Main Area and Open Discussion > General Software Discussion
YNAB moving to a subscription model
wraith808:
this happens so much, where are the pressures coming from? as a person who dabbles in this sort of business, it feels like if you don't do these kinds of things (saas, bloat, etc) then you won't be able to survive. the optimist in me wants someone to tell me that that is not the case, and there are other ways. but i'd like to be convinced of it.
-superboyac (January 01, 2016, 10:25 PM)
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I think that 40 laid out the problem in many industries which push them to it. Certain types of software are what they are, and you pay for them once, and then don't care about them. So, the revenue stream dries up. There has to be some impetus for your user base to purchase continually, or you find that you're pulling your money out of a well that has a very real bottom. You have a few options at that point.
One is to provide features and be very responsive to your user base, so that when you release an upgrade, they'll buy. In all realities, that's a subscription. But one that doesn't lock the users in, and relies on a lot of work. Directory Opus is a good example of that. The price is high... because you're paying for years of use, and there's no real reason to come back- at least for a while. One of the things that people say about YNAB consistently is the fact that the price is a steal. It is. And their reducing revenue is a result of selling it so cheaply.
The second is to provide some sort of add on service - needed, or perceived to be needed. AV software does this. It's not the purchase of the AV that's the big expenditure- it's the subscription over years.
The third is to take the software out of the users' hands. SaaS. It takes comparatively little to implement. And you can have a steady revenue stream if your users buy into it.
I think, however, that the implementation is the difference. Evernote did it... and for better or worse, they changed their whole business when it happened. They lost customers. But they continue to add value, to the point where even though I have options like RightNote and MyInfo, I stick with Evernote.
From what people are saying, not only do you have lock-in with mYNAB, it is not fully featured and half-baked in relation to the non-cloud version. I wish them the best... but I'm not on the boat. And I think I see an iceberg ahead...
superboyac:
this happens so much, where are the pressures coming from? as a person who dabbles in this sort of business, it feels like if you don't do these kinds of things (saas, bloat, etc) then you won't be able to survive. the optimist in me wants someone to tell me that that is not the case, and there are other ways. but i'd like to be convinced of it.
-superboyac (January 01, 2016, 10:25 PM)
--- End quote ---
I think that 40 laid out the problem in many industries which push them to it. Certain types of software are what they are, and you pay for them once, and then don't care about them. So, the revenue stream dries up. There has to be some impetus for your user base to purchase continually, or you find that you're pulling your money out of a well that has a very real bottom. You have a few options at that point.
One is to provide features and be very responsive to your user base, so that when you release an upgrade, they'll buy. In all realities, that's a subscription. But one that doesn't lock the users in, and relies on a lot of work. Directory Opus is a good example of that. The price is high... because you're paying for years of use, and there's no real reason to come back- at least for a while. One of the things that people say about YNAB consistently is the fact that the price is a steal. It is. And their reducing revenue is a result of selling it so cheaply.
The second is to provide some sort of add on service - needed, or perceived to be needed. AV software does this. It's not the purchase of the AV that's the big expenditure- it's the subscription over years.
The third is to take the software out of the users' hands. SaaS. It takes comparatively little to implement. And you can have a steady revenue stream if your users buy into it.
I think, however, that the implementation is the difference. Evernote did it... and for better or worse, they changed their whole business when it happened. They lost customers. But they continue to add value, to the point where even though I have options like RightNote and MyInfo, I stick with Evernote.
From what people are saying, not only do you have lock-in with mYNAB, it is not fully featured and half-baked in relation to the non-cloud version. I wish them the best... but I'm not on the boat. And I think I see an iceberg ahead...
-wraith808 (January 01, 2016, 10:45 PM)
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yea, evernote is the great example, isn't it? well...what do you say? they have not suffered much, i'd say.
Deozaan:
Anyone got a download link for the most recent, working, buy-once, non-cloud-as-a-service YNAB?
I need it for my archives, because I love(d?) YNAB but I'm definitely not "upgrading" to the subscription model.
PhilB66:
Anyone got a download link for the most recent, working, buy-once, non-cloud-as-a-service YNAB?
-Deozaan (January 02, 2016, 02:15 AM)
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http://www.youneedabudget.com/CDNOrigin/download/ynab4/liveCaptive/Win/YNAB%204_4.3.656_Setup.exe
Deozaan:
http://www.youneedabudget.com/CDNOrigin/download/ynab4/liveCaptive/Win/YNAB%204_4.3.656_Setup.exe
-PhilB66 (January 02, 2016, 02:30 AM)
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Thanks. I downloaded this and went to put it in my Dropbox and saw that I already had a copy of a newer version in there. While I was at it, I see that there's yet an even newer version of YNAB 4 available, which I now have an archive of.
I'm currently running YNAB 4.3.820, which I see has a new "Migrate to the New YNAB" option in the file menu.
I also have a copy of YNAB 4.3.729, which is the version I was using before this new YNAB-as-a-service business began.
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