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FileMaker Licensing, back in the days of version 15

Question asked by planteg on Aug 26, 2018
Latest reply on Aug 27, 2018 by bigtom

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Hi,

I will shortly begin a project for a customer that is running at this time version 15, client and server. The only way they work with FM files is using FMP or FMPA, no FM Go, no WebDirect and no CWP. They have a concurrent licence for 15 connections. Back in those days, can't tell if it's the same today, each copy of FMP / FMPA came with a license to connect to the server. But then, why did they need to buy 15 concurrent licenses, unless there is something that changed with version 15. Note that I need to see the documents, but my guess is that all I told about is right.

Now back to 2018. FileMaker is now selling a platform and not products anymore. I have few questions:

Can one upgrade a server as one can upgrade FPM/FMPA ?
If for some reason they wish to stay with concurrent connections, can they get FMS 17 at an upgrade price, or do they need to pay full price ? I never heard of upgrade price for FMS.
My guess is that they better go with FUL where they get FMPA for free. Am I right ?

Thanks

bigtom Aug 26, 2018 9:15 PM

Correct Answer

FM15 offered FLT where FMP needed concurrent connections on the server. If they licensed this way they will likely be rolled into FUL in FM17. FMPA was always sold per seat on a VLA with FM15.

If they bought 15 VLA seats of FMP, They would not need the concurrent connections. If sales sold them both I would be surprised as that would not have been the right thing to do. I suspect they have an FLT perpetual VLA for 15 users.

Perpetual licensing is available with maintenance. There is no actual "discount" upgrade for VLA software. If they have not been paying for maintenance since v15 they will have the expired maintenance costs. You will need to talk to FM sales to see what the best option is.

Catching up on 3 years of expired maintenance on concurrent connections might be more expensive than just getting a new perpetual license for v17 or v18. There was a big 3x increase in the cost of concurrent connections and the date to lock in the earlier pricing has already passed. Expire Maintenance on 15 concurrent connections is now $7,770 just for last year alone, not including the previous two years expired maintenance. A new perpetual license for FM17 with 15 users is $7560. Missing the chance to hold only the earlier maintenance pricing is unfortunate in this situation.

So the real answer is to know what you have now and call sales to sort out the best option.

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bigtom Aug 26, 2018 9:15 PM

FM15 offered FLT where FMP needed concurrent connections on the server. If they licensed this way they will likely be rolled into FUL in FM17. FMPA was always sold per seat on a VLA with FM15.

So the real answer is to know what you have now and call sales to sort out the best option.

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planteg @ bigtom on Aug 27, 2018 3:57 AM

Thanks bigtom ,

the only other clue I have now is that the contract will end next November, so that could be perpetual with maintenance. I should learn soon.

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wimdecorte Aug 27, 2018 5:11 AM

Back in those days, can't tell if it's the same today, each copy of FMP / FMPA came with a license to connect to the server. But then, why did they need to buy 15 concurrent licenses

Are you saying they bought 15 individual separate FMP/FMPA licenses? One at a time?

That's unlikely.

They more than likely either bought into the FLT, which is a bundle of server and client connections. Or bought some other form of VLA which is typically also a server plus x number of clients.

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planteg @ wimdecorte on Aug 27, 2018 5:31 AM

This is something I hope to clarify today. I haven't look at the contract yet.

There is one thing I realized though: whether perpetual or annual, you get the same thing from v 17, the platform. The difference is in the way you spend your money, and the length of the license in short.

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bigtom @ planteg on Aug 27, 2018 8:52 AM

@planteg With FM17, perpetual does not give you a FM Cloud install that you get with annual. My thought on this are for a different discussion.

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wimdecorte @ bigtom on Aug 27, 2018 8:58 AM

bigtom wrote:

@planteg With FM17, perpetual does not give you a FM Cloud install that you get with annual. My thought on this are for a different discussion.

Expanding on that: concurrency only gives you the right to one server. user-licensing gives you the right to 3 server deployments, of which one can be an FM Cloud instance.

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planteg @ bigtom on Aug 27, 2018 9:09 AM

Yep, I forgot that. I guess Annual covers the cost for Cloud, but not for AWS instance ?

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wimdecorte @ planteg on Aug 27, 2018 9:13 AM

Yes, just the FMS license part, not the 'usage' charges in compute time and bandwidth used. Those vary with what your solution needs.

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bigtom @ wimdecorte on Aug 27, 2018 4:26 PM

Just to make it clear, only annual user-licensing gives you one install on FM Cloud with BYOL.

There is some sort of contractual limitation with the AWS marketplace or FMC vendor that does not allow perpetual licenses of any kind on FM Cloud.

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9 Replies

bigtom Aug 26, 2018 9:15 PM
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Correct Answer
FM15 offered FLT where FMP needed concurrent connections on the server. If they licensed this way they will likely be rolled into FUL in FM17. FMPA was always sold per seat on a VLA with FM15.

If they bought 15 VLA seats of FMP, They would not need the concurrent connections. If sales sold them both I would be surprised as that would not have been the right thing to do. I suspect they have an FLT perpetual VLA for 15 users.

Perpetual licensing is available with maintenance. There is no actual "discount" upgrade for VLA software. If they have not been paying for maintenance since v15 they will have the expired maintenance costs. You will need to talk to FM sales to see what the best option is.

Catching up on 3 years of expired maintenance on concurrent connections might be more expensive than just getting a new perpetual license for v17 or v18. There was a big 3x increase in the cost of concurrent connections and the date to lock in the earlier pricing has already passed. Expire Maintenance on 15 concurrent connections is now $7,770 just for last year alone, not including the previous two years expired maintenance. A new perpetual license for FM17 with 15 users is $7560. Missing the chance to hold only the earlier maintenance pricing is unfortunate in this situation.

So the real answer is to know what you have now and call sales to sort out the best option.
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planteg @ bigtom on Aug 27, 2018 3:57 AM
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Correct Answer
Thanks bigtom ,

the only other clue I have now is that the contract will end next November, so that could be perpetual with maintenance. I should learn soon.
Like • Show 0 Likes0
Actions
wimdecorte Aug 27, 2018 5:11 AM
Mark Correct
Correct Answer
Back in those days, can't tell if it's the same today, each copy of FMP / FMPA came with a license to connect to the server. But then, why did they need to buy 15 concurrent licenses

Are you saying they bought 15 individual separate FMP/FMPA licenses? One at a time?
That's unlikely.

They more than likely either bought into the FLT, which is a bundle of server and client connections. Or bought some other form of VLA which is typically also a server plus x number of clients.
Like • Show 0 Likes0
Actions
planteg @ wimdecorte on Aug 27, 2018 5:31 AM
Mark Correct
Correct Answer
This is something I hope to clarify today. I haven't look at the contract yet.

There is one thing I realized though: whether perpetual or annual, you get the same thing from v 17, the platform. The difference is in the way you spend your money, and the length of the license in short.
Like • Show 0 Likes0
Actions
bigtom @ planteg on Aug 27, 2018 8:52 AM
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@planteg With FM17, perpetual does not give you a FM Cloud install that you get with annual. My thought on this are for a different discussion.
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wimdecorte @ bigtom on Aug 27, 2018 8:58 AM
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bigtom wrote:

@planteg With FM17, perpetual does not give you a FM Cloud install that you get with annual. My thought on this are for a different discussion.

Expanding on that: concurrency only gives you the right to one server. user-licensing gives you the right to 3 server deployments, of which one can be an FM Cloud instance.
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planteg @ bigtom on Aug 27, 2018 9:09 AM
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Yep, I forgot that. I guess Annual covers the cost for Cloud, but not for AWS instance ?
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wimdecorte @ planteg on Aug 27, 2018 9:13 AM
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Yes, just the FMS license part, not the 'usage' charges in compute time and bandwidth used. Those vary with what your solution needs.
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bigtom @ wimdecorte on Aug 27, 2018 4:26 PM
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Just to make it clear, only annual user-licensing gives you one install on FM Cloud with BYOL.

There is some sort of contractual limitation with the AWS marketplace or FMC vendor that does not allow perpetual licenses of any kind on FM Cloud.
Like • Show 0 Likes0
Actions

FileMaker Licensing, back in the days of version 15

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