There have been some questions posted on this forum and others with regard to SWsoft’s Software Update Services (SUS) and Fee-based add-ons. So let me try to answer any questions or concerns. As a point of reference, the Plesk control panel has not seen a price change for the base key since August of 2001. We are committed to our users and are committed to continuing our innovation and meeting the needs of our users. But this does come at a cost. Fee-based Add-ons - In order to maintain the base cost of the Plesk product SWsoft has chosen to provide fee-based add-ons. This policy extends back to the first fee-based add-on, Language Support, in 2002. The Plesk control panel has gone through many changes and improvements that many of you have graciously thanked us for and many more that you have requested. Only in a few cases have fee-based add-ons been created to meet the needs of some users while not charging everyone by raising the base key cost. Some users either do not need the capability that the add-on provides or have integrated it, or something similar, themselves and therefore do not want to pay for it. In the last two major versions of Plesk (Plesk 6 and Plesk 7) we are approaching 100 new features and have only selected 4 of them to be fee-based. Software Update Service (SUS) - Plesk, and now SWsoft, has always provided a means to update licenses, with an active SUS subscription, in order to maintain the investment. This update service applies to the base key and any add-ons but has never allowed someone to upgrade their key to more domains or add additional (fee-based) functionality. And there is nothing new now. Anyone that has one or more add-ons and maintains their SUS can update their license key to the next version and maintain these add-ons for no additional fee. However, it is necessary to charge for new fee-based add-ons in order to support continued development while keeping the base key cost down. Thanks to the tens of thousands of very satisfied customers who provide us valuable feedback, we continue to improve and enhance the Plesk product. We have tripled the size of our Plesk development team and have many great things on its road map for 2004 and beyond. If there is a new fee based add-on that someone needs in addition to the some add-ons that they already have, we feel that an a la cart system is the most economical and equitable way to provide this. When Plesk 6 was launched the new add-ons were provided at no charge as a sales promotion if a new key was purchased within a given time period. Similarly, add-ons new to Plesk 7 are being provided at no charge for new key purchases until the end of March. We are in the process of determining the best set of add-ons for a new Power Pack similar to what we offered when Plesk 6 was released. We will announce this new Power Pack in the coming weeks – while all new add-ons with Plesk 7 are free until the end of March. We hope this clarifies any questions. If questions remain, we would love to hear them. Please send any fee back to Customer-Service@SW-soft.com
