(Courtesy of autodesk.com)

Design software maker Autodesk Inc. has moved into a broader base of users by offering more purchasing options to cater to the project needs and budgets of Indonesia’s growing creative industry.

Replacing its lifetime licensing system on Feb. 1, the California-based company introduced subscription-based licensing with choices of periods of one, two or three years and even of a short period of six months.

This came with reduced prices that could cut software expenses for small and medium businesses down to only one-third of the original price.

Autodesk’s 3DS Max is now offered at about Rp 13 million (US$ 990) for a one-year subscription for a single-user license, down from Rp 39 million for the perpetual license, while 3DS Maya was tagged at Rp 15 million, down from the previous Rp 45 million.

The subscription-based system is also available for shared network licensing, which can be applied on two computers.

“The new subscription business model would be beneficial for tech start-ups and home-based creative businesses and creators running on time-limited projects and limited budgets,” said Rudi Wirawan, Autodesk’s industry sales manager for media and entertainment in Indonesia.

“The subscription-based licensing is economical because the start-ups could predict the software budget for a single project and could easily upgrade the software or renew the license for the next project.”

The company’s ASEAN regional office together with its product’s sole distributor, ACA Pacific Technology, held a media briefing on Wednesday to reach out to animators, designers, movie creators and other creative talents.

ACA Pacific’s manager for Indonesia, Wiranto, explained that so far Autodesk has been used by big Indonesian enterprises like Infinite Studios and MNC Animation, among others.

Designed for life: A designer (left) demonstrates Autodesk design software animation and rendering features.(JP/Tertiani ZB Simanjuntak)

“Design software constitutes the largest component in a project budget that would become an idle asset as soon as the project is finished and therefore only established companies could afford it.

“The new system could give access to small companies to expand their business into foreign markets and for the big enterprises to slim down by outsourcing design work to the small businesses. In turn, it would support the government’s policy in developing the creative industries,” said Wiranto.

The Creative Economy Agency aims for a 12 percent contribution from the creative economy to gross domestic product (GDP) by 2019.

It also aims for a 13 million member workforce and a 10 percent contribution to exports by that period.

An Autodesk consumer, Rudy Lokcay, has used 3DS Max 8 since 2008 when he paid about US$4,500 for it for his 3D architectural design business that has property companies as his main clients.

As he opened a free design school for high school graduates, Rudy said that the subscription-based licensing enabled him to provide an accessible tool for the aspiring designers.

“It’s easier for me to stretch out a workshop term so the budget would not go to waste,” he said.

For his work creating the 3D models of architectural layouts and interior designs, Rudy said he only used 20 percent of the feature content of the software.

“I could have created motion pictures with the software, but I’m not good with the animation tools.”

Autodesk products were widely used by visual effect studios, including those involved in the five nominees in the Best Visual Effects category of the Academy Awards: Ex Machina, Mad Max: Fury Road, The Revenant, The Martian and Star Wars: The Force Awakens.

While globally Autodesk has applied cloud-based computing in its system, Rudi Wirawan said that users in Indonesia have not yet been able to make the purchase online and it is only available at ACA Pacific outlets.

“The internet connection is not yet stable enough to support cloud computing for the software, but since we started operations in Indonesia five years ago the distribution of the product already covered all parts of the country.”

Autodesk has been in close contact with various groups of animators in big cities and provides free software for educational purpose to vocational high school SMK Umar Said in Kudus, Central Java and to Bina Nusantara University in Jakarta.

“We are in the wave of innovative technology that is open-sourced, accessible and affordable for anyone,” Rudi added.

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