SAN FRANCISCO — Autodesk, Inc. customers will now be able to pay as they go for all of the company's latest Design and Creation Suites, Autodesk 3ds Max, Autodesk Maya, and the new Autodesk Maya LT.
For the first time, customers can purchase access to a range of Autodesk desktop software on a monthly, quarterly or annual basis, in addition to traditional licenses, broadly expanding choices in how to access and pay for Autodesk software. It's never been more cost effective for designers, engineers and visual effects artists to get started with Autodesk software with virtually no up-front capital costs, and to quickly ramp up projects using industry-leading Autodesk software.
Customers who choose to purchase monthly, quarterly or annual rental plans will receive similar benefits to Autodesk Subscription customers including staying current with the latest product updates, access to select Autodesk 360 cloud services and basic support.
"Our customers wanted more choices and flexibility in how they access our portfolio of design, engineering and entertainment creation tools. We expect rental plans to be attractive across all the industries we serve, especially for freelancers, startups or businesses that are project-based in nature," said Andrew Anagnost, senior vice president of Industry Strategy and Marketing at Autodesk. "This model allows customers to compete with the highest quality, industry leading software, while using only what they need when they need it."
People are increasingly seeking out experiences with less financial or time investment, and consuming products and services through renting, sharing and purchasing subscriptions.
"It's no secret; it has been a challenging time to be in the visual effects business," said CEO and executive producer Will Cohen from UK-based VFX start-up Milk. "Everyone needs to rethink the business model, and Autodesk launching rental plans will really help change the industry. Having scalability -- the flexibility to easily ramp up or back depending on the project -- means we can better compete in the modern visual effects industry."
The option to purchase a monthly, quarterly or annual rental plan will be available starting September 16, 2013. New rental plans apply to products including Autodesk AutoCAD Design Suite , Autodesk AutoCAD Inventor LT Suite , Autodesk AutoCAD Revit LT Suite , Autodesk Building Design Suite , Autodesk Entertainment Creation Suite , Autodesk Factory Design Suite , Autodesk Infrastructure Design Suite , Autodesk Plant Design Suite , Autodesk Product Design Suite , Autodesk Maya, Autodesk 3ds Max, and Autodesk Maya LT. Availability varies by country.