Why is EASE 5 offered as a time-limited license?
With EASE 5 we have introduced time-limited licenses instead of perpetual licenses.
The main reason for changing the licensing model is that we want to deliver new, valuable features continuously and at a good frequency. This is a prominent expectation of many users today that we would like to fulfill. Additionally, the audio and acoustics world is innovative, the evolution of its technologies, methods and concepts requires our software to follow up.
Similarly important to us, time-limited licenses allow us to reduce the entry costs into the EASE world measurably. This makes the software more accessible for a broad range of potential users.
The new concept also makes it much easier to upgrade to higher feature levels as you can switch to a different feature level at the beginning of each licensing term at no additional cost.
Budgets for the software can be planned reliably as you can assume that no chargeable updates will occur within the time limit of the license.
Last but not least, a reason for this change is that maintaining a software in the current IT environment, keeping it up-to-date and stable requires an on-going effort that is significant. This is not limited to the environment that the software runs in. It also applies to the environment in which the software is written, the tools it is built with as well as the platforms through which the software and related services are provided.
While different, the costs for the new licensing model are moderate. The new fees are based approximately on the prices of the predecessor EASE 4.4 using the assumption of a four-year amortization time period.
For example:
- EASE 4.4 Standard costs 2.900 EUR whereas EASE 5 Standard is 800 EUR per year based on the two-year renewal fee.
- EASE 4.4 Standard with AURA and EARS costs 4.860 EUR whereas EASE 5 Pro is 1.125 EUR per year based on the two-year renewal fee.