Delcam sales are moving to a subscription only model
For the last few years Autodesk has been moving its product sales to a subscription only model, and news has emerged that it is also looking to do the same with its Delcam business.
Whether you think that’s a good thing or a bad thing, this much we know: for existing customers this doesn’t affect the perpetual licences you’ve already invested in, but if you need to add additional tools or seats, then it most certainly will.
Essentially, the idea of purchasing software outright, then paying for ‘maintenance’ is coming to an end. This shouldn’t be confused with cloud-based moves, it just happens that the cloud-based offerings use the subscription model by default.
While the deadline for Autodesk subscriptions (and purchases thereof) was 29 January, Delcam customers have a little longer.
As of 21 January 2017 you’ll no longer be able to acquire any of Delcam’s products as perpetual licences. That includes PowerMill, PowerShape, PowerInspect, FeatureCAM, PartMaker, ArtCAM, and PowerMILL Robot.
There are more details on Delcam’s offerings here, but it’s also worth digging into the FAQs (PDF link here).
