New community edition (Release 2024)

RE: New community edition (Release 2024)

AngelaIp — Tue, 10 Jun 2025 16:27:35 GMT

Matteo Nicolich Sorry for the confusion — I misinterpreted your previous response!

The Aras team did a great job in the last releases, especially regarding UI/UX. I’m looking forward to using these versions! It’s been a long way since Innovator 11.
Aras maybe should consider doing more marketing. The new versions were rolled out without much notice. The product "finally" :) looks good, why not talk about it?

Unfortunately I currently don´t know what Innovator version to use in the future. Neither Release 35 nor Release 2025 is an option.

It was Aras itself that recommended using the open release years ago. We were a bit confused first, but in the end we were totally fine with not having the option for subscription (too small...).
And your colleagues weren’t wrong - things worked out well! We don’t have any CAD data, so subscription features like 3D Navigation were never something we actually needed. I even had the chance to work with regular subscriber versions in other projects. -> Best of both worlds.

I once got the following feedback: "It’s actually a benefit for Aras that this instance don’t use a subscription. If you did, you would ask all your forum questions to support. But this way, you start pretty interesting discussions in the forum, which helps a broader audience and even saves support a few tickets."

But the current open release is too restricted to replace the current environment. Back than I was told that "there will always be an open release that you can use". Unfortunately right now there isn´t. I had expected the user restrictions to be adjusted, as I was advised to wait for Release 2025.

This topic may not lie within your area of responsibility, but if you have any suggestions, I’d greatly appreciate them!

RE: New community edition (Release 2024)

Matteo Nicolich — Thu, 05 Jun 2025 12:03:16 GMT

Hello AngelaIp,

Voted for the post about Community Edition Release 2025 availability.
We wanted to make all the new UI improvements and capabilities available to our Community as soon as possible, so we brought forward the Release 2025. I'm sure you'll enjoy the many improvements and updates included.

RE: New community edition (Release 2024)

AngelaIp — Thu, 05 Jun 2025 07:48:29 GMT

Matteo Nicolich Aren't you a Director of Product Management at Aras? I know way too much about the software, and I'm genuinely unhappy right now. It's the perfect start to a villain arc.
Why do you "vote up" a post like that? Or maybe you have some ideas that might help? I’d really appreciate it!

RE: New community edition (Release 2024)

AngelaIp — Wed, 04 Jun 2025 07:07:34 GMT

Release 2025 has been released.

Any last ideas of what software version I can use in the future before I burn everything down?

RE: New community edition (Release 2024)

AngelaIp — Thu, 22 May 2025 15:47:20 GMT

Release 35 has been released last week! Kudos to the person who writes the much more detailed release notes! I approve all of the new UI improvements - and I haven´t even seen them yet. There are even a few unexpected new features like the "no content" indicator and some type-ahead stuff for relationships. Definitely useful!

Of course we still have to wait a bit until the release of Release 2025. But I think it will become useful and reliable new release. For me personally there are only two possible outcomes of this discussion:

- Release 2025 is the perfect release I was waiting for and I will praise it to heaven in many many posts to come.
OR
- I will throw a torch at everything in case of some unexpected new usage conditions😄

I think in both cases I will keep bringing up this topic over and over again. So stay tuned! :)

RE: New community edition (Release 2024)

AngelaIp — Tue, 06 May 2025 16:37:22 GMT

I know it’s still early - Release 35 hasn’t even been released yet - but is there already any information about possible user limitations in Release 2025?

It’s been really hard to get any concrete information — but on the bright side, there haven’t been any negative signals either. I imagine the forum team might even be on my side, just hoping I’ll finally stop bringing up this topic. 😄

In any case, I really appreciate all past and future support from fellow users, partners, or anyone else who cared about this topic. Thanks!

RE: New community edition (Release 2024)

AngelaIp — Tue, 08 Apr 2025 12:29:23 GMT

Hi Chris,

thanks for the great news!!! This information is very helpful!

In general the latest releases all had a excellent mix between core and UI/UX improvements. The new 4 month release cycle really helped a lot. The new releases contain "something for everyone" to look forward too.

I’m eager to see how Aras will adapt the open release rule set and conditions. The user restrictions could have been more closely aligned with expectations. Back than even the Aras sales people I talked to ran out of ideas about which version would suit our environment best. I hope Release 2025 will finally be the answer!

RE: New community edition (Release 2024)

Christopher Gillis — Wed, 02 Apr 2025 21:59:33 GMT

Hi Angela,

I'm sure an official announcement will be made sometime soon, but the current plan is to release a new 2025 open version of Aras Innovator sometime later this year. The plan is to base it off of our official Release 35 which contains some very cool new UI updates.

I'll be sure to follow up here once we commit to an official release date!

Chris

RE: New community edition (Release 2024)

AngelaIp — Tue, 25 Mar 2025 16:10:31 GMT

Does somebody know more what Aras means with "Usage data" in the Terms of Use? See: What data is sent home to Aras by Innovator Release 2024? What is "Usage Data"?

RE: New community edition (Release 2024)

AngelaIp — Mon, 17 Mar 2025 16:19:22 GMT

If you're curious about Aras's history, check out this article series!

https://deelip.com/aras-innovator-plm-done-differently-part-1/

It highlights how the "open release" strategy played a crucial role in Aras's success.

Although the articles frequently use the term "open source" which is a bit misleading. Back then, it referred to the broader concept of "open release".

But without the open release "give it away for free" idea, Aras would likely not be where they are today. The concept could have easily gone wrong, but it didn't - pretty cool, actually!

From my POV they’ve currently somewhat forgotten how to fully leverage the open release and community aspect to their advantage - but they’ll surely learn it again. :)

RE: New community edition (Release 2024)

Kenneth Ballash — Wed, 12 Mar 2025 15:25:18 GMT

Agreed! The community edition has made a big impact on every opportunity I've had to share Aras with businesses. Showing them what is capable with Aras out of the box coupled with its configurability to meet their needs is unique in the market and was a huge driver for teams selecting Aras as their PLM.

RE: New community edition (Release 2024)

AngelaIp — Wed, 12 Mar 2025 14:34:12 GMT

The upcoming ACE event, combined with Aras' 25th anniversary, would be the perfect opportunity for a new release!

And there are new reasons why a new version is needed:

Release 2024 has fundamental issues that can make this release impossible to use at all, see: www.aras.com/.../cui-table-views-not-working
While patches exist, they are only available for subscribers and/or need some basic admin skills, which limits the usefulness of the current free version.

It would be great to see an update that addresses these problems and ensures that the free version continues the tradition of previous releases, as promised for over a decade!

RE: New community edition (Release 2024)

AngelaIp — Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:00:27 GMT

Unfortunately there is not much going on in this thread.

martinvdr I want to argue with you! ☺

Many thanks for your feedback - I truly appreciate you taking the time! Different viewpoints are valuable. Too often in this forum, my solutions are seen as the definitive answer. This doesn’t help me improve.

In general, I even agree with you! But there is one detail where we need to consider the historical legacy.

Quote: "why an organization with more than 50 users should be entitled to no-cost access? "
- My answer: Because it was one of the core aspects of the idea to "be different".

You probably know more about the background of Release 2024 than we do. Right now we don´t even get the promised 50 users cause system accounts are accidentally counted too.

What can the community do to enable Aras to bring back some of the fundamental aspects and ideas of the open release?

RE: New community edition (Release 2024)

AngelaIp — Wed, 05 Feb 2025 12:00:20 GMT

Commenting to keep the topic active. Any updates on the next release?

RE: New community edition (Release 2024)

AngelaIp — Mon, 27 Jan 2025 14:48:23 GMT

I would also like to raise a point that may not have been considered so far.

I work with regular subscription instances AND open release instances (not the same companies obviously - they are strictly separated).

If Aras really discontinued the classic open release, this could also raise some questions for the subscription instances. What will be discontinued next? Upgrades included in subscription? Customizability? Community? On-Premise installations? Do my subscribers have to be prepared?

I am of course not that pessimistic!

I assume that Aras is totally aware of the controversies this release produced. And I even think Aras enjoys these kind of speculations. Basically we had similar discussions before Release 2023 showed up: RE: New free version ... **

Back then there were big doubts about whether there would ever be another release after 12SP9. And then out of nowhere Aras surprised everyone with Release 2023.

**I would like to point out that I was the only non-Aras person in the discussion who believed in Aras and defended them when nobody else did! I did that!!! 😀😎

RE: New community edition (Release 2024)

AngelaIp — Thu, 16 Jan 2025 13:03:52 GMT

Thanks for your input! Out of interest, what kind of communication do you refer to? Maybe I miss something.

According to the Aras wiki article (not an official source I know...) the classic open release concept was introduced in 2007 and since then (from my POV!) was an important part of their culture and identity of "being different".
Their own homepage and even partner pages still mention it. If I would have to pick one of the available references, it would probably be their own company description they used with only minor updates for nearly a decade (!):

https://web.archive.org/web/20190331112249/https://www.aras.com/company/ --> see "Business" section and "Community" section. Should speak for itself.

Years ago subscriptions with 25 users were possible. But at this time, Aras had much less applications (mainly PE and PM). The software has grown, so did the complicity. So the limit was raised to 50. And this is absolutely understandable. Main reason for this user limitation are upgrades. In worst case a 25-user instance can require just as much effort as a 500-user instance.
For a certain period, the user limit was even 250. At this time Minerva PLM was available as alternative offering explicitly for small and mid-sized user groups. But after the Aras / Minerva merger this offering seemed to be discontinued. So it seems that there is right now no offering that fills this gap.

RE: New community edition (Release 2024)

Kenton Van Klompenberg — Thu, 09 Jan 2025 13:54:53 GMT

AngelaIp I haven't seen any information about any "classic-style open release". I thought the communication was pretty clear that they expect all customers to go onto a subscription once they decide to pursue a PROD instance. The community edition is only suitable for simple proof of concept testing that can be done in-house without a large sales project.

What do you mean by "too small for subscription". I was under the impression that Aras had subscription packages for even small user counts (<50 active).

RE: New community edition (Release 2024)

AngelaIp — Thu, 09 Jan 2025 10:52:30 GMT

Happy new year everyone! I assume no one saw my previous posts because the forum notification system was temporarily down at the time. My typical luck. 😂 But PLM is a marathon. After 8 years, we have digital twins in the Innovator, but everything still feels unfinished.

Are there any news for Release 2025 already?

RE: New community edition (Release 2024)

AngelaIp — Tue, 26 Nov 2024 14:57:30 GMT

John Sperling What do you recommend me to do when I haven´t got a solution from Aras since half a year? I am not in a hurry. Shall I keep asking or do you know an alternative solution?

RE: New community edition (Release 2024)

AngelaIp — Thu, 07 Nov 2024 15:57:04 GMT

For everybody wondering why I am so interested in the open release. I have a few instances that are too small for subscription but Release 2024 doesn´t fit either.

I of course contacted Aras as recommended above. Since 5 months (!) people try to find a solution, but there is some kind of gray area where they don´t have a suitable offering. Aras hasn't found a solution yet, but they definitely admire the problem. As I said before, I still expect a few changes in the overall open release concept, so I am not too worried.

But the whole situation is really funny. I am one of the most contributing members in this community - and as a token of appreciation, Aras accidentally locked me out of the software. 😅 (at least partially, don't worry, I'm still fine).

Is anyone else affected in a similar way or is it just me that faces this unexpected edge case?

RE: New community edition (Release 2024)

AngelaIp — Tue, 22 Oct 2024 13:53:05 GMT

John Sperling Does Aras already have a release date for the next classic open release?

RE: New community edition (Release 2024)

AngelaIp — Mon, 14 Oct 2024 13:54:18 GMT

Thanks for testing! That´s an important information!

So users can't even use the 50 users unless someone identifies themselves as an Auth Admin or Super User.
I'm surprised that not even the "logon_enabled" field is taken into account. It's like a built-in EOL function. Deleting historic users is not an option, as this would also require deleting data.

I see this release as experimental approach where they test out some ideas. They know their community isn´t Twitter - people don´t go crazy if you try something new.

Their own homepage still contains too many quotes from the founders that describe the basic idea and their motivation with the open release. Release 2024 doesn´t match from my POV. But why should they risk their credibility for the (Quote) "...very small portion of Community Edition [...] users"? Discontinuing the open release just wouldn´t make any sense.

I think we can found the motivation for this release in the history of 12SP9. It was a long running open release. An excellent version for users groups below 250 users that couldn't get a full subscription, but not the best one regarding demonstrating latest Innovator features. 12SP9 was a rock solid version, but with outdated UI compared to I14 and it didn´t include new fancy features like the TOC Editor or all the other quality of life improvements.

Release 2024 is offered clearly for marketing (show the latest and greatest you have) and testing. But it wasn´t intended as true open release. That´s why it has the inbuilt limitations regarding users and lifespan.

Year 2025 is just around the corner. I expect some finetuning in the whole concept. I am curious how they will solve this balancing act.

RE: New community edition (Release 2024)

alaxala — Thu, 03 Oct 2024 09:03:48 GMT

1. AFAIK, there shouldn't be any problems.

2. The restriction is hard. I'm tried to install R24 in the test environment and filled it with fake users. As soon as the number of users, including the admin, root and other "system" users, exceeds 50, regardless of whether they are enabled or not, whether they ever logged in or not, only admin can login to this instance.

RE: New community edition (Release 2024)

Kenneth Ballash — Wed, 02 Oct 2024 15:24:37 GMT

Thanks John. This makes sense and has been great for helping teams adopt Aras and get excited about it. This is one of the biggest reasons one of our business units moved to Aras.

I have a POC for a different business unit I've been working on a little bit here and there for a couple years now. As I prepare to share it with the broader audience here I think it'd really benefit from all the changes in the 2024 release. It is not easy to "upgrade" or move to new community editions though and bring "historical" data which is part of what value this POC brings.

Do you have any recommendations or options for the Community Edition users to keep their small instances or POC's current with the community?

RE: New community edition (Release 2024)

AngelaIp — Wed, 02 Oct 2024 14:17:37 GMT

Hi,

some short questions that are maybe of general interest:

1. Let´s assume a user has following situation:

One production instance with Innovator 12 or 11
One test instance with Innovator 12 or 11

Installing Release 2024 (especially for testing purposes) should be possible without any problems in this configuration, right? Or is there something to consider?

2. Is the user limitation a hard or soft restriction (=does Innovator stop working if the user limit is exceeded)?

Thanks!
Angela