Join the WX Alliance association

PC SOFT^® is the publisher of a multi-platform AGL. Their clients have invested in licenses, salaries, and training, sometimes for over 30 years, to develop software, websites, and mobile applications. It's therefore important to know what can influence the future of this company and its products (and therefore the future of your software!).

Unless we are mistaken:

• The new President of PC SOFT^® is Bryn Jenkins since December 1, 2024 (sources : pappers.fr, societe.com). He is also the manager of PCSCloud^® and general manager of "Four J's Development Tools" France (source : pappers.fr). Volaris communicated about this on May 27 (6 months after the purchase! and taking care to close the comments) and PC SOFT^® in the process. Not on their LinkedIn page but a few lines on their news page and an announcement of a few seconds during their TechTour2025 (sequence quickly disappeared).
• Four J's Development Tools is itself the property of Volaris Group (Ontario, Canada) who is part of the group Constellation Software Inc. (Ontario, Canada) . (sources : Volaris , Constellation)
• On the other hand, all of PC SOFT^®'s shares were acquired by "Two Squared France II", whose chairman is John Isak. (source : pappers.fr, select the "unknown document" dated November 28, 2024). According to its NAF code, this company specializes in "fund management."
• "Two Squared France II" is itself the property of TWO SQUARED SOFTWARE DEVELOPMENT LIMITED (Irland) (source : pappers.fr).
• John Isak is Chief Investment Officer at Volaris Group, part of Constellation Software Inc. (sources : LinkedIn et csisoftware.com).

In short, these two paths confirm that: PC SOFT^® (France) is now owned by Constellation Software Inc. (Canada)

PC SOFT^® has changed its licensing policy. Here are the key points:

• They NO LONGER SELL a DONGLE version (their pricing page now only contains SaaS)
• They NO LONGER SELL dongle updates (you will need to migrate to SaaS to stay up to date)
• They will NO LONGER REPLACE broken/lost dongles (they will "help" you upgrade to a SaaS license)

Clearly, PC SOFT^® is forcing you to switch to SaaS mode. Why?

The advantages of the SaaS version, according to PC SOFT^® (source : FAQ et Suite SaaS) :

• The SaaS version is completely dematerialized, there is no longer a physical dongle.*
• New features are available throughout the year. (editor's note: with the risk of having bugs on these new features?)
• It's easier to budget costs with their subscription plans. (editor's note: Costs are usually planned for the fiscal year or according to mandates.)
• For customers outside France, customs fees are waived.*
• Start developing immediately.*
• Easy to change computers. (editor's note: it's normally not difficult to remove a USB drive and place it elsewhere.)
• Work offline. (editor's note: the dongle allows this permanently, whereas SaaS has a 4-day limit.)
• Remote connection. (editor's note: This also worked if a dongle was installed on the remote PC; other software options were available.)
• Windows Intel & Arm. (editor's note: our PCs are mostly Intel or AMD, so Arm would be targeting Mac... M1 dates from 2020, so it's catching up!)
• Compatibility (editor's note: no problem with the dongle, however, a SaaS project may not open with a dongle license).

* benefit for a new purchase, does not apply to updates

The disadvantages they emphasize less are, in SaaS, ...

• You will lose access to your source codes as soon as you stop paying! There is no option to pause your subscription.
• It's no longer possible to "skip" a year or two (as was possible with dongles). If you skip the renewal, upon returning, you must pay the subscription fee (€699) and the following 12 months (at €89/month), i.e., €1,767, which is the same price as a full dongle license (€1,790), while a double dongle upgrade cost €869 (source: price as of January 2025 archive.org).
• A limited-time promotional offer is currently available. But what happens if PC SOFT^® returns to its "catalog" price of €89/month? The annual subscription will be €1,068, compared to €749 for an update to the N-1 version of the dongle (source: price in January 2025 archive.org). Wouldn't this be a disguised price increase?
• It's payable annually (see "annual billing" on the pricing page) or for three years (billed all at once!), whereas a SaaS subscription was offered monthly, like many other services! What is the financial advantage of SaaS compared to the annual purchase/update of the dongle?
• You are using your resources when a SaaS subscription is supposed to use remote resources. (ref : SaaS)! Although it's more convenient and efficient to run your editor locally, the term SaaS seems misused here. This is a dematerialized license management.
• Even if you have a dongle, it will have to be limited to V23 at the most because the SaaS covers version 24+. (source : FAQ : "La version Saas fonctionne avec quelles versions ?" et "Je possède des licences physiques avec clé physique-dongle. Que deviennent ces clés ?"). Your key, for example, in V2024, will thus "lose" six versions (that you had paid for!). If you cancel your SaaS subscription, you will only be able to open projects in version 23 and below!
• If you lose your dongle, your projects will be forced to migrate to 24+ to be opened exclusively in SaaS mode.
• The license is verified, via the internet, on their servers... You will be unable to open the editor (therefore your source codes), temporarily, if these servers are not accessible for more than 4 days (e.g. if the PC SOFT^® servers have been attacked, a network/port blockage at your home or your provider, no internet where you are, etc.) or permanently (PC SOFT^® bankruptcy)

Certainly, PC SOFT^® has been offering, at least once a month since March 2025, offers ranging from waived subscription fees to various discounts depending on the month of order. This increase in promotional offers is unusual and exists solely to encourage you to switch to SaaS.

But, in view of the above, ask yourself this question: "Isn't this a trap?".