Flexible Licencing Policy

Bentley Systems has introduced an innovative new "sustainable licensing" business model based on annual Portfolio Balancing. Through Portfolio Balancing, new purchasers of Bentley product licenses, along with existing Bentley SELECT subscribers, can annually exchange underutilised Bentley software for software of equal value (based on current list price) that meets existing or upcoming needs.

As Bentley COO Malcolm Walter explained, "Over the years we have learned that our user organisations' software needs change as their businesses change, which is a given in AEC (architecture, engineering, and construction). The mix of applications now required could be very different from the mix in use, say, five years ago. In fact, most users depreciate their software fully after only three years."

Walter continued, "At Bentley, with the world's broadest portfolio of software applications for the infrastructure professions, we would rather have our users see their Bentley software as a sound investment, not an expense. With Portfolio Balancing, our users can annually exchange their current combination of applications for a new combination of equal value. So when a user organisation licenses a single application from Bentley and covers it under SELECT, it has effectively licensed access to our entire portfolio, including new and future products. It can rest assured that as its business changes, its Bentley portfolio can change in accordance."

Walter concluded, "With Portfolio Balancing, they get a perpetually sustainable license that never depreciates. As far as we know, no other software vendor offers anything remotely similar."
Commenting on Bentley's new licensing practice, Amy Konary, IDC research vice president, Software Licensing and Provisioning, said, "Bentley's Portfolio Balancing is designed to provide customers with a software investment protection plan that is straightforward and flexible. With the pace of technology innovation today, any licensing approach should help ensure customers receive perpetual value from their perpetual license assets."