How do users feel about the end of Powerdraft and the upgrade terms to Microstation Connect Edition? We are a SME and have 6 Powerdraft lciences. We have tried Connect software previously but even on new high end workstations there is a fair lag when opening drawigs and switching between files.
Bentley have emailed about dropping support for Powerdraft and offering a no cost conversion of perpetual licenses to Microstation. However the "no cost" part involves paying £1197 per licence for select fees, so that would be £7192 to replace something we already had been paying for for decades. This is a substantial cost for a small firm like ours.
Most bizarelly of all, support for Powerdraft is ceasing however if you don't migrate, the Select subscription fees will INCREASE by 25% per Powerdraft licence...for an unsupported product that we have already bought many times over ! I have asked for justification for this but this particular point gets avoided. Yes you get a deal on Microstation but why the 25% uplift if you don't migrate?
Am I missing something or is this mad?
Happy for a Bentley rep to reply as well. Note we have been using Bentley productts since 1993 and this is not much of a reward for being a loyal customer and after the overusage fees charged for ten minutes accidental opening of drawings, edges us closer to leaving Benltley for a competitior..
Hi Keith,
Killing PowerDraft sounds like a short-term gain for Bentley. It's less work for them (not downgrading Microstation to PowerDraft) and higher subscription fees. So right off hand, it sounds like this is a profitable move for Bentley (not their users). In the long term, Bentley may start to loose more customers and may not get potential customers due to the price of Microstation.
--Robert
Hi Robert I agree with you and did suggest this in my call with Bentley's Customer Success Manager who took a more middle ground approach when discussing my concerns. Powerdraft was always an attractive proposition, especially for smaller firms like ours, we substantially use this a a 2D draughting tool, and use about 50-60% of it's full capability. Change to Microstation and we would probably drop to 30% for a lot more outlay. I did stress what I considered a crucial point to the CSM, that not all architects are expert CAD configurators and the hassle of upgrading software in Bentley's less than seamless way, [unless you really get the hang of saving interfaces and configurations which I have tried before with varying degrees of success]
And not all architects can afford to have an IT manager whose sole task is dealing with IT so I suspect there will be large amounts of users still many versions behind like us.
For too long as I also told the CRM, we have never felt that the Bentley relationship is the usual supplier/customer situation, especially when you consider the previous punitive licensing overage costs. Don't get me started again on the 25% subs uplift either!
My hope is that we upgrade to the latest versions of Powerdaft Connect right at the end and that we are basically entitled to retain them with perpetual licences so that we can choose when to upgrade, and fork out thousands of pounds, not being forced into it.
Thanks for taking the time to reply
regards
Keith