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On demand subscription is good but very expensive

  • 1.  On demand subscription is good but very expensive

    Posted 10-10-2022 02:57
    in the foreground: I have catalyst DA2 which i use with third party app (QField) for surveying or other field work. I love it, precise and works good in the field. But. I hate the on demand subscription (10 hour cm precision).
    field example: I started 1 hour session from my pool. I measured cca.5-10 minutes in one place. Approach other field needs 55 minutes by car the started 1 hour session was ended while I got there. Start a new session...see above, in the third place start the third session...etc.
    I worked 30 minutes (or less) I've paid 3 hour.
    I disconnect the antenna from the TMM, but the counter continues to work. (I did not dare exit from TMM because I supposed I will see a "start new session" message...probably yes. The same cup of tea.
    Am I wrong or are there any solution to work with higher cost effectiveness?
    Why is not exist such counter based on minutes of the using? The wroted situation is lifelike...the costumer don't like the the next sentences: "we need hurry up because soon end of the session."
    Thanks for reply,
    Bela
    (that's why I use on demand subscription because I've casual works nowdays)

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    Béla Motkó
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  • 2.  RE: On demand subscription is good but very expensive

    Posted 10-10-2022 14:29
    Thank you for your feedback, Béla.

    By way of explanation to yourself and other readers, the Catalyst On Demand payment model works as follows...

    You pre-purchase 1-hour licenses in a pack of 10 or more. You can pre-purchase as many hours as you choose, and these fill your account (a bit like a pool), and you can consume the licenses at any time over a 1 year time period. Currently the pricing for the On Demand license is roughly US$11/hour, and this will vary based on your location (tax and currency etc.). Contact your local Trimble distribution agent for details of pricing in your country...

    Each "On Demand hour" is effectively a 1 hour access token. The license starts when requested in the field, and ends 60 minutes from that moment. If you need a longer duration, you can load multiple licenses at once and they will extend the duration of your session. As you noted, the hours can not be 'paused' (for example,  you can't use 15 minutes of a license, then pause, then use  further 45 minutes the next day). This is because the license is not for a discrete quantity of minutes of use - it is a license that starts at a specific time, and ends at a specific time.

    This license model is designed for occasional use and is most economic to those using the tools for 1-2 hours per day, each workday (i.e. < 9 hours per week, or <30 hours per month). If your usage is NOT easily predictable then Catalyst On Demand is a great tool for this. If your estimated usage is higher than this, it probably makes more sense for you to purchase either a monthly unlimited use, or yearly unlimited use Catalyst subscription.

    The more 1x hour licenses purchased in a block, the lower the price (for example 100x and 1,000x blocks of hours are available at a reduced cost per hour). Each hour has a 1-year usage window.

    Other options are available to you if your workflow does not demand 1 cm performance. Catalyst On Demand is only available in the "CAT 1" (1 cm) precision level, but if you are able to work with lower precisions, the Catalyst monthly and annual subscription models are available in CAT-10 (10 cm), CAT-30 (30 cm), and CAT-60 (60 cm) modes also.





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    Gareth Gibson
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  • 3.  RE: On demand subscription is good but very expensive

    Posted 09-13-2023 08:39

    Dear Gareth,

    Yesterday i actvated catalyst 30 subscription and beside this i've 1 hour on-demand too. Tomorow i need for catalyst 30 but i can not change to this. What is the problem?I thought that I can make decision which catalyst levels i would like to use it. The catalyst 30 is activated I checked in TMM, naturally.

    Thanks for Your help, Bela



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    Béla Motkó
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  • 4.  RE: On demand subscription is good but very expensive

    Posted 09-13-2023 16:16

    Greetings Béla

    You should be able to use your Catalyst 30 license so long as it is current, and so long as you don't also have a current Catalyst 1 On Demand license active. Catalyst's license logic is that it will always give you the best possible performance based on the current active licenses associated to the user.

    The only reason that you would not get CAT-30 performance is if:

    1) You don't have a current CAT-30 license assigned to your username

    2) You do have a current CAT-30 license, but you also simultaneously have a current CAT-1 or CAT-10 assigned to you from another account (or you still have an active On Demand session running).

    Here below, you can see my TMM screen, where I have a Catalyst 30 subscription and I am also a member of my on On Demand pool. My current license is shown in the Subscription tile, and as you can see this is Catalyst 30.

    When I start an On Demand session, I am assigned a 1 hour license to Catalyst 1. This overrides my Catalyst 30 license for the next hour, after that time it will automatically revert back to my default Catalyst 30 license.

     



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    Gareth Gibson
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  • 5.  RE: On demand subscription is good but very expensive

    Posted 09-13-2023 21:36

    Thank You Gareth! It is clear. No need to start (to tap) the catalyst 30 just the on-demand hour if it needed.
    Wish you the Best, Bela



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    Béla Motkó
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  • 6.  RE: On demand subscription is good but very expensive

    Posted 11-21-2023 20:09

    Gareth,

    I have a question regarding Catalyst on Demand offline use. My field crews are typically working offline in a remote area and don't have access to internet or cellular signal.  In your message above you state the following: "If you need a longer duration, you can load multiple licenses at once and they will extend the duration of your session. " How does this work offline.  Do you end up downloading four (4) individual 1-hour licenses that can be consumed as separate 1-hour session as needed throughout the day or is it a 4-hour license block that starts counting down as soon as you start the session?  I'm evaluating Catalyst on Demand for our units, but we constantly work at remote sites so any insight that you can provide would be helpful.



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    Luis Mercado
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  • 7.  RE: On demand subscription is good but very expensive

    Posted 11-21-2023 21:11

    Hi Luis,

    The On Demand tool in the Trimble Mobile Manager (TMM) app permits a user to claim a series of hours by extending the current license - but these are not inidivudal 1-hour licenses. The way our license system works is that the user has a single license, and the expiry date/time is extended a further hour with each additional hour claimed. It is not possible to pause or break apart the individual hours into separate licenses. 

    For your use case, I would suggest drawing down a number of hours at a time in the morning prior to heading into the field (while you still have internet access), or alternatively a monthly or annual subscription - which can be operated in an offline mode for up to 30 days at a time.



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    Gareth Gibson
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  • 8.  RE: On demand subscription is good but very expensive

    Posted 11-13-2023 15:50

    Dear Trimble,

      It would be nice in the next version of Catalyst to be able to "pause" the cm level say for up to 30 minutes while the user

    is traveling a long distance between points. Just a suggestion. 



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    Vince Cavanaugh
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