JetBrains: rethinking subscriptions and finding stability
The translation is published with the permission of the author, the original is on Voxxed .
When September 3, JetBrains announced changes in its licensing policy by proposing a subscription model for their tools [IDE - if. lane.] , they certainly expected some reaction from the community. In fact, they were hit by a real stream of feedback, from moderately indignant to frankly aggressive. In response, the company published a post: we really listen to our users. Today, for the third and last time, they published the results of the revision of the proposed model. Here is the official tl; dr from IntelliJ IDEA authors:
In this interview, Hadi Hariri , the leader of the Developer Advocacy team, explains why the company was so stunned by the first community response, why they would not return everything as it was, and why these changes are so important to the company and its future.
Voxxed: To be honest, the JetBrains made a stir with their initial announcement. Did you expect a similar reaction?
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Hariri: We expected some negative feedback. We knew that not everyone would like it. There is an expression: people do not like change , especially when they affect them. This is what happened, many of them felt it.
We did research before we decided to switch to the subscription model. We conducted many surveys among various categories of customers - from personal users to companies, large and small. In essence, we tried to please all types of users who only exist. By collecting and analyzing the data, we realized in which direction to move. Of course, there were negative reviews, but not in the quantity that we received later.
What do you think were the reasons for such an acute reaction?
In some cases, feedback has resulted in a transition to the individual - insults, etc., which I would not like to repeat here. It was unpleasant. Meanwhile, some people were quite constructively disposed. They came to our blog or used other official communication channels to leave feedback and express their opinions in a relaxed manner, which was very valuable.
All these reviews, often very well reasoned, made us think. Perhaps our preliminary studies were not completely objective. It made us stop and revise everything. It was decided to tell people that we are rethinking, listening and will act in accordance with this - this was our second post. However, the community continued to express its discontent.
It says a lot. For example, that we have created a community of people around us who really care. And we really appreciate it for them. The supply of material, as it turned out, is also of great importance. Judging by the comments, many users were unhappy with it.
Who among the users was the most disappointed?
There were concerns about the need to have an Internet connection. Some people worried about things that we would never have thought of. For example, people asked if we wanted to hook developers on a hook, then to raise prices? Here at JetBrains, we never even thought about it, especially courteous that a substantial part of our competitors are free tools. That is why if the result of our work is not good, people will not use it.
I think we listened very carefully and seriously worked the last two weeks to propose a solution that may not suit everyone, but is a compromise. I hope it shows that we really listened and will help restore confidence and the ties that we have established with the community.
Could you summarize what exactly has changed in comparison with the original announcement?
Subscription remains. We understand that people, despite the low prices, may not decide for a year whether to prolong it or not. Or they may not be sure that the renewal of the subscription will really pay for itself by the appearance of new functionality and other improvements. What has changed: if you paid for 12 months, you will receive a reserve unlimited license for the version that was available at the time of purchase. And of course we added bonuses like a subscription to all products at once for a very good price and the ability to pay monthly.
It is important to note that we have not returned to the previous model - now you get a reserve unlimited license if you buy a subscription for a year (once or every month) in case you decide not to renew it for any reason.
Why not just go back to the previous licensing model?
For many of our products, we release several major releases a year with various features and other major improvements. We spend as much effort on attracting new users as on supporting existing ones. We can do this thanks to a significant expansion of our user base, but this cannot last forever. We need to somehow bring ours to come in line with the effort expended. A move with a subscription is an attempt to find a balance that will give us a stable business model and will allow us to continue doing what we love and what our users like.
Also, do not forget that there have been and there are people who fully support the idea of a subscription. And we really wanted to make it for them, and not to roll it all back - that would be unfair.
Is the maturity of your software products one of the reasons for switching to a subscription model? Do you feel that now there will be no need to make new features?
I do not believe in it, and many of our caring users say that JetBrains is getting better every year. Indeed, in addition to new features, we must support everything else, for example Project Jigsaw (Java). C # 6 has new features - we have to support it too. And this is not to mention the JavaScript ecosystem! So it's not just about adding new features, but also about supporting new technologies.
What do you say to people who think it's all about money?
Now 600 people work at JetBrains, most of them are developers. We do not attract venture investments, we should not be accountable to shareholders, etc. We are a company owned by individuals, and we plan to stay like this. If we have done this, it is only because we need it to remain stable.
I do not know how things will go further - I hope, well. But what I know for sure is that if our users are unhappy - we are unhappy and it will not matter whether we earn more or not. Enrichment is not and never was our goal. Our goal is to find a sustainable model that will allow us to do what we are doing now.
When September 3, JetBrains announced changes in its licensing policy by proposing a subscription model for their tools [IDE - if. lane.] , they certainly expected some reaction from the community. In fact, they were hit by a real stream of feedback, from moderately indignant to frankly aggressive. In response, the company published a post: we really listen to our users. Today, for the third and last time, they published the results of the revision of the proposed model. Here is the official tl; dr from IntelliJ IDEA authors:
- Subscription remains, but with significant changes.
- You will receive a backup perpetual license as soon as you pay a one-year subscription: once or sequentially (within 12 months).
- You will receive a discount of up to 40% for a continuous subscription.
- You will have the opportunity to use the software without an Internet connection.
- Current users with a current or recently expired subscription to updates will receive the first two years of the subscription for the price of one.
- We still recommend that you read the full article to get acquainted with all the details.
In this interview, Hadi Hariri , the leader of the Developer Advocacy team, explains why the company was so stunned by the first community response, why they would not return everything as it was, and why these changes are so important to the company and its future.
Voxxed: To be honest, the JetBrains made a stir with their initial announcement. Did you expect a similar reaction?
')
Hariri: We expected some negative feedback. We knew that not everyone would like it. There is an expression: people do not like change , especially when they affect them. This is what happened, many of them felt it.
We did research before we decided to switch to the subscription model. We conducted many surveys among various categories of customers - from personal users to companies, large and small. In essence, we tried to please all types of users who only exist. By collecting and analyzing the data, we realized in which direction to move. Of course, there were negative reviews, but not in the quantity that we received later.
What do you think were the reasons for such an acute reaction?
In some cases, feedback has resulted in a transition to the individual - insults, etc., which I would not like to repeat here. It was unpleasant. Meanwhile, some people were quite constructively disposed. They came to our blog or used other official communication channels to leave feedback and express their opinions in a relaxed manner, which was very valuable.
All these reviews, often very well reasoned, made us think. Perhaps our preliminary studies were not completely objective. It made us stop and revise everything. It was decided to tell people that we are rethinking, listening and will act in accordance with this - this was our second post. However, the community continued to express its discontent.
It says a lot. For example, that we have created a community of people around us who really care. And we really appreciate it for them. The supply of material, as it turned out, is also of great importance. Judging by the comments, many users were unhappy with it.
Who among the users was the most disappointed?
There were concerns about the need to have an Internet connection. Some people worried about things that we would never have thought of. For example, people asked if we wanted to hook developers on a hook, then to raise prices? Here at JetBrains, we never even thought about it, especially courteous that a substantial part of our competitors are free tools. That is why if the result of our work is not good, people will not use it.
I think we listened very carefully and seriously worked the last two weeks to propose a solution that may not suit everyone, but is a compromise. I hope it shows that we really listened and will help restore confidence and the ties that we have established with the community.
Could you summarize what exactly has changed in comparison with the original announcement?
Subscription remains. We understand that people, despite the low prices, may not decide for a year whether to prolong it or not. Or they may not be sure that the renewal of the subscription will really pay for itself by the appearance of new functionality and other improvements. What has changed: if you paid for 12 months, you will receive a reserve unlimited license for the version that was available at the time of purchase. And of course we added bonuses like a subscription to all products at once for a very good price and the ability to pay monthly.
It is important to note that we have not returned to the previous model - now you get a reserve unlimited license if you buy a subscription for a year (once or every month) in case you decide not to renew it for any reason.
Why not just go back to the previous licensing model?
For many of our products, we release several major releases a year with various features and other major improvements. We spend as much effort on attracting new users as on supporting existing ones. We can do this thanks to a significant expansion of our user base, but this cannot last forever. We need to somehow bring ours to come in line with the effort expended. A move with a subscription is an attempt to find a balance that will give us a stable business model and will allow us to continue doing what we love and what our users like.
Also, do not forget that there have been and there are people who fully support the idea of a subscription. And we really wanted to make it for them, and not to roll it all back - that would be unfair.
Is the maturity of your software products one of the reasons for switching to a subscription model? Do you feel that now there will be no need to make new features?
I do not believe in it, and many of our caring users say that JetBrains is getting better every year. Indeed, in addition to new features, we must support everything else, for example Project Jigsaw (Java). C # 6 has new features - we have to support it too. And this is not to mention the JavaScript ecosystem! So it's not just about adding new features, but also about supporting new technologies.
What do you say to people who think it's all about money?
Now 600 people work at JetBrains, most of them are developers. We do not attract venture investments, we should not be accountable to shareholders, etc. We are a company owned by individuals, and we plan to stay like this. If we have done this, it is only because we need it to remain stable.
I do not know how things will go further - I hope, well. But what I know for sure is that if our users are unhappy - we are unhappy and it will not matter whether we earn more or not. Enrichment is not and never was our goal. Our goal is to find a sustainable model that will allow us to do what we are doing now.
Source: https://habr.com/ru/post/267225/
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