New pricing model thoughts (or how I USED to use Global Mapper)

kfroese

Remember when Global Mapper was the ESRI-alternative of choice? The low-cost nearly-complete GIS software that could handle any data format with ease? It wasn't as slick as many competitors but was so capable and so affordable. I loved that you could request a feature and some times it was available for testing the next day.

This new pricing model coming this fall will have my company looking for alternatives. We will consider how QGIS and Cloud Compare can fill some of our day to day needs. Currently, I have 5 network-licensed and one stand-alone Pro. To replace those licenses this fall, it will quadruple my annual costs and serve less users because I have to assign the new licenses to individuals rather than sharing them with a self-hosted FlexLM server. Sure, I can reassign them as often as I want but that is not nearly as flexible. So I'm probably going to have a buy a few more licenses to maintain workflows meaning it will be 6x or 7x more expensive. That's ESRI-level pricing. I'm not against price increases. Companies need to make money. But this move away from network licensing feels like a cash grab. The size of this price increase IS a cash grab.

I will probably keep my v27 perpetual licenses because I've already got them. I will likely buy one of the new version to replace my Pro license just to keep up with the functionality. But I will start migrating away from this software.

What are others thinking? Am I out of touch with the market?

TerraUnda

I agree with you. I was moving away from ESRI and into GM mostly because of the LiDAR tools and easy surface analysis. Now I may as well go back to ESRI. It's a huge price increase that my independent consulting business cannot maintain.

kfroese

Almost like they saw the money being left on the table so went for a pricing model about $1 less than ESRI.