SOLIDWORKS Price Increase & Business Model Transition

At TPM, we work with thousands of customers and manage more than tens of thousands of software licenses. Throughout our nearly 50 year history, we have had significant experience and exposure to various business models with our technology partners. We have helped thousands of organizations navigate the appropriate business model. One of our key partnerships is with Dassault Systemes, owner of SOLIDWORKS, and they are beginning a business transformation strategy to move to a complete subscription model. 

For those new to the software space, Subscription or Software as a Service is a consumption model where you rent your software instead of buying. This model brings with it great value, including: 

• A lower initial cost of ownership for technology 
• More flexible licensing deployment 
• Enhanced features within desktop and cloud applications 
• A lower total cost of ownership for shorter-term projects 
• Named users allowing increased analytics 

Now, don’t get confused. This transition is not about cloud and desktop. It is simply about how you pay to access the technology. So, rest assured your desktop SOLIDWORKS is not going anywhere. However, this strategy typically comes with an enhanced cloud portfolio. Since virtually all cloud-based technology is a consumption or subscription model, companies like Dassault are working to align their technology, hence the shift. 

An organization’s move to this subscription model from a perpetual legacy model can take many forms, but ultimately the outcome is the same. In our experience, this transition can create a lot of confusion for customers, and the wrong decision could be very costly for your business. We view one of our jobs at TPM is to help guide our customers through this transition and helping them make the very best choices for their business.   

Rest assured that this business model is not new to our industry or the software space as a whole. Companies like Microsoft, Adobe, and even competitive products like Autodesk have successfully transitioned their businesses to subscriptions. This transition typically comes with a playbook that we have seen over the years and includes a multi-year strategy including, but not limited to: 

• Overtime prices increase, and offerings expire for new and renewal perpetual licensing, incenting a move to subscription
• New licenses transition to only be acquired through the subscription model 
• Enhanced value in the subscription offering, including bundled technology and cloud services 
• Ultimate sunsetting of perpetual legacy licenses and a complete migration to subscription 

While we don’t have the full playbook from Dassault, we are beginning to see some early moves that we will outline below. These moves include price increases on perpetual licenses, price decrease on term or subscription offerings, and upcoming bundles that leverage additional value, 3DEXPERIENCE platform, and more.

SOLIDWORKS Pricing Changes

So, here is what we know today that you need to consider. Dassault Systemes is making the following immediate changes to the perpetual license:

• 5% increase on newly purchased desktop stand-alone perpetual licenses. The yearly subscription price for the stand-alone option remains unchanged. 
• 19% increase on new Network Licenses. 
• 14% increase on Network Subscription. 
• 8% approximate decrease in pricing on most Term Based Licenses, including new subscription offerings 
• 33% increase in DraftSight perpetual licenses

Dassault has also communicated that this will not be the last price increase on perpetual licenses.

Our Recommendations

With the current price adjustments to perpetual licenses, effective April 1st, 2022, and the understanding that Dassault Systemes will eventually migrate all of their desktop and cloud-based licenses to subscription (or term), there are some considerations and strategies you need to take into account as this transition continues to occur. We have provided some recommendations on your current or future use of the Dassault Systemes/SOLIDWORKS ecosystem: 

If you are a current stand-alone SolidWorks User 

• Your current subscription pricing is not currently changing, so there is no need to take immediate action on your upcoming renewal. However, you will want to learn more about the 3DEXPERIENCE SOLIDWORKS platform offerings and the cloud-based data management options as you continue to grow your business.   
• If you consider adding licenses, you may face a 5% price increase if you purchase after April 1st. You will also need to decide between perpetual and term-based licensing. 
• If the new license is a core addition to your business that will likely be in play for more than three years, you may consider a perpetual license purchase with a standard subscription before the April 1st price increase. 
• If the new license is for a project, new hire, or you are unsure of its use past three years, then you may want to consider term-based licensing as it has a lower entry cost and lowers TCO (Total Cost of Ownership) for the first three years. 
• You will also want to investigate some of the new 3DEXPERIENCE SOLIDWORKS offerings to evaluate future data management offerings in the cloud. 
• Suppose you are considering adding PDM or a data management solution. In that case, you need to discuss your initiatives with our team to understand which path in the SOLIDWORKS ecosystem to consider, desktop or cloud. 
• You still have new SOLIDWORKS term and perpetual options if you currently use SolidWorks PDM. However, the migration path to 3DX data management is still in process. The current on-premise data management solutions have long-term stability. Your options for new 3DX solutions will be available to you in the future if the business needs to benefit from this solution. 

If you are a current network SolidWorks User 

• Your current subscription pricing is going to increase by 14%. To avoid this price increase, you can renew early and even take advantage of 3-year or 5-year pricing to lock in your renewal price and avoid future price increases. 
• Suppose you are considering adding additional network licensing. In that case, there will be a 19% price increase effective April 1st, so you may choose to stock up on network licenses before the price increase and even include a 3-year subscription to avoid future price increases.   
• You will also want to investigate some of the new 3DEXPERIENCE SOLIDWORKS offerings to evaluate future data management offerings in the cloud. 
• Suppose you are considering adding PDM or a data management solution. In that case, you need to discuss your initiatives with our team to understand which path in the SOLIDWORKS ecosystem to consider, desktop or cloud. 
• If you currently use SOLIDWORKS PDM, you still have options for New SolidWorks term and perpetual options. However, the migration path to 3DX data management is still in process. The current on-premise data management solutions have long-term stability. Your options for new 3DX solutions will be available to you in the future if the business needs to benefit from this solution. 

In the end, we see our role at TPM as your guide to help you best navigate through this business model transition. One of our Success Principals at TPM is to “Make our Customers Truly Successful,” which is why we take our responsibility so seriously. Please reach out immediately to ensure you have the best plan for success in your business.