NI’s Subscription Software Program

We are transitioning our software to a subscription model. Buying our software on subscription is a way to access NI software licenses on an annual basis rather than with one upfront perpetual license purchase. Along with access to the latest version of your NI software, software subscription includes access to historical versions, future innovations, new capabilities, technical support, and online training.

We are simplifying our catalog and aligning on a single way to buy NI software. More than 50% of NI software users today are already on some form of subscription. These subscriptions offer several advantages, including lower cost of entry, scaled cost with usage, and NI’s commitment to provide additional value every year. 

Test Workflow is NI’s recommended collection of software for engineers working on research, validation, and production test applications. The bundle provides access to NI’s most popular test and measurement software at attractive new prices.

With Test Workflow, you’ll benefit from:

• One easy-to-manage license and access to the right tools to get your projects to market faster, priced nearly 60% lower than if purchased separately.  

• 24/7 access to the latest versions of NI software to transform your current workflow, improve your test system development, and deliver more value from your test data. 

• Deep integration between third-party hardware and software including Linux, Python, and NI tools and services, along with technical support and product training.

Promotional Discount: Existing SSP customers receive an introductory discount of 40% off when they move from an active SSP contract to a Test Workflow subscription at the time of renewal.

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Yes, all software covered by this move to subscription licensing is available globally.  

Our subscription software includes support and services: 

• Access to the licensed software, updates that release during the term of the subscription, and historical versions of the software 
• Access to technical support 
• 24/7 access to selected online training and virtual demonstrations 

With subscription software, you will need to renew at the end of each term to maintain access to your software and associated services.  

No, NI subscription options are available from 1 to 1,000s of seats. 

No, while subscriptions provide access to the latest version, you are welcome to use any previous version of the NI software in your subscription. 

Individual products will be available as stand-alone subscriptions, but we expect many users to prefer the Test Workflow bundle for the added benefits mentioned above.

When you purchase from ni.com or from an authorized NI distributor, you are enrolled in our auto-renewal program. Your subscription will automatically renew, and NI invoices you for another term at the end of your current term. You can opt-out of this auto-renewal at any time.

• For subscription-based single-seat licenses, access to most software will continue for 30 days past the end of the subscription term so that you have time to renew your license.
• For Volume License Agreements and Academic Volume Licenses, if using NI’s free Volume License Manager or FlexLM service, your file will continue to work for 60 days after expiration; otherwise, access will halt on the date of expiration.

Debug and deployment licenses will remain as perpetual licenses.   

There are very few exceptions, but software for industry-specific, system-level products, such as the Semiconductor Test System, is also excluded from the move to subscription happening in January 2022. Contact your NI product expert if you have questions about a specific software part number. 

If you can’t purchase subscription software, contact your NI representative or your NI authorized distributor to discuss.

When your SSP expires, the software will continue to work as it always has, but you will not be able to upgrade to newer versions. You will also lose access to other SSP benefits like online customer education and technical support.

We will quote you for a subscription license of your software at a one-time price that is the same as your SSP renewal quote would have been. You can pre-purchase up to a three-year subscription term at that per-year rate. This one-time price is available whenever your SSP renewal expires. For example, if you purchased software in 2021 with 3 years of SSP, the one-time price will be available to you in 2024.

Your previously purchased perpetual license will continue to work as it always has, but it will be locked to the latest version at the time your SSP expires. Subscription licenses are in addition to perpetual licenses, and they can be used concurrently with perpetual licenses.

VLAs are subject to the same transitional terms as single-seat licenses. VLAs with active contracts will transition to subscription-based licenses at your next renewal date. For your first subscription term, your new price will be the same as your SSP renewal would have been, and you can lock in that price for up to three years. Additionally, with your active contract, you are eligible for the introductory 40% discount on one of the new Test Workflow editions should you choose to upgrade.

Yes. NI will honor existing quotes through the expiration date listed on the quote.  

Yes. ASLs will no longer be available and are being replaced by new Academic Volume License (AVL) subscriptions. AVLs are available for teaching or research, and the discount increases with the number of licenses purchased.

There are four types of AVLs:

• LabVIEW for Teaching AVL, which includes the software included in the NI Academic Site License (a superset of software found in Test Workflow).
• LabVIEW for Research AVL, which includes the software included in the NI Academic Site License (a superset of software found in Test Workflow).
• Multisim AVL, includes Multisim and Multisim Live™ access.
• LabVIEW and Multisim for Secondary School, which includes the combination of software included in the NI Academic Site License with Multisim and Multisim Live.

Yes. All ASLs will have the option of transitioning to a new AVL at the lesser of:

• The AVL price for the licenses you need

• The price of your ASL SSP renewal

You can pre-purchase up to three years of an AVL subscription at this rate.

No. AVLs are available for either teaching applications or research applications. If you have an ASL for both teaching and research, contact your NI authorized distributor or NI representative, and we will help you select the two AVLs you need with the correct number of seats for each.

We request you audit how many research licenses and teaching licenses you will need in 2022, so we can generate a quote for your new AVL. For reference, the former small/medium/large ASLs included 50/100/250 seats respectively.

Yes. The student install option is still part of a teaching AVL. For every teaching license you buy, you can install the software on up to five student computers.

You will continue to have the same grace period of 60 days built into your license files.

For customers with five or more software licenses, a volume license management tool is recommended. NI offers a free tool called NI Volume License Manager (VLM). If the computers are on a classified or secure network, you can use NI VLM to create Disconnected License Files to grant licenses to the non-networked computers.

Since the permissions are set up by package, transferring to the subscription equivalent will not impact the user permissions. If a different product is purchased, permissions will need to be transferred to the impacted user. For more information about how to transfer permissions, visit the transferring permissions overview page.

You will continue to own your perpetual licenses, locked at the version of your services contract expiration. NI can provide you a non-expiring license file or break out the volume license into single seat installations

Yes, a new serial number is issued for subscription licenses. That serial number is preserved year-after-year as the subscription is renewed as long as there is no gap in service. If service is stopped, a new serial number is issued unless you expressly request the previous serial number to be returned into service.

License assignments continue to work as they did prior to 2022, regardless of the license type. NI requests that the end user is specified during purchase for the license to be assigned (a must only for distributors). If the end user is not specified, the person receiving the ownership acknowledgement email (the purchaser) is assigned the license, which they can reassign at any point. Only the person who claims access to the software can activate the software.

No, the prepaid subscription purchase is not refundable. You may, however, reassign the software license to another engineer for the duration of the term.