Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Software Licensing topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Davis County reviews steep ESRI and CAD licensing increases; staff to explore consolidation and open-source options
Summary
County IT staff told commissioners ESRI’s new pricing could raise GIS licensing from about $150,000 a year to more than $214,000 under a stripped-down quote and nearly $300,000 by year three; the county will inventory licenses and consider consolidation, open-source migration, and outsourcing before a January renewal.
Davis County’s information-technology director urged the commission on Aug. 19 to consider consolidation and alternatives after vendor changes left the county facing large GIS licensing increases.
Jeff, the county’s director of information services, told the work-session audience that ESRI—the county’s core GIS vendor—has introduced a new licensing model that shifts toward named-user pricing and higher per-user costs. "Their new licensing structure by the third year of our contract will be double what it is today," Jeff said, adding that a stripped-down quote to replicate current capabilities reduced the immediate increase to roughly a 50% jump but still raised annual costs from about $150,000 toward $214,000.
Jeff framed the issue as part of a broader trend: both commercial and open-source packages have rising total costs because of integration, cloud services and maintenance contracts. He reviewed licensing differences—perpetual versus subscription, machine versus user licenses, and named-user versus concurrent seats—and warned of hidden implementation and retraining costs when changing platforms.
The commission discussed several response options: (1) accept the higher cost and request additional budget, (2) purchase a lower-cost commercial product (with attendant risk of future price increases), (3) move to open-source GIS software (noting heavy short-term implementation and compatibility costs), (4) consolidate creator licenses across departments and shift many users to lower-cost reader roles, or (5) outsource GIS work on a project basis. Jeff recommended departments inventory their ESRI licenses so IT can reorder or reduce licenses before the January contract renewal.
Commissioners also discussed Munis, the county’s financial/ERP system, and the broader risk that other vendors could shift to subscription or belly-button (per-employee) pricing, potentially increasing long-term county costs significantly. Jeff noted the county builds some systems internally when commercial pricing proves infeasible and said IT will continue to evaluate build-vs-buy decisions for major systems.
Next steps recorded in the meeting: IT will send each department a list of current GIS licenses and ask department directors to identify consolidation opportunities; Jeff said staff will seek a revised vendor quote based on consolidated licensing and schedule follow-up meetings within weeks to determine budget implications before the January renewal.
