The new "Upgrade and Support Policy" – a cynical move?
I just read the announcement about the upcoming changes to the BricsCAD Upgrade and Support Policy (effective January 1, 2026), and I must say: that wording is remarkably cynical.
“These changes are designed to deliver greater value to our loyal Maintenance customers and to encourage them to stay up to date…”
Seriously? Maintenance customers already are loyal. And by definition, they are up to date – they pay yearly to stay current. So who exactly is being “encouraged” here? That sentence reads like a marketing smoke screen, trying to make a downgrade sound like a benefit.
Let’s call it what it is: another strategic step toward phasing out perpetual licenses and pushing everyone into subscriptions – just like Autodesk did years ago.
How many users are still on perpetual licenses with active maintenance? Bricsys surely knows, but they won’t say. From what I see in professional circles, there are still plenty and this change feels like a deliberate erosion of trust.
If you really want to deliver “greater value,” start by being transparent. Don’t dress up a policy shift as a benefit to those who are already committed.
Comments
-
Do you have a link to that new Upgrade and Support Policy ?
I only found this :
0 -
Our maintenance customers are indeed very loyal to us, and we are grateful for that. For them, the biggest (and positive) change is that we will also support them even if they are still using a version that is 3 versions back. We do see that some people need to remain on older versions because of certain apps they run or other dependencies. In the past our technical support team answered questions/tickets on the last version + 2 previous versions. We are changing that the last version + 3 previous versions.
In the past we permitted people owning very old perpetual licenses, to upgrade while not being on maintenance. This way they could upgrade their license to the current version and get a discount compared to buying a new license. We are aligning that Upgrade Policy with our Support Policy change and will only permit users to upgrade from the previous 3 versions to the latest when they are not on maintenance. If your license is from 4 or more versions back you will not be able to upgrade anymore and need to purchase a new license. Leading up to this change, we have a very interesting promo running to promote moving to the current version.
More information available here: .
This change creates a bigger difference in value for our loyal Maintenance users in the future as they will have access to the most economical way to stay up-to-date.
We continue to go beyond industry standards in how we support our customers, supporting both perpetual and subscription licenses, and with providing great advantage if you have your BricsCAD licenses on Maintenance.
I hope this helps in understanding these changes.
2 -
I am on V18 and looking to upgrade before that statement came on the scene. When I saw the statement above I thought it a reasonable offer.
Older versions could upgrade at reasonable rate. Rather than say you're too old (version) and you have to pay full price to upgrade.
I went to upgrade a program recently and faced full price to upgrade.
0 -
Elli,
I followed your link to that Bricscad Upgrade Promo. I signed in and opted for an "Upgrade" of my old perpetual license. I was given a price that was very low, and I almost immediately accepted it.
But I became suspicious, and after more study I think the price quoted was for a subscription. Is that true?
If so, I'm disappointed. The offer didn't say that it was for a subscription. The page you linked to didn't say that the promo is only for subscriptions. The only reason I have to think they were offering me a subscription is the price.
0 -
Hi Anthony,
The promo is for upgrading perpetual licenses.
People on a subscription license already have access to the latest version.
If you need any specific information on your licenses and the upgrade, you can also get in touch with our sales team or your local reseller.
Great to see you are considering the upgrade!
Elli
0 -
we have Strucplus addon and they charge a lot to upgrade the addon every time there is a bricscad upgrade.. it became totally unreasonable to stay up to date with Bricscad
We recently took the opportunity to upgrade bricscad for the excellent price, and found are still able to use the old bricscad version with the Strucplus add-on on the same PC.
We will stay with bricscad as long as they don’t move to subscription only.
1 -
Eli,
I followed your link to the sales team and asked my question. They answered promptly, but it went into my spam folder so I didn't see it till just now. They confirmed what you said, that the $236 price is for an upgrade to a new perpetual license. As Skiffsailingalan said, it's an excellent price, giving me a perpetual license plus a year of maintenance for the same cost as two years of subscription. I think more people would go for it if they understood that. The Upgrade Promo doesn't make it clear.
0
