EOL for Maintenance renewals

[AndreasA_3cx]

3CX perpetual licenses become EOL from version 20.​

The new version of 3CX will no longer be sold on a perpetual license basis. In preparation for this we will no longer be selling maintenance - effective today 26th July 2023. As you’ll recall, maintenance was linked to a perpetual license. Over time, however, it’s become cl...

Continue reading the Original Blog Post.

 

[[email protected]]

Regrettably, I think you all have just made my renewal decisions for me. The lack of any real notice on this as a customer is really distressing, but I can't say it's especially surprising. My primary license is set for renewal just two weeks outside of the 2 month window specified in this post. That certainly isn't a whole lot of time to plan a migration that wasn't on the calendar.

It would have probably been a better plan for 3CX to reach out to the customers with the affected licenses to perhaps offer a more helpful solution. I can tell you that my partner received no advanced notice of this licensing change. And for us, as a Perpetual licensee since v11, it's a deal breaker.

 

[CentrexJ]

Regrettably, I think you all have just made my renewal decisions for me. The lack of any real notice on this as a customer is really distressing, but I can't say it's especially surprising. My primary license is set for renewal just two weeks outside of the 2 month window specified in this post. That certainly isn't a whole lot of time to plan a migration that wasn't on the calendar.

It would have probably been a better plan for 3CX to reach out to the customers with the affected licenses to perhaps offer a more helpful solution. I can tell you that my partner received no advanced notice of this licensing change. And for us, as a Perpetual licensee since v11, it's a deal breaker.

You really should have a conversation with your 3CX partner. Perpetual maintenance began phase-out several years ago. For the last few years maintenance renewal was the same price as an annual license.

 

[[email protected]]

You really should have a conversation with your 3CX partner. Perpetual maintenance began phase-out several years ago. For the last few years maintenance renewal was the same price as an annual license.

Hi Centrex. Thanks for your reply. I'm not new to 3CX. As an end user, I researched and selected 3CX specifically for purchase and deployment in 2013, and I ran the numbers with my primary partner each year for renewal. Several years, I priced alternative partners to make sure we were getting the best deal. Perpetual has been cheaper every year-- including last year. And again, I'm not saying 3CX shouldn't be able to change whatever they want. What I am communicating is that, for this reason and a number of other reasons, 3CX no longer has the same value for me as a customer.

 

[N_G]

@[email protected] your license expires end november - so you have a good 4 months to find another solution that works better for you. I believe its ample time....

 

[[email protected]]

@[email protected] your license expires end november - so you have a good 4 months to find another solution that works better for you. I believe its ample time....

I have a number of licenses that I manage that are affected by this change-- the soonest of these has a renewal date in August-- so not quite as much time for solution shopping as the ideally mentioned November window. But thanks. Helpful as always.

 

[N_G]

Ok tell us which and am happy to extend those licenses for 2 months free of charge to give you more time to find another solution.

 

[[email protected]]

Ok tell us which and am happy to extend those licenses for 2 months free of charge to give you more time to find another solution.

Thanks. I will open a ticket for the affected licenses.

 

[58voip]

I can understand that 3CX made the decision to stop the selling of the perpetual license and its maintenance. The annual license does benefit all of us.

However, the decision to take effect immediately is not friendly to the partners. I have a partner who signed the MA contract today. Now he has to re-egaged with the customer, explain the situation, do the paper work again. I do wish 3CX can stand in the position of the partners since they are in the fron line to deal with the customers. Any changes made by 3CX may result in a lot of work on the partners' side. I think giving some time to the partners to prepare for this change would be highly appreciated.

 

[CentrexJ]

I can understand that 3CX made the decision to stop the selling of the perpetual license and its maintenance. The annual license does benefit all of us.

However, the decision to take effect immediately is not friendly to the partners. I have a partner who signed the MA contract today. Now he has to re-egaged with the customer, explain the situation, do the paper work again. I do wish 3CX can stand in the position of the partners since they are in the fron line to deal with the customers. Any changes made by 3CX may result in a lot of work on the partners' side. I think giving some time to the partners to prepare for this change would be highly appreciated.

Do you perhaps mean renewed a contract? Perpetual licenses haven't been sold in a while and even the more recent ones only for large installs. Renewals for the past year (possibly more) have been at same price as annual.

 

[Jordan Cool]

After a license keys is converted will it keep the original expiration date?
Thanks.

 

[N_G]

Yes sure. Financially it's really the same thing. The price was the same anyway

 

[58voip]

Do you perhaps mean renewed a contract? Perpetual licenses haven't been sold in a while and even the more recent ones only for large installs. Renewals for the past year (possibly more) have been at same price as annual.

Yes, we know the situation. We know the annual license price equals the annual MA price for the perpetual license key. But a contract usually would be reviewed by the customer legal department. You have to deliver what exactly is stated in the contract. You have to do the paperwork one more time and wait for the customer's internal process to get the contract signed if the item has been changed.

We have no questions about the decision. I still think letting the partners know in advance for some time is a better communication way than just announcing and actioned immediately.

 

[international4]

Yes, there are no perpetual licenses for Microsoft Office any more. We need to purchase Office 365 every year. However, we still can use legacy Office 2019, Windows XP, and Windows 7 at our own risk.

This is the standard process, not an automatic conversion of legacy perpetual licenses to annual ones, which would force customers to renew.

There is a problem with accounting for perpetual licenses as assets on a company's balance sheets, causing them to disappear.

 

[SweetAction]

Yes, there are no perpetual licenses for Microsoft Office any more.

https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/microsoft-365/p/office-professional-2021/cfq7ttc0hhj9

 

[international4]

Thanks for the information. So, Microsoft also offers the perpetual license along with annual Office 365 subscriptions.

Nowadays, most companies have transitioned to using Office 365 for cloud services such as Teams, OneDrive, and Mail. There's no need to force them to switch; they've changed for their own benefits.

To improve the licensing model for 3CX, we should retain the perpetual license option. If we simply remove mobile push notifications when the maintenance expired, customers will automatically renew their licenses’ maintenance.

Let's take Microsoft as a reference to enhance the 3CX licensing model.

 

[SweetAction]

If we simply remove mobile push notifications when the maintenance expired, customers will automatically renew their licenses’ maintenance.

This is already the case. Along with 3CX FQDNs, 3CX SMTP, and more.