25 August 2014Schnitger	  Corporation

Strategic Brief

CAD Subscriptions: Get What You Need, When You Need It
If you’re like most business owners, you’re focused on cash flow—what’s coming in, what’s going out—andensuring that the two are in balance to meet the fluctuating needs of your business. If you’re an engineering ordesign manager, you also need to make sure that your team is ready: do you have enough people to do the work?
Do they have the tools they need?
Software subscriptions are emerging as one way to address both sets of concerns. Subscriptions provide access totechnology at an aﬀordable entry point and make it easy to adjust the number of software licenses up or down.
Siemens PLM Software recently introduced subscriptions of Solid Edge, its mainstream 3D design solution, toensure that your team has access to Solid Edge in flexible, one-month commitments. Subscriptions oﬀer flexibility,
cost-eﬀective licenses, and a way to easily level up and down between the Solid Edge Design and Drafting,Foundation, Classic, and Premium packages.

Weighing the Options
You’re probably used to buying perpetual licenses of your CAD software, and you can certainly continue to do that.
But subscriptions are an option worth considering. For example, now you can also go to the Solid Edge online store,
either by clicking through from a reseller site or directly at www.siemens.com/plm/buy-solid-edge, make yourpurchase and download the software. In minutes, you’re up and productive.
Your Solid Edge subscription• software is identical to the perpetual version of the same package• files can be shared with other Solid Edge users• runs locally, on your desktop, not in the cloud• includes support from a qualified engineer at your local reseller, backed by Siemens Technical Support• provides access to integrated, web-based learning tools and the Solid Edge online user community• is easy to level up or down within the Solid Edge package structure, and• can be canceled at any time.
Four Solid Edge subscriptions are currently available: Design and Drafting, Foundation, Classic, and Premium. A
subscription winds up costing roughly the same as a perpetual-plus-maintenance arrangement at about the threeyear mark. In other words, if you keep a subscription for three years, it costs the same as if you buy a perpetual, pay
maintenance and keep it for three years. But there are diﬀerences: Under the perpetual model, you pay a larger fee
upfront and then annual maintenance payments. With a subscription, you make more modest, identical monthly
payments which makes it easier to manage your cash flow. Subscriptions may also be easier for you to buy because
their smaller, monthly amounts often come from operating (not capital) budgets, which may speed up your approval
process.

Scaling Up, Leveling Up
Solid Edge subscriptions let you add and subtract seats, and move up and down between the packages as yourbusiness changes, as often as monthly. If you’re a startup, you can stop using evaluation and student
versions that watermark your drawings and upgrade to a professional product at an aﬀordable monthly
price. Established businesses can benefit from quickly adding and releasing licenses — you can stop
paying maintenance on seats that are used periodically, by temporary contractors or interns whoonly join you for a few months at a time. If you’re a Solid Edge customer whose perpetual licenses
have dropped oﬀ maintenance,
subscriptions are an aﬀordable way
to get the current version, withSubscrip)ons	  allow	  us	  to	  put	  people	  on	  temporary	  support.
Subscriptions are also a great way
to try Solid Edge before buying
perpetual licenses. For a monthly
fee, you can experiment to see
which Solid Edge package best
suits your design needs. Since thecost diﬀerential is minimal, youprojects.	  It’s	  a	  pay-­‐on-­‐demand	  system,	  which	  gives	  uscost	  control.	  I	  have	  a	  machinist	  who	  has	  made	  it	  his	  passion	  to	  really	  learn	  the	  so>ware	  and	  he	  is	  now	  using	  it	  almost	  exclusively.	  	  Without	  the	  subscrip)on	  op)on	  I	  would	  have	  never	  given	  him	  a	  seat.	  	  Now	  his	  seat	  is	  one	  of	  the	  most	  produc)ve	  ones	  we	  have.
-­‐-­‐	  Oliver	  KuEner,	  Edison2

Schnitger	  Corporation

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could try a higher tier subscription —for example, to try out the simulation in the Premium package—to see if it’sright for you.

Transacting In A Secure Environment
Buying a Solid Edge subscription is easy and safe. The Solid Edge store is run by Digital River, which builds andmanages online businesses for more than 40,000 companies. Siemens PLM Software selected Digital River because
its platform is secure, detects and prevents
fraud, and smoothly processes thousands oftransactions a day.
In the Solid Edge store, you select thepackage that works best for you: Design andDrafting, Foundation, Classic, or Premium.
Next, you complete the secure order formand enter payment details for either a credit
card or PayPal account. Digital River
processes the transaction and forwards you
to a page where you’ll see download links
and installation instructions. Soon after,
you’ll receive an email from Solid Edge that
confirms your order and provides contact information for your services partner.

As	  a	  new	  enterprise,	  I	  could	  never	  have	  aﬀorded	  professional	  CAD	  so>ware.	  
Subscrip)ons	  let	  me	  use	  Solid	  Edge	  when	  I	  need	  to.
–	  David	  HuEon,	  HuEon	  Technologies	  Ltd.

That’s it. You can be working with Solid Edge in minutes.

Subscriptions Help You Build An Agile Business
Solid Edge subscriptions let you ramp up at a moment’s notice, smooth out your cash flow and deal with the peaks
and valleys of your business. Subscriptions are a great addition to a base of perpetual licenses or can be the core ofyour design department. You can quickly gain access to the latest technology and, for a one-month commitment, try
a diﬀerent package or evaluate Solid Edge on a new project.
Solid Edge subscriptions add flexibility to your business, while giving your designers immediate access tothe technology they need.

Ren)ng	  Solid	  Edge	  licenses	  for	  interns,	  contractors	  and	  other	  temporary	  workers	  is	  the	  perfect	  solu)on	  for	  us	  -­‐	  we	  don’t	  have	  to	  move	  anyone	  to	  another	  shi>	  or	  buy	  perpetual	  licenses	  for	  short-­‐term	  use.	  Subscrip)ons	  let	  us	  buy	  just	  as	  we	  need	  them.
–	  Ricardo	  Espinosa,	  Kimball	  Interna)onalI	  own	  a	  small	  company	  that	  would	  not	  be	  able	  to	  aﬀord	  a	  perpetual	  license	  and	  the	  less	  expensive	  programs	  all	  came	  with	  compromises.	  The	  Solid	  Edge	  subscrip)on	  allows	  me	  the	  ability	  to	  design	  with	  the	  best	  of	  them.
–	  Steve	  TripleE,	  Trinity	  Frame	  &	  FabTo learn more about Solid Edge and Solid Edge subscriptions, contact your reseller, visit the online store atwww.siemens.com/plm/buy-solid-edge, or go to www.solidedge.com.

This brief was created by Schnitger Corporation at the request of Siemens PLM Software. The analysis and opinions presented
here are those of Schnitger Corporation. For more information or to comment, please visit www.schnitgercorp.com.