Quirks in memoQ upgrade policy Thread poster: Anmol
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My memoQ upgrade and support contract expired in August 2013. I haven't renewed to date.
When I recently decided to, I was told that my new contract would run to August 2014. Well, we're almost there, so I thought I'd wait a couple of months before renewing my contract.
But no! That won't work. Kilgray has just told me that if I renew in September 2014, my new upgrade and support contract will run from August 2013 to .... August 2014! ... See more My memoQ upgrade and support contract expired in August 2013. I haven't renewed to date.
When I recently decided to, I was told that my new contract would run to August 2014. Well, we're almost there, so I thought I'd wait a couple of months before renewing my contract.
But no! That won't work. Kilgray has just told me that if I renew in September 2014, my new upgrade and support contract will run from August 2013 to .... August 2014! So I guess that means it will expire even before it comes into existence!!!!!
Does anyone find this upgrade and support policy a bit tough to swallow? In effect, what Kilgray is saying is: you have to pay us EUR 124/year if you want any upgrades, now or at any time in the future, even 10 years from now.
That's not how upgrade policies for most software tools work, is it? Is there any reason customers should be forced to pay for for upgrade and support every year?
Does anyone know if I making some wrong assumptions in the matter? Or is the upgrade policy really as 'forceful' as it seems to be? ▲ Collapse
| | | | | I do not approve it, but knew about it from the beginning | Jun 18, 2014 |
Dear Anil,
I purchased my memoQ licence in June last year, so it is about to expire. If I do not renew right now and decide to do it at a later point, I will have to pay for the upgrades corresponding to the whole period, without interruptions, i.e. the later I upgrade, the more it will cost...
It would be better to be able to skip a period, than upgrade and have the updated software for one whole year, beginning with the date of payment for the last upgrade. But I am a... See more Dear Anil,
I purchased my memoQ licence in June last year, so it is about to expire. If I do not renew right now and decide to do it at a later point, I will have to pay for the upgrades corresponding to the whole period, without interruptions, i.e. the later I upgrade, the more it will cost...
It would be better to be able to skip a period, than upgrade and have the updated software for one whole year, beginning with the date of payment for the last upgrade. But I am afraid this is not possible with Kilgray. The only positive thing about this is that the team of memoQ clarified this from the very first time and I knew about their policy before I decided to buy their software.
My doubt is however, if I don't upgrade in June and want to do so in August, for example, than I will have to pay for two complete years of upgrade at once? Or an amount corresponding to a period of 15 months?
Best regards,
Agnes ▲ Collapse
| | | | Emma Goldsmith 
Spain
Local time: 20:22
Member (2004)
Spanish to English
I see what you mean, but as the annual payment covers upgrades and support, it seems reasonable.
In your case you'd have to pay for two years to reach today's date. That's still cheaper than buying a new version of the program.
Once you get to three/four years then it's cheaper to buy memoQ through a group buy. So your hypothetical 10 years don't apply in practice.
I let my memoQ payments lapse about 5 yrs ago and bought the latest version a few months ago. I thin... See more I see what you mean, but as the annual payment covers upgrades and support, it seems reasonable.
In your case you'd have to pay for two years to reach today's date. That's still cheaper than buying a new version of the program.
Once you get to three/four years then it's cheaper to buy memoQ through a group buy. So your hypothetical 10 years don't apply in practice.
I let my memoQ payments lapse about 5 yrs ago and bought the latest version a few months ago. I think that's reasonable. I haven't benefited from the upgrades over these years because I didn't make the payment. But the license isn't an annual subscription so I was able to go on using the version I had. ▲ Collapse
| | | | Natalie
Poland
Local time: 20:22
Member (2002)
English to Russian
+ ...
MODERATOR SITE LOCALIZER | Exactly the same experience as Anil's | Jun 18, 2014 |
I use MemoQ only occasionally, and did not renew last year as I did not need any "intermediate" upgrades. However, when I renewed on April 16 I received a notification that "new expiry date is Aug 28, 2014", which looks to me like misappropriation of payment for 8 months backwards.
I find such approach unfair. It would be much more appropriate to allow translators just to buy upgrades for new versions when needed, without any such "subscriptions".
Natalia
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| Captive customer base | Jun 18, 2014 |
Basically, you subscribe to MemoQ and support for 124 euros/year.
I also wanted to think that I could skip some upgrades and upgrade whenever I wished.
I had a discussion some time ago with the people there, letting them know with figures how much less I had spent on Trados than on MemoQ over a few years' period. It used to be one of their selling points to say that Trados was ghastly more expensive.
Sure, I have all the support I want with MemoQ, but I do... See more Basically, you subscribe to MemoQ and support for 124 euros/year.
I also wanted to think that I could skip some upgrades and upgrade whenever I wished.
I had a discussion some time ago with the people there, letting them know with figures how much less I had spent on Trados than on MemoQ over a few years' period. It used to be one of their selling points to say that Trados was ghastly more expensive.
Sure, I have all the support I want with MemoQ, but I don't need it. I don't have any support with Trados, and I manage all the same.
So my policy is to keep my version for as long as I can and when 3 years have elapsed, it will get cheaper to buy a brand new licence from Group Buy than to spend 124 euros/year.
As I don't use support, MemoQ policy is not worth it for me.
But MemoQ is and remains my CAT of choice.
Philippe ▲ Collapse
| | | | | One question to Philippe | Jun 18, 2014 |
Philippe,
Up to now I was translating for local clients, but now I would like to seek collaboration with agencies from Germany as well, as I mainly translate legal/financial documents from German into Spanish. If I do not upgrade now and wait 3 years to buy a brand new version, do you think I will have difficulties with German agencies sending me work in some new formats that may be introduced and are not supported by my actual memoQ version? I do not owe any other CAT tool yet, me... See more Philippe,
Up to now I was translating for local clients, but now I would like to seek collaboration with agencies from Germany as well, as I mainly translate legal/financial documents from German into Spanish. If I do not upgrade now and wait 3 years to buy a brand new version, do you think I will have difficulties with German agencies sending me work in some new formats that may be introduced and are not supported by my actual memoQ version? I do not owe any other CAT tool yet, memoQ is my first one and I really enjoy using it. But, same as in your case, I do not need lots of support, as I can get answers from everywhere nowadays. My only concern is that I might have complications due to the fact that I will use a different memoQ version than the agency's one, for example. This is why I was considering paying this yearly fee, even if right now it is a considerable amount for me.
I do not have experience in the agency-translator workflow yet, up to now it was easyer, I simply explained to my customers what format we need, what solutions can be found, etc.
Thank you for your opinion on this.
Thank you Emma as well, the information you gave is very useful as well.
Best regards,
Agnes
[Edited at 2014-06-18 11:40 GMT]
[Edited at 2014-06-18 11:41 GMT] ▲ Collapse
| | | | | Worth it for me | Jun 18, 2014 |
Hi Anil,
In the case you describe your upgrade would expire before it began, but I believe it would entitle you to the upgrades that came out within this period. So it's not as if you would get nothing for your money. The other option is just to buy the latest version. Either way, it's not cheap, but I don't really feel it's unfair.
I have the subscription, as MemoQ is my main (and favourite) CAT tool. It would be nice if it were cheaper, but on the whole I don't consid... See more Hi Anil,
In the case you describe your upgrade would expire before it began, but I believe it would entitle you to the upgrades that came out within this period. So it's not as if you would get nothing for your money. The other option is just to buy the latest version. Either way, it's not cheap, but I don't really feel it's unfair.
I have the subscription, as MemoQ is my main (and favourite) CAT tool. It would be nice if it were cheaper, but on the whole I don't consider it bad value for money. 124 euros per year means I am always up to date and it is nice to know that support is available, though I have never used it (mainly because MemoQ is just so easy to use and never gives any problems!).
I guess it's just a question of paying your money and taking your choice. There are plenty of other options on the market.
Rachel ▲ Collapse
| | | | Anmol
Local time: 23:52
TOPIC STARTER | A forced subscription model | Jun 18, 2014 |
Philippe Etienne wrote:
Basically, you subscribe to MemoQ and support for 124 euros/year.
Yes, it appears to be a forced subscription model. J
I also wanted to think that I could skip some upgrades and upgrade whenever I wished.
I had a discussion some time ago with the people there, letting them know with figures how much less I had spent on Trados than on MemoQ over a few years' period. It used to be one of their selling points to say that Trados was ghastly more expensive.
That's exactly the kind of flexibility I prefer too. This way, memoQ will turn out to be quite expensive.
Sure, I have all the support I want with MemoQ, but I don't need it. I don't have any support with Trados, and I manage all the same.
Exactly. I don't need support, and most people don't. Therefore, to call it an 'upgrade and support' contract is a bit disingenuous on Kilgray's part.
So my policy is to keep my version for as long as I can and when 3 years have elapsed, it will get cheaper to buy a brand new licence from Group Buy than to spend 124 euros/year.
That's a good strategy that I will probably adopt as well. Nevertheless, it does straitjacket the translator, doesn't it. I'd rather pay an upgrade price that is slightly higher if I had the flexibility to decide when to upgrade.
As I don't use support, MemoQ policy is not worth it for me.
But MemoQ is and remains my CAT of choice.
Philippe
Yes, it is and remains my CAT of choice too. Especially since the fewer interruptions due to tag problems in a competing product have made the translation process so much smoother!
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Agnes Lenkey wrote:
... If I do not upgrade now and wait 3 years to buy a brand new version, do you think I will have difficulties with German agencies sending me work in some new formats that may be introduced and are not supported by my actual memoQ version?...
Yes it is a risk, but there is often backward compatibility, except for major overhauled releases like v4 to v6). And that is why I upgraded in 2013: a MemoQ customer couldn't send me work because my version was outdated. So I spent 372 euros (from 2010) to be able to get work from that customer. Which is what I would have spent just paying 124 euros/year, with the support and upgrades that I never missed until then.
So at any rate, MemoQ will never cost you more than 124 euros/year. So if you don't need support or the latest versions all the time, just leave it and upgrade when necessary, not forgetting that if you don't upgrade for more than 3 years, you would be better off buying from Group Buy.
It's not that saving 124 euros every 4 years makes any difference, but I want to remain free to upgrade or not. I upgrade software out of necessity (new OS, compatibility with customers/other software, killer feature...), not because I like it. More than the money, it's the principle that irks me.
This is how I dodge their system. But I don't feel dishonest, as I pay for something (support) that I don't use.
Philippe
| | | | Steven Segaert
Estonia
Local time: 21:22
Member (2012)
English to Dutch
+ ...
Nobody locks you in - you can always decide to just buy a full-price new version. Or you can keep using your old version without extra cost.
And you can look at it differently: instead of having to buy a new version of the software, you have the opportunity to get it cheaper by paying for the subscription. They might as well say "no subscription? Too bad - you have to pay the full price then."
Doing it different would mean that you buy once and upgrade cheaply forever. ... See more Nobody locks you in - you can always decide to just buy a full-price new version. Or you can keep using your old version without extra cost.
And you can look at it differently: instead of having to buy a new version of the software, you have the opportunity to get it cheaper by paying for the subscription. They might as well say "no subscription? Too bad - you have to pay the full price then."
Doing it different would mean that you buy once and upgrade cheaply forever. I'm afraid that a company that does that won't be very innovative for lack of financing. ▲ Collapse
| | | | | Another option | Jun 18, 2014 |
I'm still running memoQ V6.06 as my main tool. But I also downloaded the new version since I have clients that use it. They simply send me an ELM license, I log into their server then download the license and project. I then can use the latest version of memoQ for the duration of the job with all features included.
So I didn't actually have to upgrade or buy a license to work with it. It's like working with Across, but a bazillion times better and faster. The older licensed version... See more I'm still running memoQ V6.06 as my main tool. But I also downloaded the new version since I have clients that use it. They simply send me an ELM license, I log into their server then download the license and project. I then can use the latest version of memoQ for the duration of the job with all features included.
So I didn't actually have to upgrade or buy a license to work with it. It's like working with Across, but a bazillion times better and faster. The older licensed version, I still use for my more "traditional" clients. So far, I haven't had any problems with file formats.
[Edited at 2014-06-18 13:38 GMT]
[Edited at 2014-06-18 13:38 GMT] ▲ Collapse
| | | | LEXpert
United States
Local time: 13:22
Member (2008)
Croatian to English
+ ...
| Do you still get support as opposed to upgrades? | Jun 18, 2014 |
Anil Gidwani wrote:
Kilgray has just told me that if I renew in September 2014, my new upgrade and support contract will run from August 2013 to .... August 2014! So I guess that means it will expire even before it comes into existence!!!!!
Argh! I just checked own contract and it too was issued for a period that *had already expired(!?)* when I bought it! OK, I get that you can't just buy the contact one day and upgrade the next day, but what about support? Do you at least have support going forward if you renew after your original agreement has expired or do you have pay all arrears since the original expiry date for support as well?
Right now I'm wondering if I have actually obtained anything of value (even the right to current support) for my 124 EUR, or if I've basically donated it to Kilgray.
I like the software, but the whole support thing seems like a bit of racket if you think about it - people think "support and upgrades for 124 EUR p.a., why not?" - then you pay, and soon afterward realize you've basically thrown your hard-earned money away unless you pay twice or thrice again.
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Jean Chao
United States
Local time: 11:22
English to Chinese
+ ...
| Big and complacent like Microsoft? | Jun 18, 2014 |
Philippe Etienne wrote:
...
So at any rate, MemoQ will never cost you more than 124 euros/year. So if you don't need support or the latest versions all the time, just leave it and upgrade when necessary, not forgetting that if you don't upgrade for more than 3 years, you would be better off buying from Group Buy.
It's not that saving 124 euros every 4 years makes any difference, but I want to remain free to upgrade or not. I upgrade software out of necessity (new OS, compatibility with customers/other software, killer feature...), not because I like it. More than the money, it's the principle that irks me.
This is how I dodge their system. But I don't feel dishonest, as I pay for something (support) that I don't use.
Philippe
Microsoft Windows Vista gave me quite a few painful years, so when I finally settled down with Windows 7, I had no incentives to upgrade to Windows 8.
Same for MemoQ: It's still my go-to CAT tool, but I chose to "downgrade" to a version that worked for me and solved my major problem. If I ever need a newer version, I'll just join the group buy and purchase the latest version. Thank you, Philippe.
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