Licensing Options |
|
Licensing Options |
|
PipeLay has very flexible licensing options, to suit various organisational requirements. There are actually 5 different methods by which PipeLay may be licensed from Wood PLC :
•PipeLay in the cloud (recommended)
•Monthly Rental
•Annual Subscription
•Perpetual Ownership
•Token-based
PipeLay in the Cloud involves the delivery of a software license, plus associated computational power and storage facilities, over the internet to offer a convenient, immediate and scalable means of running PipeLay. This ‘software-as-a-service’ (SaaS) model allows customers to pay for PipeLay exactly when and where required, helping to lower operational costs and having minimal capital investments over time. It can appeal to a broad range of customer types:
•Companies who want low administration / low configuration costs and want to start fast
•Companies who use PipeLay intensively can use cloud computing to supplement their desktop licenses and quickly scale up their computational power to meet busy project workloads and/or short deadlines
•Companies who tend to rent PipeLay on a project-by-project basis may find the cloud solution a more practical and cost-effective model than the traditional rental models. If software hours can be related to engineering hours based on prior experience, detailed cost estimates can be provided to engineering clients up-front
•Companies who are gradually phasing out traditional PC/server hardware and migrating all their systems to the cloud.
Refer to PipeLay in the Cloud for further information on this.
The customer rents the software on a month-by-month basis. Once the rental period expires, the software ceases to operate. Rental models can be suitable for well-defined projects of fixed scope. There is a breakeven point in terms of project duration beyond which it becomes more economical to opt for full ownership. When upgrading a rental license to full ownership, a significant discount is available based on a percentage of the total rental fees paid during the 12 months preceding the purchase date.
This model is conceptually similar to a monthly rental, with two notable exceptions. Firstly, the minimum subscription period is 12 months (as opposed to 1 month) and secondly, the cost of acquiring a license for 12 months via annual subscription is much lower than the cumulative total of 12 individual monthly rentals. This model offers an ideal combination of license flexibility and cost efficiency.
A license is purchased outright by the customer so that the software can be used for an unlimited period. In addition to the initial purchase cost, the customer also pays an annual fee (beginning in Year 2) in order to receive technical support and software upgrades over time. This model is typically favored by organisations where PipeLay is used extensively and consistently over long periods of time.
The token-based license represents a ‘pay-per-use’ model. It facilitates organisations who do not have enough workload to warrant a monthly rental license and who only need to use the software on an ad-hoc basis. With this model, users purchase a number of tokens upfront and these tokens are consumed subsequently as simulations are performed. The rate of token consumption is dependent on the type of simulation being performed (e.g. dynamic time domain simulations cost more tokens than static analyses). Token-based licensing is not recommended for significant or prolonged usage of PipeLay, in which case the monthly rental, annual subscription or perpetual options (in ascending order of commitment) become more cost effective. Refer to token-based licenses for further information.
The following table presents a useful summary of the various license models and should assist you in selecting the one which best meets your requirements.
License Model |
Pros |
Cons |
Sample Customer Profile |
PipeLay in the Cloud |
•Low up-front cost •Pay for what you use, when you need it •Scale for multiple users automatically •Charges relate directly to usage levels •Harness the power of cloud computing •Reduce dependency on local hardware •Software hosted in the cloud |
•Requires reliable internet connection to work
|
•Companies who want low administration, low configuration costs and want to start fast •Companies who need to supplement their compute capacity licenses during busy periods •Companies who are gradually phasing out traditional PC/server hardware in favour of cloud solutions |
Monthly Rental |
•Low up-front cost •Payments spread evenly over several months •Option to upgrade to full ownership, including some level of discount •Available both as Licensing as a Service and traditional dongle |
•Software ceases to operate after rental period has expired •Expensive means of licensing if used long term |
•Ideal for short duration engineering projects of fixed scope, especially if software costs can be included in tenders/bids |
Annual Subscription |
•Much lower entry cost than full ownership •Much more cost-effective than monthly rental •Available both as Licensing as a Service and traditional dongle |
•Software ceases to operate after annual subscription period has expired •Ownership model may work out slightly cheaper for very long-term usage |
•Organisations who use the software consistently over several years |
Perpetual Ownership |
•Software operates for an infinite period •Most cost effective license model in long term •Available both as Licensing as a Service and traditional dongle |
•Significant up-front purchase cost •Additional annual fee in order to receive technical support and program upgrades |
•Organisations who use the software consistently over several years |
Token-based |
•Low up-front cost •Usage based rather than time based •Charges relate directly to usage levels •License period is very flexible as tokens do not expire •Available only as Licensing as a Service |
•Expensive means of licensing if software is used regularly and/or intensively |
•Companies who use the software very occassionally |