WinDev / WebDev · « Enterprise mistakes » series
PCSOFT: the WebDev server, priced — a testimony
A warning up front. What follows comes from an offer document passed on by a third party who wishes to remain anonymous. It is not an official PCSOFT answer, the figures are unconfirmed, and they are not binding. I relay them because they fill a gap — until now, for the WebDev server, we had no figures at all — but read them as a testimony to be corroborated, not as an enforceable price list.
A few days ago I wrote that for WebDev « a model is taking shape, without figures »: a per-server component, computed on cores and RAM. A document has since reached me that puts numbers on that component. Here is what it says — and why it changes little at heart.
What the document says
It concerns the WEBDEV Application Server (WAS), the infrastructure that runs your WebDev applications. Billing is presented by number of cores and RAM, with an unlimited number of applications. The full prices stated: €5,990 per core and €990 per GB of RAM.
There is also a three-year « progressive » contract. Per core: €1,990 the first year, €3,990 the second, €5,990 the third. Per GB of RAM: €490, then €790, then €990. The hook is familiar: year 1 is low, year 3 reaches the full price. The entry is bait, not a price.
What it actually costs
Take a modest deployment: two cores and four GB of RAM. At full price that is already €15,940 per year, every year. With the progressive contract: €5,940 the first year, €11,140 the second, €15,940 the third — that is €33,020 over the commitment, before it even grows. A busier server multiplies accordingly. It is a recurring cost that tracks your capacity, not the value you get from it: the more your application succeeds, the more cores you need, the more you pay.
I have added a dedicated section to the calculator so you can enter your own cores and GB, with the progressive grid pre-filled. The calculation stays in your browser; no data is sent.
An honest nuance
This document bills by core and RAM only, applications unlimited. It does not mention the « variable component on the number of HTTP requests » that other forum testimonies raised. Two readings are possible: either this is one offer variant, or the earlier reports were imprecise. I do not settle it — I flag it, because this is exactly the kind of area where a single source is not enough.
Why it changes nothing at heart
Per-seat sessions, cores and RAM per server, or traffic: these are three meters on the same dependency. Migrating from WinDev to WebDev to escape sessions is trading one meter for another. The only thing that protects you in every scenario is reducing the dependency itself: moving the data out of HFSQL, then freeing the data access from the PCSOFT runtime. The meter may change shape; what sets you free does not.
If you too have a PCSOFT exchange or document that says something different, write to me. It is by cross-checking testimonies that we tell price from negotiation — and the anonymity of my sources is guaranteed.