In an earnings conference call on August 22, Autodesk CEO Carl Bass said that the company will reveal an “evolution” of its software licensing program. The new initiative will include the ability to rent part or all of its suite of software to users. The CEO expects that the new program will not eliminate outright purchase of the company’s software.
Bass claims that the company had been considering this move for some time, but given industry trends, the migration ail happen sooner rather than later. “Recall that, just 10 years ago, we added subscription maintenance to our revenue stream,” he said. “That was a big change at the time, and there was no shortage of skeptics. Today, that’s a billion-dollar business and represents over 40 percent of our revenue. Suffice it to say that transition was a huge success.”
“It became more clear to us that customers were willing to accept, and some even wanted, this new opportunity,” Bass said. “Because we’re starting in a different place than Adobe, we don’t feel the need to force people, as they did, to go to these new license models and end perpetual licenses.”
The CEO didn’t expand on the new plan. An event is scheduled for October 2 in San Francisco, CA to elaborate on the new licensing.
