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A
arisseu
New Participant
September 17, 2018
Question

ColdFusion license doesn't allow for SaaS solution?

  • September 17, 2018
  • 2 replies
  • 3585 views

I've been told that under Standard and Enterprise ColdFusion  is it prohibited to deploy a SaaS application:

license point:

2.6.4 Prohibited Use ...c) providing use of the software in a computer service business, third party outsourcing facility or service, service bureau agreement, time sharing basis, or as a part of a hosted service

The only way to use ColdFusion for a SaaS application (meaning charging a license fee for each customer using the same application), the only way is to negotiate a Coldfusion Hosting Agreement based likely on a percentage of your business profit.

Is this true? does anyone have experience with this?

This is a serious issue that could change a lot a startup financial situation and forecast.

Thank you for your input on this

    This topic has been closed for replies.

    2 replies

    A
    alberto10s
    Known Participant
    March 20, 2019

    Well, it's true.  Adobe is trying to screw us...  And by us, I mean any and all SaaS companies in the CF community.  They came back with a quote that said we would need 1 CF Standard License per core.  So, yeah… If you have a 4 core server running CF 2018 STD, you are looking at ~10K. All because you are a SaaS company.  

    I cannot express my anger and frustration with Adobe.  I sent Rakshith (Product Manager at Adobe) an email letting him know about this. 

    No small business or start-up will pay these kinds of prices. I have always been an advocate for Adobe ColdFusion, but this is just feels like a nasty betrayal.  If they do this… and I can't believe I am writing this, but ACF is done.  CF adoption is low enough as it is.  Who is going to use ACF as a platform with this high of a barrier to entry?

    D
    Dave Watts
    Inspiring
    March 20, 2019

    I don't think it's as simple as "Adobe is trying to screw us", because I don't think Adobe has a clear position on billing for SaaS customers, unlike hosting customers. And if you have a sales person telling you that you have to pay an outrageous amount, I would just ask to speak to his manager until you get a more satisfactory answer, and keep going up the chain.

    Dave Watts, Eidolon LLC

    Dave Watts, Eidolon LLC
    A
    alberto10s
    Known Participant
    March 20, 2019

    Hi Dave,

    I appreciate your perspective and agree regarding the language in the Prohibited Use clause.  However, with a quote like that, it is clear that it -is- that simple.  Especially, considering that we are not the only or first ones to have this happen. 

    I am not sure if it was a sales person or someone in Adobe licensing.  The quote we got was from Integral who was working with the person at Adobe.  Getting pricing from Integral was really painful thanks to Adobe.  The person at Adobe sent over a pretty long questionnaire and a spreadsheet to be filled out.  Several of the questions were -highly- inappropriate and probing.

    The fact is the prices were already high, and this quote is just greedy.

    Alberto

    Charlie Arehart
    Charlie Arehart
    Braniac
    September 17, 2018

    It seems to be a hammer that Adobe is bringing down on people, yes. Many have raised it to me, saying they don’t read the terms the same way that Adobe is (as to what is a SAAS app). For instance, isn’t there a huge difference between a company who has login features of the CF app that let users see their own stuff (and makes profit in doing that), versus an org who “hosts” different clients in terms of letting them have their own “account on the server”?

    Where does any CF app change from being “a dynamic db-driven web site that serves different clients” to being a “saas” application? How different are they as “hosted services”, per that last point? The EULA terms don’t clarify that.

    /charlie

    /Charlie (troubleshooter, carehart. org)
      D
      Dave Watts
      Inspiring
      September 17, 2018

      My understanding is that "hosted service" applies in this context to services that allow users to upload their own code. But that's not very well defined by the EULA and my experience is that if you ask ten Adobe sales people what something in the EULA really means, you'll get eleven answers. My argument, should I ever be faced with the need for one, is that it would make no sense to use an alternate meaning because everything on the web is a hosted service in that reading, and it would be pointless to deploy CF for any public-facing applications with user accounts.

      Dave Watts, Fig Leaf Software

      Dave Watts, Eidolon LLC
        A
        alberto10s
        Known Participant
        March 4, 2019

        Dave, I could not agree more.  Selling a subscription for use of a web application is VERY different from selling ColdFusion as a Service.  The way we read the prohibited use section is by replacing the word "software" with "ColdFusion". 

        No one in the SaaS space is selling "ColdFusion" or its use. 

        These companies are selling the use of an application that is based on their respective intellectual property (meaning their html, css, js, cfml, graphic design, UI design, business processes, workflows, etc).

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