Benefits of Maintaining Software Support Contracts
September 23, 2024
on
on
Haven’t renewed your Software Support or Maintenance Contract? Those contracts provide many more benefits than just Technical Support. Learn why investing in software support is crucial for maintaining the health, security, and efficiency of your software systems.
Every user of the most popular Electronic Design Automation software tools lauds the benefits of using their tools to engineer a new design. The features made available in their chosen tools automate and accelerate their design process. Quite often the initial investment of purchasing tools begins with a lengthy evaluation of competitive tools culminating in a preferred vendor selection and acquisition of the tools. What follows is an adoption cycle that includes user training, migrating designs and libraries and final deployment across an enterprise. The tool selection process involves not only a financial investment, but also a large human resource investment. Once deployed, the tools will likely have an indefinite life cycle provided their chosen tool provider continues investing in the software to avoid obsolescence.
CAD software providers also have a huge investment in their business. They continue to develop their software to meet end user demands and make technological advancements to maintain their market leadership position. Most vendors today, unlike in the 1980’s, are strictly selling software and not the host hardware. Their R&D expenses are covered by revenue generated from sales of software, but often new sales alone are not sufficient to provide a positive customer experience throughout a product life cycle. Another source of their revenue is annual software maintenance contracts (a.k.a. support contracts). Most users associate these funds with the ability to access product technical support any time it is needed. Under this thinking, as users become more proficient and knowledgeable with their tools, their motivation to continue paying contracts annually may wane or stop all together. A really bad idea!
Almost all support contracts in EDA are linked to a release version at the time of initial purchase. If new releases are made within the term of a contract, users are granted access to the new release. However, should a user choose not to renew their annual support contract, they invariably lose access to new releases and all benefits of the upgrade. New software releases often include new features, bug fixes, performance improvements and even OS compatibility resolutions. A user with an extended lapse of maintenance is left behind and risks inoperable or incompatible tools. Even worse, due to common EDA maintenance amnesty policies, their cost to upgrade to the latest release will be costly and even higher than the initial product purchase. All users should consider their risk of tool obsolescence when deciding to renew their annual contracts and should consider the benefits listed in the graphic.
Overall, investing in software maintenance is crucial for maintaining the health, security, and efficiency of your software systems. It ensures your software continues to meet your needs and adapts to changing requirements and environments.
At DownStream Technologies, we’re always investing in our software to make sure our users get the best return on their investment. For more information please visit www.downstreamtech.com.
Every user of the most popular Electronic Design Automation software tools lauds the benefits of using their tools to engineer a new design. The features made available in their chosen tools automate and accelerate their design process. Quite often the initial investment of purchasing tools begins with a lengthy evaluation of competitive tools culminating in a preferred vendor selection and acquisition of the tools. What follows is an adoption cycle that includes user training, migrating designs and libraries and final deployment across an enterprise. The tool selection process involves not only a financial investment, but also a large human resource investment. Once deployed, the tools will likely have an indefinite life cycle provided their chosen tool provider continues investing in the software to avoid obsolescence.
CAD software providers also have a huge investment in their business. They continue to develop their software to meet end user demands and make technological advancements to maintain their market leadership position. Most vendors today, unlike in the 1980’s, are strictly selling software and not the host hardware. Their R&D expenses are covered by revenue generated from sales of software, but often new sales alone are not sufficient to provide a positive customer experience throughout a product life cycle. Another source of their revenue is annual software maintenance contracts (a.k.a. support contracts). Most users associate these funds with the ability to access product technical support any time it is needed. Under this thinking, as users become more proficient and knowledgeable with their tools, their motivation to continue paying contracts annually may wane or stop all together. A really bad idea!
Almost all support contracts in EDA are linked to a release version at the time of initial purchase. If new releases are made within the term of a contract, users are granted access to the new release. However, should a user choose not to renew their annual support contract, they invariably lose access to new releases and all benefits of the upgrade. New software releases often include new features, bug fixes, performance improvements and even OS compatibility resolutions. A user with an extended lapse of maintenance is left behind and risks inoperable or incompatible tools. Even worse, due to common EDA maintenance amnesty policies, their cost to upgrade to the latest release will be costly and even higher than the initial product purchase. All users should consider their risk of tool obsolescence when deciding to renew their annual contracts and should consider the benefits listed in the graphic.
Overall, investing in software maintenance is crucial for maintaining the health, security, and efficiency of your software systems. It ensures your software continues to meet your needs and adapts to changing requirements and environments.
At DownStream Technologies, we’re always investing in our software to make sure our users get the best return on their investment. For more information please visit www.downstreamtech.com.
Read full article
Hide full article
Discussion (0 comments)