Cloud Connected licensing is our new licensing system for Asta Powerproject and Asta Powerproject modules like Asta Powerproject 4D.

Cloud Connected Licensing supports 2 usage models for you to choose from:

1. Single User – the licence can assign to one individual. This method of licensing works best where users need dedicated product access.
2. Concurrent User – the licence is assigned to one individual at any one time but can be used by others thereafter. This method of licensing works best where you have part time usage requirements across your team.

The licensing system has been available since 1st June 2021. This licensing method is only supported from version 16, therefore new and existing customers will need version 16 to benefit.

If you are an existing customer looking to move your Cloud Connect licencing from Asta Licence Manager to Cloud, simply contact our sales team at sales@elecosoft.com to discuss your options.

Cloud Connected licensing simplifies the management of your licence estate.

Cloud Connected Licensing removes the legacy infrastructure and auditing requirements you currently need to run Asta Powerproject, freeing up your IT and procurement teams, maximising your investment and simplifying your renewals. This is because cloud connected licencing:

• Provides ‘anytime, anywhere’ licence access to any Asta Powerproject user, providing them with a seamless, connected licensing experience. This
• There is no setup required on the IT side to configure a licence server, reducing overheads and change management considerations.
• There is no need for end users to have a LAN or VPN connection to company servers in order to obtain Asta Powerproject licences.
• No further need for registry settings making it easy to divide up licences giving users what they need.
• No need to loan or move licences from users moving between offices and home.
• No manual process to “book out” a licence when going offline or working on an unstable internet connect.

What’s more, Cloud Connected Licensing gives you access to manage your companies licence estate through our new Customer Account Portal. This central location makes it easy to understand what licences are in use and how they are being used.

Asta Powerproject Cloud Connected Licensing uses a serial number and product key. These serial numbers and product keys are distributed by us (Elecosoft) to you, the purchaser/end user.

Once the end user inputs the serial number and product key at start-up, our licensing system then links up the machine with your customer licence estate via the cloud. End users will require an internet connection to open Asta Powerproject.

Yes, you will need an internet connection to open Asta Powerproject. This is so Asta Powerproject can connect to the cloud and manage licence availability within your organisation.

You will also need an internet connection to successfully return the licence to the shared pool when closing Asta Powerproject.

The exception to needing an internet connection is if the user is accessing Asta Powerproject via a Grace Period. Please see the relevant What is a Single User Grace Period for more information.

A single user licence allows only one device to use the licence.

It is possible to move a Single User Connected Licence to another device once it has been deactivated on the existing device using the Move Licence feature inside Asta Powerproject.

A concurrent user licence creates a pool of licences that can be used by any number of people, up to the limit of concurrent user licences that you purchase.

The concurrent user number will determine how many users can licence Asta Powerproject at any one time. For example, if you have a 10 concurrent user pool, 10 users can use Asta Powerproject at any one time. If an additional user tries to access Asta Powerproject, they will get an error saying that not enough licences are available.

When a user closes Asta Powerproject, this will return the licence to the pool for another user to utilise. For example, if in the example above 1 user closes Asta Powerproject, the licence they had been using will be returned to the pool and providing the capacity for 1 new user to open Asta Powerproject.

A customer licence pool contains the number of concurrent licences an organisation can utilise at any one time. The number of licences available within your customer pool will depend on the number of licences you have purchased.

Yes, simply contact our sales team at sales@elecosoft.com who will be able to add additional licences to your customer licence pool.

Yes, the end user will be told when they are unable to consume a licence if the maximum user limit has been reached – this is made clear on start-up. In addition, if a user does not have an internet connection at start-up they will also be informed.

Yes. Your IT department can automate the process of licensing Asta Powerproject for your end users through group policy registry settings. This will mean the user does not need to enter any details on start-up.

Yes – licences are per user, per machine, so can be used in a Citrix or equivalent setting. This means a licence will be consumed per Citrix session.

If you believe your organisation’s licensing has been compromised, please contact Elecosoft Support who can action the following:

• Provide you, the customer, with a view of who is using a licence.
• Revoke and reissue new serial numbers and product keys which can then be distributed by the customer to their end users wholesale (Group Policy) or individually (e.g. email).

Our recommendation would always be to issue Asta Powerproject licences to employees on company hardware. This would ensure that Asta Powerproject licences and company property is returned prior to an employee leaving.

Similarly, if working with temporary staff we would also recommend issuing them single user license so their access can be revoked by Elecosoft Support once they are no longer working for you.

However, we appreciate employee schemes like Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) mean this is not always practical. Consequently, if you believe your company licence has been compromised, please contact Elecosoft Support who can revoke and reissue a new licence to you which in turn can be distributed to end users, without any downtime, through group policy or alternative channels to licence an end user.

If a user forgets to close Asta Powerproject before going on leave, and thus doesn’t release their licence and this is preventing others from being able to use it, please contact Elecosoft Support who will be able to free the licence up.

Yes, Elecosoft Support will be able to close the current licence and a replacement licence will be issued.

IT departments can distribute new licence information via group policy so existing users can continue to use an open session of Asta Powerproject, but on restart the new licence will be picked up. This allows seamless movement from the compromised key to the newly created key. Alternatively, a new key could be sent by email to authorise users.

When a single user licensed application is opened by the user without an internet connection available, the user can continue to use the software for 30 days before needing to renew the licence via the internet. Asta Powerproject does not force close the application after this 30 day period however, meaning the user can still use the system until they close the application.

When a concurrent user licensed application is opened by the user without an internet connection available, the user can continue to use the software for 48 hours. Asta Powerproject does not force close the application after this 48 hour period and therefore the user can still use the system until they close the application

We will continue to support all Lease Licences that are already in use and therefore there is no requirement for customers to make changes. Where a customer requires reactivation, we will create their new licence as a cloud connected single user licence.

Yes, cloud connected licence account holders can get exclusive access to the Elecosoft Customer Account Portal, giving account holders visibility of their entire Asta Powerproject cloud licence estate. See our What is the Customer Account Portal? for more information.

The Customer Account Portal is a central location for a customer to view and manage their subscription licence estate.

A nominated account can access the portal at https://account.elecosoft.com/ – to sign your nominated account up please contact sales@elecosoft.com to discuss your options.

Within the Customer Account Portal all cloud licences associated with the customer’s account can be viewed.

Concurrent User Licence Pools and Single User Licences will be displayed separately, each referencing the user limit of each licence type alongside other identifiers (e.g. Serial Number).

Additional licence information such as available features (e.g. BIM) can be viewed by selecting the product licence.

The customer can also view current session usage information within the Customer Account Portal. A session represents when a user is consuming one of a customer’s licences.

Session information will display all users that have a current active session and when it was last refreshed.

The Customer Account Portal is continuously being enhanced with further features. For instance, as part of the Q1 2023 roadmap customers will soon be able to release active licence sessions to free up their licences to other users.

User sessions are identified by machine name and username. An organisation can get a view of current licence usage by accessing the Customer Account Portal. See What is the Customer Account Portal? for more information.

Not yet but self-service licence management is on our roadmap as an enhancement to release in the future

Lease Licensing was a previous cloud licence method we used for single user licensing. However, Lease Licensing was replaced by Cloud Connected Licensing in September 2022.