What Do HCL Software’s Price Increases and Perpetual License Changes Mean for Your Company?  

The HCL 2024 price increase list is out, and it comes with a major change to perpetual licensing.  

How will HCL Software’s cost increases and licensing changes disrupt your IT operations? 

Fresh on the heels of its decision to discontinue HCL® Digital Experience perpetual licenses, the enterprise software vendor has now announced it will transition nearly all the products it purchased from IBM to a new, subscription-based licensing model and will stop offering new perpetual licenses.  

HCL also says it will begin increasing prices in the rare case a customer is entitled to buy a new perpetual version, and that term (subscription) licensing will be the “de facto license” for associated support renewals.  

The news is cause for concern among current customers, who run the risk of losing support if they do not want to trade in their existing perpetual licenses for a subscription-based alternative, but it also represents an opportunity for companies to reconsider their approach to maintenance and support for HCL products.  

What products are included in the 2024 HCL cost increase? 

According to a communication sent to HCL partners, perpetually licensed software products to see a cost increase in 2024 will include:  

In the same communication, HCL says that “the sale of new perpetual licenses will be limited and only available on an exception basis,” which will “require approval from the Chief Growth Officer” to carry out.  

Customers hoping to buy new perpetual licenses aren’t the only ones potentially impacted by the change. Although current customers can continue to use the perpetually licensed software they own for as long as they want, those with associated support agreements will have to move to subscription-based licensing to keep receiving support from the OEM.  

These changes will come into effect on August 8, 2024. 

Who benefits from subscription-based licensing?  

HCL is far from the only B2B technology vendor to go primarily subscription-based. For example, thousands of businesses with virtualized components are actively exploring VMware® hybrid licensing strategies and independent VMware support after the virtualization leader stopped offering new perpetual licenses. 

However, no matter how fast the tech industry continues its pace towards subscription-based software, it’s clear keeping perpetual licenses could be the best choice, whether enterprise software vendors offer the option or not.  

Companies often prefer to keep their current perpetual licenses when:  

Current use cases are well-established and stable. Many companies with HCL software have probably been using some version since the IBM days. Getting the latest via continual updates – a selling point for the subscription-based alternatives HCL is pushing – doesn’t necessarily add value for them. They just want the products they currently use to remain reliable and secure.  

The business prefers stable, predictable costs. Even if introductory pricing and migration incentives make a subscription license affordable upfront, there is no guarantee prices will remain that way in the next agreement. In fact, forcing customers to repeatedly pay just to keep using the software often empowers the OEM to raise prices significantly in subsequent agreements.   

Enterprise software vendors like HCL have an incentive to move perpetually licensed customers to a model that creates more revenue and locks paying users into the larger product ecosystem. But for many customers, the value of making a switch is less certain. 

Make HCL’s 2024 price increase a turning point for your IT operations 

If your company hasn’t reviewed support and licensing options beyond what vendors themselves say is possible, HCL’s changes are yet another strong signal to start searching. 

Independent software maintenance is one way to keep your perpetual licenses while also having your HCL solutions supported and maintained.  

Not familiar? Here are a few FAQs to get you started. 

What is independent software maintenance? 

With independent software maintenance, users rely on an outside expert like Origina to support, secure, maintain, and provide licensing/strategic advice for their existing software instead of receiving support from the vendor that sold the product.  

Does an independent software maintenance vendor fully replace the software vendor’s support?

In some cases, the independent software maintenance vendor becomes the only source of support. In others, a customer might retain OEM support only for certain products and rely on the independent provider for the remainder of their estate. This hybrid support arrangement helps customers fine-tune their roadmaps and reduce the control enterprise software vendors have over short- and long-term IT planning.  

Can independent software maintenance vendors provide support to perpetually licensed software the primary vendor no longer supports? 

Yes. Using a provider like Origina, you can keep all entitled versions of your perpetually licensed software, including versions moved to end of support (EOS) status, supported and maintained for as long as you need them.  

Can independent software maintenance providers offer support without having access to a product’s source code?

Yes. Resolving problems and applying best practices is typically a matter of changing configurations within the software, not in the source code itself.  

Can an independent software maintenance vendor maintain interoperability between the legacy products I keep and new software I introduce elsewhere in the business?

Yes. The independent software maintenance vendor will perform interoperability validation, check your current software usage against potential future needs, and provide advice on how to set your current environment up for success with new additions.  

How do independent software maintenance providers protect my company from disruption when our software vendors implement major changes? 

When an independent expert maintains and supports your perpetually licensed products, there is no pressure to move to a subscription license or go along with significant OEM cost increases just to keep support.  

For some longtime HCL customers, having access to support functions as an insurance policy in the rare event a problem arises that they can’t solve. Others are more dependent on maintenance and log multiple tickets a year. Either way, partnering with an independent software maintenance provider means keeping your current software for as long as you need it – without OEM vendor restrictions and cost increases.  

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