Autodesk Subscription Changes: An Enhanced User Management and Improved User Experience

Effective March, 13, 2015, Autodesk Account officially replaced Autodesk Subscription Center. Autodesk Account can be accessed using your existing login credentials. If you forgot your password or need to reset please visit our blog post: http://blog.microsolresources.com/2015/05/17/how-to-reset-your-autodesk-account-password/.

Autodesk has some impending changes with Subscription; geared primarily towards improving Administrative management including cloud credit allocation, as well as providing a better User experience. We’ve reviewed these developments and would like to provide a breakdown of the new usage reporting platform, new user management platform and new user destination that are now available. Whether you are a sole proprietorship or a large organization the information contained in this blog post should prove helpful in navigating Autodesk Subscription Center and the new Autodesk Account portal to access Autodesk Subscription benefits; particularly Autodesk cloud services.

New usage reporting platform

Autodesk recently rolled out several changes to the user management tools for Subscription. These changes are intended to make it easier for Administrator(s) to manage their services so that their software users can quickly access the tools they need. Subscription Contract Managers/Software Coordinators can access and start using the new user management tools by signing onto Subscription Center at www.autodesk.com/subscriptionlogin and select Contract Administration.

From the Contract Administrator Home Page the Contract Manager/Software Coordinator can click on the Autodesk 360 Usage Report which leads to a usage report module where Administrators can view all cloud service usage and cloud credit consumption for all Contracts they administer. Detailed breakdowns allow Administrators to accurately track how cloud services are being used service by service and even by individual User(s).  Administrators (both the Contract Manager and/or Software Coordinator) are also able to purchase cloud credits here in addition to purchasing from their reseller.

New user management platform

Autodesk has improved the areas within Subscription Center for the Contract Manager to allocate access and permission levels to their Contract(s) Software Coordinator(s) and User(s).  They’ve consolidated four different areas on the Contract Administrator Home Page to a single location named Manage Users where Contract Managers can add, edit, track and remove Software Coordinators and/or Users.  Autodesk has done away with the cumbersome page by page view list of Users and replaced with a scroll down page based on user feedback. While Contract Administrators will continue to access the improved Subscription Center, End Users will be directed to access Subscription benefits in the new Autodesk Account portal.

The Autodesk Account portal addresses the need for a consistent, cleaner platform where benefits can be accessed by Users. Existing Users and their permissions for Subscription benefits including web support, product downloads and desktop access, excluding cloud services, will remain unchanged. The cloud services model will be changing and require Administrators to add, remove, and edit User access as appropriate to allocate and manage cloud benefits. Software Coordinator(s) as well as any Users that currently access cloud services are expected to be integrated into the new Autodesk Account portal without issue. Users can be assigned as Named Users and granted access to the cloud services attached to the appropriate product. How many Named Users that have access to Autodesk’s cloud services is directly correlated to the number of Autodesk licenses on Subscription. Note that only one Named User can be assigned per Autodesk product/suite to access cloud benefits. Once a User is assigned as a Named User, the Administrator will control what cloud services the Named User can access from the choices associated to that Autodesk product/suite. While Administrators can limit the types of cloud services available for a Named User, cloud services available to one Autodesk product/suite cannot be shared by multiple Users. In addition to the Administrator, Named User(s) will be able to view how many cloud units they are consuming.

To view a related document on Cloud Credits and Usage, click here.

New end user destination

Please note that while the following content may appear somewhat repetitive, this section discusses how User experience is impacted by these changes. While Contract Administrators will continue to access Subscription Center, End Users will be directed to access Subscription benefits in the new Autodesk Account portal. The Autodesk Account portal addresses the need for a consistent, cleaner platform where benefits can be accessed by Users. Existing Users and their permissions for Subscription benefits including web support, product downloads and desktop access, excluding cloud services, will remain unchanged. Existing Users that currently access cloud services are expected to be integrated into the new Autodesk Account portal without issue. All other Users will need to be Named Users by the Contract Administrator (Contract Manager/Software Coordinator) to gain access to cloud benefits. In addition to the Administrator, Named User(s) will be able to view how many cloud units they are consuming.

Autodesk plans to continuously improve upon their Subscription offering and we expect modifications to be implemented regularly in this ongoing effort. Microsol Resources will keep Autodesk Software users informed on the impact of these changes.  As always, if you have any questions, please contact us.  Additionally, if you are a firm experiencing problems due to the default setting used to integrate End Users to the new Autodesk Account portal, please contact us at (888) 768-7568