Upgrade to Studio 2024 Pricing is abusive

Question

Hi, 
 RWS pricing policy is really abusive. 
 This will summarize the problem: Upgrade from Studio 2014 FL+ to Studio 2015 FL+ : 140 CAD Upgrade from Studio 2015 FL+ to Studio 2017 FL+ : 195 CAD Upgrade from Studio 2017 FL+ to Studio 2019 FL+ : 264 CAD Upgrade from Studio 2019 FL+ to Studio 2021 FL+ : 231 CAD Upgrade from Studio 2021 FL+ to Studio 2022 FL+ : 182 CAD 
 And now : 
 Upgrade from Studio 2022 FL+ to Studio 2024 FL+ : 556 CAD !!! Are you mad, at RWS? Do you think translators are millionaires? We can hardly increase our per word rates for years with our clients, and many of us, at this point, charge rates that are not far from what they charged 20 years ago. In the same time, many translation agencies take advantage of neuronal translation and post-edition to try to lower many translators' rates. Amid that, what makes you think you can triple Studio's prices, while the consumer price index is just about 1.5 x the one it was20 years ago? Also, why such a difference between an upgrade from Studio 2022 FL to Studio 2024 FL (367 CAD) and an upgrade from Studio 2022 FL+ to Studio 2024 FL+ (556 CAD)? Almost $200 more just for the luxury of installing Studio on a spare machine, while you and I know you can only work on one machine (and instance of Studio) at a time! Your pretext of using the cloud to transfer from your PC to your laptop is a bad faith one. Not all the translators want to use the cloud (e.g. for confidentiality concerns). And the requirement to deactivate your installation on your main computer to continue your work on your spare computer is nothing but an additional complication and stress for users. What if you travel and forgot to deactivate your main installation before leaving? That's very disappointing from SDL/RWS I have been loyal to for 23 years. I never missed an upgrade, I was in the very first ones to use Studio when it was released in June 2009, but, for the first time, I consider not upgrading. Mainly when I am pretty sure there will not be major enough changes in 2024 version to justify to an upgrade. I may have accepted to pay 350 CAD for an upgrade from FL+ to FL+, but not at the currently published prices. Sincerely,

Paul · Accepted Answer

This thread has provided clear and thorough answers to the questions raised about this topic. While we understand that this is an emotive issue for some, the information shared here represents the final position on this matter. 
 To ensure the discussion remains focused and productive, this thread is now being locked. If there are genuinely new questions or points to raise, we welcome the creation of a new thread. However, please be aware that the answers are unlikely to change. 
 Thank you for your understanding.

Frances Pearn-Rowe · Answer

Philippe Riondel said: Alas AWS is an American company, and, as such, is subject to the Patriot Act. That is the US government is entitled to access to the data. 
 Whilst AWS may be a US company, i t does not, as some have suggested, give U.S. law enforcement agencies free access to data stored in the cloud. 
 https://aws.amazon.com/blogs/security/aws-and-the-cloud-act/ 
 Here is a more detailed explanation of how the Patriot Act works as detailed https://www.comparethecloud.net/articles/patriot-act-data-security-8-myths-busted/ : 
 1. The Patriot Act is a law of very limited application. The law applies only to national security (terrorism) investigations within the US. The law does not give the US government the power to act outside the US, and it does not apply at all to criminal or civil investigations outside the national security area. 
 2. The Patriot Act does not grant the US government access to a cloud customer&rsquo;s data. The important fact about the Patriot Act that those commenting on the law in the media do not understand is that the law is a &ldquo;business records&rdquo; statute. What this means is that the US government can use the law to ask any company that does business in the US (this includes US subsidiaries of non-US companies) to provide the company&rsquo;s own records (things like customer name, address or means of payment), but it cannot require a hosting provider to provide access to customer data stored in a non-US data center. 
 3. To access customer data stored outside the US, the US government uses established treaties. Because the Patriot Act in our view does not authorize the US government to &ldquo;search&rdquo; a server located outside the US, the US government must request assistance from local (in-country) law enforcement to conduct a &ldquo;search&rdquo;, just as other EU governments do. 
 4. The Patriot Act is not being used to access customer data stored in the EU. The Dutch government has recently confirmed in answers to parliamentary questions that it is not aware of any requests under the Patriot Act for personal data stored in the EU and that the US authorities have stated that if such a request were made it would be with the assistance of in-country law enforcement.

Frances Pearn-Rowe · Answer

Hi Philippe, 
 Thank you for your feedback. 
 In terms of pricing, as any business, at times, we have to review our pricing structure not only in line with our technology offering but also due to factors that are out of our control such as inflation and currency fluctuations which I&rsquo;m sure you&rsquo;re aware have had a significant impact over the years. 
 Along with pricing, we also have to review our product portfolio. 
 Freelance Plus licenses were created a number of years ago to enable Freelance Translators to have 2 simultaneous activation's on 2 machines for one named user. For example: 1 x activation on their PC and 1 x activation on their laptop. Over the years not only has technology moved forward, with many Freelance Translators now only working from one device, so has Trados Studio and the license options we offer to the Freelance community. 
 We understand that not all Freelance Translators want to move to the cloud which is why Trados Studio is hybrid license offering users the option to work on the desktop, in the cloud or a combination of both. 
 The introduction of the Trados Studio Freelance subscription license enables a user to be able to install Trados Studio on any device, and to be able to log in from any one single device at a time. The subscription license also comes with cloud capabilities and enables a user to log into the cloud as well as their desktop license. It also has the added benefit of a user always being on the latest version of Trados Studio whilst they have a valid subscription and removes the need for a paid upgrade. 
 If you would like to reach out to me directly to discuss then please feel free to contact me via email fpearnrowe@rws.com

Frances Pearn-Rowe · Answer

Philippe Riondel 
 Trados cloud solutions are developed with the highest of security in mind. We do not share or repurpose any data that is stored in the cloud. 
 Perhaps it&rsquo;s worth reading through our Language Cloud Security Whitepaper 
 https://www.trados.com/resources/security-white-paper/ 
 alongside the Language Cloud privacy policy 
 https://www.rws.com/legal/privacy/language-cloud-privacy-policy/

Frances Pearn-Rowe · Answer

Philippe Riondel said: Alas AWS is an American company, and, as such, is subject to the Patriot Act. That is the US government is entitled to access to the data. 
 Whilst AWS may be a US company, i t does not, as some have suggested, give U.S. law enforcement agencies free access to data stored in the cloud. 
 https://aws.amazon.com/blogs/security/aws-and-the-cloud-act/ 
 Here is a more detailed explanation of how the Patriot Act works as detailed https://www.comparethecloud.net/articles/patriot-act-data-security-8-myths-busted/ : 
 1. The Patriot Act is a law of very limited application. The law applies only to national security (terrorism) investigations within the US. The law does not give the US government the power to act outside the US, and it does not apply at all to criminal or civil investigations outside the national security area. 
 2. The Patriot Act does not grant the US government access to a cloud customer&rsquo;s data. The important fact about the Patriot Act that those commenting on the law in the media do not understand is that the law is a &ldquo;business records&rdquo; statute. What this means is that the US government can use the law to ask any company that does business in the US (this includes US subsidiaries of non-US companies) to provide the company&rsquo;s own records (things like customer name, address or means of payment), but it cannot require a hosting provider to provide access to customer data stored in a non-US data center. 
 3. To access customer data stored outside the US, the US government uses established treaties. Because the Patriot Act in our view does not authorize the US government to &ldquo;search&rdquo; a server located outside the US, the US government must request assistance from local (in-country) law enforcement to conduct a &ldquo;search&rdquo;, just as other EU governments do. 
 4. The Patriot Act is not being used to access customer data stored in the EU. The Dutch government has recently confirmed in answers to parliamentary questions that it is not aware of any requests under the Patriot Act for personal data stored in the EU and that the US authorities have stated that if such a request were made it would be with the assistance of in-country law enforcement.

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Upgrade to Studio 2024 Pricing is abusive

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