CONNECT

Licensing
Frequently Asked Questions
CONNECT Licensing: Frequently Asked Questions

Getting Started

What is CONNECT Licensing?

CONNECT Licensing is Bentley’s next-generation license management, empowering users and enterprises to maximize the value of their
Bentley investment. CONNECT Licensing provides improved administrative capabilities such as near real-time usage monitoring, custom
license alert notifications, and user-level license management. Users will sign in to activate their applications, eliminating activation keys
and resulting in more secure administration and quicker onboarding of new users. Powered by Microsoft Azure, CONNECT Licensing is
globally available and embedded in releases of Bentley CONNECT Edition applications.

Are there changes to the end-user experience with CONNECT Licensing?

CONNECT Licensing activation of Bentley applications is enabled through user sign in. Users will no longer require a SELECTserver
activation key resulting in more secure license administration. And, they will not have to wait for activation keys to be issued, which
allows quicker onboarding to Bentley applications.

Since user registration is required to utilize CONNECT Licensing, organizations that have completed the user registration process will find
it easy to implement CONNECT Licensing. For more information about completing the user registration process, click here.

What’s new for administrators with CONNECT Licensing?

In addition to standard licensing capabilities such as check-out licenses, administrators are given user-level entitlement management,
along with customizable license alert notifications set to whatever threshold they wish. Administrators also have near real-time
usage monitoring available to them to assist with managing Bentley applications available in the CONNECT Center. Administrators of
multinational organizations can also confirm their users’ entitlement countries. Administrators need to ensure their users are registered.
To ease this process, Bentley offers federation options. More details about administering CONNECT Licensing can be found here.

What should administrators do now?

• Register users and instruct them to sign in.
• Confirm the entitlement country for each user.
• Adopt CONNECT Licensing-enabled applications as they become available.

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Is internet access required?
An internet connection is required for users to activate applications with CONNECT Licensing, although once activated, temporary off-line
access is supported. Check-out licenses are available for users requiring more extensive off-line usage. CONNECT Licensing administrative
functionality always requires internet access.

Can I disable the user sign in requirement for CONNECT Licensing?

Applications that are delivered with CONNECT Licensing require user sign in. There is no option to disable the user sign in requirement.

CONNECT Licensing Compatibility

How will I know when CONNECT Licensing is available for my specific

Bentley applications?
Moving forward, each new release of a CONNECT Edition application will utilize CONNECT Licensing. If users are receiving automatic
updates, their application release will automatically incorporate CONNECT Licensing; no specific action is required as users who asked to
receive automatic updates have previously registered.

New product versions with CONNECT Licensing will also be added to our Software Downloads. The applications will feature a “CL” in the
product version name to represent that they are CONNECT Licensing enabled.

Does CONNECT Licensing work with every Bentley application?

CONNECT Licensing will be implemented on the next scheduled release of each Bentley CONNECT Edition application. CONNECT Licensing
will continue to expand as these newer versions of CONNECT Edition applications are released with CONNECT Licensing. Application versions
supporting CONNECT Licensing are appended with “CL” in Software Downloads.

Can I still use older versions of applications while using new CONNECT
Licensing applications?
While we encourage the adoption of Bentley’s newest application version releases, you will still be able to access supported versions of
applications with either SELECTserver or CONNECT Licensing, or both licensing methods can co-exist at the same time. Please refer to the
Bentley Support Policy, which outlines our current licensing support status. And, keep in mind that using CONNECT Edition applications is
a key component to maximizing your Earned Value Discount.

What reporting tools are available to review usage?

Individual usage logs can be viewed in two reports. The Product Usage Report is available for products on SELECTserver, and the CONNECT
Licensing Usage Report for CONNECT Licensing applications is available in the CONNECT Center. As the rollout of CONNECT Licensing
progresses, look for new (consolidated) reporting, which provides greater insight into usage.

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Bentley Licenses and Subscriptions

Will CONNECT Licensing affect current owned licenses and/or

subscriptions?
CONNECT Licensing will not impact owned licenses or subscriptions and does not represent any change to Bentley’s commercial
programs. However, users may qualify for Bentley’s Earned Value Discount (EVD) by utilizing CONNECT Licensing products. CONNECT
Licensing can also help satisfy the user registration requirement for EVD eligibility. For more information, please see the Earned Value
Discount FAQ in the CONNECT Center.

Does CONNECT Licensing improve usage management?

With user-based entitlements, administrators can restrict access to CONNECT Licensing-enabled applications to specific users or groups.
Also, administrators can set a threshold at which a license alert notification is triggered. Administrators can also create a custom
message to direct their users to take the appropriate action. Please note that the license alert notifications do not restrict users from
accessing applications.

Can CONNECT Licensing prevent a user from generating a term license?

While the new tools provided by CONNECT Licensing can greatly improve an organization’s ability to manage their subscriptions by providing
warnings and alerts, these tools do not control usage. Subscribers are still contractually responsible for any term license that is generated.

How do I get technical support for CONNECT Licensing?

For technical support, submit a Service Request on the CONNECT Center.

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