’ new payment options.

Starting with SOLIDWORKS 2017, the latest version, the software can be licensed for a single period of three months or of one year. While a lifetime license will still be available for a one-time, up-front fee, SOLIDWORKS is now reaching out to clients with diverse payment and licensing needs.

SOLIDWORKS is not alone in embracing this strategy. Lowering the out-of-pocket investment for new software is part of a burgeoning, industry-wide trend. CAD software is just one of the latest to hop on it. Adobe introduced term licensing in 2013. OnShape followed suit. That company doesn’t offer a perpetual license option, though, thus limiting its buyers’ choices.

SOLIDWORKS does.

Keeping in mind that a high up-front investment for lifetime use may still be the best selection for many purchasers, SOLIDWORKS’ new payment options create more choices, not fewer, for its buyers.

“Our main goal is to give SOLIDWORKS customers the flexibility they need,” says Peter Rucinski SOLIDWORKS Director of Product Portfolio Management. “This includes browser-based or hybrid software solutions, local or cloud data storage, and perpetual or SaaS licensing models.”

Flexibility is the theme of SOLIDWORKS new payment options model. By offering both term and perpetual pricing selections, SOLIDWORKS can meet the needs of a range of clients.

While you may not be ready for a lifetime commitment to SOLIDWORKS’ pricing structure, you probably are committed to the software. With SOLIDWORKS’ new pricing options, you won’t have to change.

“Nobody wants to start using other CAD software,” said Rucinski. “They’d rather stick with software they are familiar with. Now they will have that choice.”

For short-term needs, it’s no longer necessary to turn to rental software or an unfamiliar product. SOLIDWORKS software provides the same service—stable, familiar, and undiminished. Now, SOLIDWORKS’ new payment options make paying for the product user-friendly, just as many of us wanted.

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Mary .