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Hi Yury.
Modano is sold only under an annual or monthly subscription.
We tried selling the system as a once-off purchase, but it didn't work because Windows, Excel and the Modano platform are constantly evolving. We also had to signficantly increase the price to make it viable, and charge separately for technical support, which didn't go down well with our users.
The other element to Modano is that we're constantly building new content and training exercises, so the subscription model reflects an ongoing relationship rather than a once-off transaction.
It's interesting that you say it's a pity Yury. On the face of it, I can understand people wanting to 'own' software instead of 'lease' it, but I've gone full circle on this both as a software developer and a software user.
If we were to sell Modano as a once-off payment, we would need to make it somewhere between 3x - 10x the current price of an annual subscription to make it viable and reflect the fact that users will be getting multi-year benefit from their single purchase. Assuming this pricing is not an issue for some users, they will then be forced to make a decision as to whether to upgrade, and/or pay extra as we release new functionalities, improvements and content downloads over time. It's relatively very messy.
If priced correctly, there should be no signficant different between a once-off payment and a subscription-based model over a protracted period of time, but the subscription model allows for smoothing of payments and an ongoing relationship.
Take the Adobe Creative Suite for example. I was initially disappointed when Adobe moved to a monthly subscription model, as I was used to buying Adobe Acrobat outright every couple of years. However, by moving to their monthly plan, I pay a relatively small monthly fee - which I can cancel at any time - and get their entire suite of products and always have the latest version. So I'm now much happier than I was battling with outdated versions trying to save money upgrading without a subscription.
I think many people assume that software subscription models favour software vendors over users, but we believe it's a win for everybody, particularly because software is a constantly moving target.