Hi Folks,
Thanks for the feedback from quite a few people (including familiar names
and even people I have met at conference). Some of these replies have been
public but many more have been private for various reasons. I will send
some private replies.
The public reply from Ron Grabau is (as is typical for him) a good overview
and like him I sure hope PTC are paying attention. The public reply from
David Haigh reminds us that this is the way that extensions to Help are
going (and I have used Learning Connector about two months ago when I
wanted more info on Hems in Sheetmetal).
None of the respondents (to date) are happy with the present PTC licencing
approach to eLearning.
If I sum up my thinking:
- Maintenance/support is a very substantial budget item*; we always get
asked why we should spend so much money. What can I really answer that we
actually get for this money?
- We get bug fixes for the version of software we are using. [We
would prefer that the software was robust in the first instance].
- We get occasional new software releases that promise higher
productivity.
- Mostly these are advances on existing software but twice since
'95, when I started using it, the new release has been a whole new
interface which involves retraining for something we can already do
competently. In each case we have to weigh up the benefits
of going to a
newer release. I can't say for other companies but we are usually not
early adopters of new releases and I can see from posts that there are
still users on much older versions of ProE.
- I absolutely agree that ProE (now Creo) is much easier to learn
(at least for the basic aspects) than it was when I started
so from that
point of view the Wildfire interface was a step forward (even
though it
initially cost us heavily in productivity). I can't really
comment on the
Creo interface as I have deliberately stayed away from this
until now; I
will shortly start looking at Creo 2.0
- Access to a phone help line. We don't use this. Typically our
users are reasonably competent so the questions tend to be obtuse and
with apologies to the people staffing the Help lines we find
understanding
the accents very difficult to the point where we don't bother.
- We do get some support from our VAR and are quite happy with them.
If we end up with an SPR we do it through them.
- Training is not included in the ProE licences so eLearning is a
separate licence deal that requires one licence for each unique training
user and this is a real sticking point this time as there is the cost per
user versus the actual usage per user.
* [The nominal maintenance is 15% of a new seat cost per licence meaning
that every seven years (just under) we pay the whole cost of the licence
over again. This seems industry typical from what I have seen. I am aware
that many ProE users do not pay maintenance and just continue until it is
time to buy again when they can look at what other packages can do what
they want.]
Although this scenario is not unique to PTC but that is no excuse to not do
things better.
Below, For your interest, I have copied out the relevant sections of the
PTC Licencing documents that relate to eLearning
*The eLearning licences are supplied only as "Restricted user" see below.*
*
*
*Licensed Product Name *
- *All e-learning software licenses (e.g., Pro/FICIENCY,
Create, Control, Collaborate, Coach, etc.)*
*Licensing Basis*
- *Registered User*
- *Note: Despite anything to the contrary in the License Agreement,
(a) use of these products is not restricted to persons located in the
Designated Country and (b) for these products customer may not substitute
one Registered User for another, except that a Registered User who ceases
to be employed by customer may be replaced with another Registered User.
*
*
*
*And they specifically state that a generic user as a work around is not
acceptable.*
*
*
*“Registered User”:*
*Registered User Products may only be used by individual, named registered
users on a password basis. The customer may add and/or substitute from time
to time new registered users as long as the aggregate number of registered
users does not exceed at any point in time the number of licenses in effect
at such time for that particular product and, provided further, that if a
person who was previously a registered user returns to registered user
status, a new license fee must be paid to PTC at PTC’s then current rates.*
*A License is required for each individual who accesses a Registered User
product or the data contained therein, whether directly or through a web
portal or other mechanism for “batching” or otherwise achieving indirect
access to the Licensed Product or such data. Generic or shared log-ins are
not permitted.*
*
*
*In terms of PTC checking up sub-sections 2.1 and 2.2 of the overall
Licencing agreement state*
*
*
*2. Compliance*
*...*
*
*
*2.1 License Usage Assessments*
*To confirm Customer’s compliance with the terms and conditions hereof,
Customer agrees that PTC may perform a usage assessment with respect to
Customer’s use of the Licensed Products. Customer agrees to provide PTC
access to Customer’s facilities and computer systems, and cooperation from
Customer’s employees and consultants, as reasonably requested by PTC in
order to perform such assessment, all during normal business hours, and
after reasonable prior notice from PTC.*
*
*
*2.2 Reports*
*Upon written request from PTC, Customer agrees to provide to PTC an
installation and/or usage report with respect to the Licensed Products (and
in the case of Registered User Products, such report shall include a list
of all users for whom Customer has issued a password or other unique
identifier to enable such individual to use the Registered User Product).*
*Such report shall be certified by an authorized representative of Customer
as to its accuracy within ten (10) business days after receipt of any
written request from PTC. For any period in which Customer’s use of the
Licensed Products exceeds the number and/or the scope of the Licenses in
effect during such period for such Licensed Products, Customer agrees to
pay for any such excess usage, including applicable license and Maintenance
Services fees, and without limiting any other rights or remedies to which
it is entitled, failure to pay shall be grounds for termination in
accordance with Section 7 hereof.*
Regards,
*Brent Drysdale*
*Senior Design Engineer*
Tait Communications
