Enterprise software company IFS has scrapped a user-based licensing approach and introduced a new pricing model that charges fees based on the number of operational assets managed by customers.

A Techzine report said the new pricing model calculates software costs based on the number of actual operational assets, including marine vessels, parts, infrastructure and production assets. For example, an energy company managing 400 offshore assets pays based on 400 assets, not 12,000 employee and non-human entities accessing the system.

IFS Chief Executive Mark Moffat (마크 모팻) said customers should not have to choose between controlling software costs and automating operations. "We charge for work, not users," he said.

IFS expects the model to help companies across industries including aerospace and defence, energy and utilities, construction and engineering, manufacturing, services, telecommunications, life sciences and maritime adopt AI broadly without constraints on the number of users.

Mickey North Rizza (미키 노스 리자), group vice president at IDC Enterprise Software Group, said IFS' new pricing model provides flexibility for buyers in agent-based environments and enables companies to adjust investment to their operating scale.