Expanding Flexibility for IT Pros and Business Leaders to Respond to Rising Tech Challenges

"History tells us that the IT industry responds to economic disruption in both short-term (cost-cutting) and long-term (technology adoption shifts) ways. There is no reason to believe this disruption will not follow suit, and we can expect the industry to come out of this event different than it was in January 2020." – Al Gillen, GVP, Software Development and Open Source, The Aftermath of COVID-19 Economic Disruption: New Technology Choices, New Spending Choices, IDC.

Our world has changed. As I write this from my home workspace for you to read in your own, we’re both keenly aware of the impact to our daily lives, to how we work, and how we conduct both our personal business – and how we support the organizations we serve. Around the world, those organizations are adapting – rapidly – to a cascade of factors designed to keep businesses running and keep employees safe. Newly remote workforces are raising the stakes for IT organizations to keep applications up, networks humming, and environments performing optimally – all while ensuring the security of an expanded attack surface. At the same time, organizations are reevaluating budgets to weather an economic downturn. Of course, IT pros have always been under budget pressure and doing more with less is the name of their game. But the challenges created by the COVID-19 pandemic have amplified those factors, increasing the need for products that aren’t just easy to use, but easy to buy and can fit the needs of any budget. Over our 20-plus year history, SolarWinds has delivered on this commitment to IT pros. At SolarWinds, we’ve always listened to IT pros, to help shape everything from the products we create, to the features we add, and even how we do business. Whether through feedback from over 320,000 customers we help in 190 countries, or input from over 150,000 members of our THWACK community, we’ve heard the call for increased flexibility – a call that’s increased in the current pandemic. And we’re answering that call. Starting today, we’ll begin offering subscription-based pricing, in addition to perpetual licensing, for the majority of products that SolarWinds sells. That means customers now have a choice to buy Network Performance Monitor, for example, as a perpetual license or via subscription, whatever makes the most sense for their businesses and budgets. It delivers on our continued promise to respond to our customers’ requests by adding the budget flexibility they need and lowering the barrier to entry for them to address today’s IT challenges. This expansion allows us to offer another option for IT pros and business leaders to choose how to engage with us to help them solve the problems they face. With subscription pricing, SolarWinds continues to fulfill its commitment to deliver simple, powerful, and affordable software to meet the needs of every organization both where they are today—and where they’ll grow tomorrow. The current impact of the pandemic on IT teams will undoubtedly give way to new challenges in the future. IT pros will always be asked to do more with less. Expectations will always be to achieve initiatives more quickly, in a more agile fashion, and SolarWinds will continue to be there to help IT pros succeed in those endeavors.