Avid: A question about "bug fixes" after my plan runs out

[ilovemyssl]

Avid,

My plan is almost expired for both my 12HD licenses.

There are still so many bugs in PT12.6.1... things that have been issues for a long time like the midi sustain bug etc..

I understand once my plan is out I'm not entitled to "new features", but there's a difference between "new features" and "I've paid good money for software that has bugs that you still haven't fixed"...

So can you tell me whether or not we will still get "BUG FIX" releases if our plans run out? ie. 12.6.1r2

[Drew Mazurek]

Originally Posted by ilovemyssl

Avid,

My plan is almost expired for both my 12HD licenses.

There are still so many bugs in PT12.6.1... things that have been issues for a long time like the midi sustain bug etc..

I understand once my plan is out I'm not entitled to "new features", but there's a difference between "new features" and "I've paid good money for software that has bugs that you still haven't fixed"...

So can you tell me whether or not we will still get "BUG FIX" releases if our plans run out? ie. 12.6.1r2

Sadly, you will not get anything new from Avid once you're "off plan".

[philgrab]

I don't know of any software company that will provide fixes for subscription software off the plan.

This was more a thing of the past when you could pick up bug fixes until the next release of non-subscription software.

Software companies frankly, across many years, get away with delivering on a working subset of all the features they market. It's the nature of changing development practices and technology outstripping developers ability to keep up with the changes. This in addition to finding the most inexpensive developers to get the job done. It's fundamentally a failure between the architectural plan and the ability to execute the plan. More specifically, poor life cycle management of the development process.

[Extreme Mixing]

You want them to provide a team of developers to give updates to those who leave the plan? No chance that will ever happen. And if it did, those of us still paying for the plan would have reason to complain. LOUDLY.

Steve

[noiseboyuk]

Originally Posted by Extreme Mixing

You want them to provide a team of developers to give updates to those who leave the plan? No chance that will ever happen. And if it did, those of us still paying for the plan would have reason to complain. LOUDLY.

I wouldn't. The OP's question is more than fair, imo. There's two separate issues:

1. Bug fixes - features that should work but don't.
2. New features.

The subscription plan SHOULD be entirely about 2, plus support. Instead it is about 1 and 2. I would begrudge nobody not on a plan getting bug fixes. Of course, the problem is how to administer that - 2.6.0 included some bug fixes from 2.5.2, plus new features, and there's no easy way to square that circle, as it were. At the very least, Avid should allow dot.dot releases to be for everyone on that version - so if you were on 2.6.0 and your plan expired, you'd get 2.6.1 but not 2.7.0. In fact, I seem to remember Avid saying that this is how it would work, but it's quietly gotten dropped. IIRC.

[DetroitT]

I've let all but 1 HD license expire (Over six).
My systems running-free (And bringing in income), range from HD7.x to HD10
and partially-Avid supported systems running HD12's.

Avid's general-plan is well documented. the buy-back-in HD cost is my real complaint.

started in Sound Tools.

[Bob Olhsson]

It's mostly the nature of much lower prices!

[latweek]

This is the reason that its not advisable to support Avid's interpretation of the SaaS business model. Unfortunately, it rewards failure.

There hasn't so far been a universally stable release, and now there is no incentive to do so, so customer is actually rewarding Avid by continuing to pay. It's better to save your $$ for a while, let it collect interest while Avid demonstrate they can work this out.

The proof is in the past year. Avid implemented its plan as they envisioned it, including the price and set their own dates for releases. And yet each new release fixes one thing then breaks another, so you really can't say its 1) price or the 2) customer, its the company. Many other software products can get consistent and dependable releases while fixing bugs and updating features.

A good financial strategy is to time your renewals. Don't rush. I don't think it makes so much sense to upgrade each release cycle. Many PT Vanilla customers have reported that after doing the math, they have gotten no tangible value out of the releases during their paid subscription term.

It may work out to make more sense to let the sub lapse for a good long while and then come back to renew and pay the penalty after you see a feature you like or a release that remains stable for a duration of time. Depends on each individual situation.

[JFreak]

Originally Posted by latweek

This is the reason that its not advisable to support Avid's interpretation of the SaaS business model. Unfortunately, it rewards failure.

How so? Avid's interpretation of the SaaS business model is SUBSCRIPTION where you always get the latest version (as long as you subscribe).

Support Plan is not SaaS.

[latweek]

Support Plan is not SaaS.

True, subscription is a poor version of SaaS, to be sure. However that's really a tangent because of the fact that subscription or SaaS, its a service-based model.

In other words, your service is your product. If you don't see this, we can stop here.