I’ve always wondered when the licensing model with ArcGIS would change. My personal thought has been the move to ArcGIS Pro was a sign of that. My one caveat to this post…I don’t write software. I write small programs to do things. I’ve not been a huge fan of the licensing model of ArcGIS ever since I became a client – a tiered approach to software in 2014 to me seems incredibly archaic. There is more information in the post and I’m only copying and pasting what I think is a sign of things to come:
ArcGIS Pro follows a named user licensing model, where each user account is assigned permissions to access the software. Starting with beta 5, licenses for ArcGIS Pro are administered through your ArcGIS Online organizational account. This will be the software authorization method used for the remainder of the beta program, as well as in the final release.
If you’ve been using ArcGIS Pro beta, you’re already used to signing in to start the application. The difference now is that the organization administrator needs to assign each account a software license level and, optionally, any additional extensions. When you start ArcGIS Pro and sign in, the application runs with the level and extensions your administrator has specified.
In my opinion – you’re only a stones throw away from licensing using the AGOL Credit system (i.e. This Geoprocessing model costs .5 credits). Granted – for me that might be cheaper as ArcGIS has moved into more of a cartographic role these days. Could I license the software I need? Maybe.
……and I could be completely wrong. Does it ultimately matter? I could argue yes and no.
Still – I find it interesting. With Beta nothing is assured. I haven’t run Pro yet. I need to.
Things are changing – A sign of things to come? Maybe…Maybe my tinfoil hat is getting to tight.