Chris Cappelli on the ESRI ELA (Enterprise License Agreement) for Local Governments
[UPDATE March 4, 2008] See Adena Schutzberg's All Points Blog post for even more information on ESRI's ELA pricing.
[UPDATE February 22, 2008] See reader comments for ELA pricing information.
Today (January 18, 2008) ESRI released a podcast (mp3) intended toclarify ESRI’s Enterprise License Agreement (ELA) for small municipal andcounty governments (I blogged about the initial announcement here). The podcast is an interview with ChrisCappelli, Director of Sales for ESRI. ManyNew Jersey GIS folks knew Chris as the manager of ESRI’s
The podcast offers no pricing, so you will need to contactyour regional office or call ESRI’s 800 number for that. Chris makes the following points:
- The ELA is a contract between the customer and ESRI, much like a site license
- The ELA requires a three-year commitment from the customer, for which period ESRI commits to provide software and support
- Or, put another way, the ELA provides unlimited ESRI software and support for a fixed annual fee
- You do not have to be an existing ESRI customer to participate in the program
- This licensing approach, typically reserved for ESRI’s very largest customers, is now available for three tiers of customers, broken down by population:
- Under 25,000
- From 25,000 to 50,000
- From 50,000 to 100,000
- The ELA includes all of ESRI’s core products, such as:
- ArcGIS Desktop
- ArcView
- ArcEditor
- ArcInfo
- All extensions
- ArcGIS Server (
- ArcIMS
- ArcGIS Engine
- ArcGIS Desktop
As a GIS consultant to local governments I welcome thisapproach, which provides a convenient way to access the latest GIStechnology. I only wish that ESRI wouldchoose to announce the ELA pricing, so current and prospective ESRI customerscan make their own cost-benefit analyses. Being vague on pricing likely sends an unintended message ("It's expensive").
Categories: New Jersey,Business,GIS,Software,ArcInfo,ArcView,ESRI,news,ArcGIS
Tags: New Jersey Business GIS Software ArcInfo ArcView ESRI news ArcGIS
Based on the quote we received (city of 60,000 population), ELA *is* expensive...when my ESRI rep gave me the quote, I was *SHOCKED*. Oh, and I asked about the possibility to negotiate on the price, and was told that it's firm.
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I believe the pricing for the 50,000 to 100,000 population tier is $50K. This might sound like a lot of money if you are just looking at it from the support side of things but in the bigger picture you get a bunch of free virtual class room credits ($10K I believe) and a pretty hefty discount on other training. Plus never having to procure another ESRI software license would also be very nice. For a truly developed enterprise GIS outfit I can see this a really sweet deal.
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Chris:
Thanks for shedding light on an important issue. If you would, could you please clarify one more thing: Is the price you mention for one year or for the three-year commitment period? Also, what happens at the end of the third year? You say "never having to procure another ESRI license" -- so is this a perpetual license of sorts?
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The price is for each year of the three year term. I did not get into to many details in my discussions about this program so I am not sure what happens at the end of the contract regarding # licenses, and this would be something that anyone seriously looking at this offer would need to consider.
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Chris:
Thanks again for clarifying an important aspect of this program.
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So, $50,000 x 3 for 3 years. What's the price at 0-25,000 persons and 25,000 to 50,000 persons, and what are the limitations to be in these ranges?
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I tried to obtain answers to the questions raised in this thread. It appears that the only way to get pricing and other details on the ESRI ELA is to call ESRI. For the Philadelphia region, call Brad Songer at (610) 644-3374 x5919
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