CONNECT licensing is the name Bentley Systems’ product documentation uses for licensing through the Subscription Entitlement Service (SES). Bentley’s program agreements define SES as its “cloud-based license management service or any successor Bentley tool for license administration”.[6] SES is described as Bentley’s “next-generation license management”. It offers near real-time usage monitoring, custom licence alert notifications and user-level licence management. Users sign in to activate their applications, which eliminates activation keys.[1] SES is embedded in new releases of CONNECT Edition applications, which carry “CL” in the version name in Software Downloads.[1]
For a software asset manager, SES is both the licence key and the meter. Its logs decide the pooled SELECT position, the quarterly term licence invoice, E365 charges and any audit question about Usage Data.
Editions
Three licensing technologies are in use, and they record different data.[1][4]
| Technology | Where it runs | Activation | Usage data named by Bentley | Term licence interval |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Subscription Entitlement Service | Bentley cloud | User sign-in (CONNECTION Client) | User ID, product ID and version, organization ID, project ID, country, Windows machine name, Windows account user name, usage type, start and end time | 10 minutes (UTC) |
| SELECTserver (Hosted) | Microsoft Azure, run by Bentley | Activation key; older non-”CL” versions only | Product, version, machine name, Windows user name, activation key, project, usage type, start and end time, SELECTserver identification | 10 minutes (UTC) |
| SELECTserver (Deployed) | Customer premises | Activation key | Product, version, machine name, SELECT site ID, activation key, hashed machine and user names, max usage statistics | Calendar hour |
Metrics
SES implements three of Bentley’s metrics: Pooled Usage under SELECT, the quarterly term licence peak, and the named-user Practitioner License of Virtuoso. It also supplies the daily and quarterly unique-user counts behind the E365 categories.
Counting / floors
What a term licence is. Bentley’s guides describe a term licence as a monthly or quarterly subscription to an application. It can supplement perpetual licences “beyond your owned license pool in peak periods”, or serve as the primary licensing model.[4] Contractually it is a retroactive licence that Bentley may grant for Excess Use, invoiced for the peak per Site and per product.[6]
How the peak is counted. Usage is the number of unique machines accessing an application in each 10-minute interval of the day. The highest count in any one interval during the quarter is the peak. Intervals follow UTC. The first partial interval of a session is not counted, and counting starts in the second interval.[4] Bentley compares that peak with the owned licence pool at quarter end. Any excess is invoiced about one week later.[4] The 10-minute method applies to all SELECT and Cloud Services Subscription term licences. The Enterprise License Subscription counts by calendar day, and a locally deployed SELECTserver by calendar hour.[4] Catalog proof: First partial 10-minute interval of use is not counted; Locally deployed SELECTserver measures peak by calendar hour; ELS usage is counted by calendar day.
Two consequences follow from this method (commentary). Two sessions of 15 minutes each that overlap by at least one full interval count as two machines. Moving from a deployed SELECTserver to SES shortens the interval from an hour to ten minutes, which can lower measured peaks for short overlaps.
Where to check the numbers. Bentley names the Term License Consumption report in the Subscription Analytics Portal as the single report behind invoiced usage. It shows use by quarter and machine and compares the peak with owned licences. The Usage Details report shows the 10-minute intervals.[4] Usage reports are updated daily. They are open to Account Administrators, Co-Administrators and custom roles with Subscription Analytics permission.[7]
Resets and funding. Term licences funded through a Cloud Services Subscription reset monthly rather than quarterly.[4] Use of a CONNECT Edition evaluation past its period is invoiced as a term licence at the current subscription rate.[4] Catalog proof: Term licences funded through CSS reset monthly rather than quarterly; Use after an evaluation period is invoiced as a term licence.
No hard cap. The Fact Sheet states that use is not restricted to the owned licence pool: “your license allows you to use an unlimited number of licenses for the application titles that you own”.[4] Licensing Configuration adds that all users have unrestricted access to licensing.[2] Catalog proof: SELECT users have unrestricted access; alerts warn before term licence usage.
Controls: groups, thresholds and alerts
Administrators configure Entitlement Management in the Enterprise Portal.[3]
- Groups and General Access. Access to applications and feature levels can be limited per user or group. By default all users can use all application licences listed in their Entitlement Country.[2][3]
- Concurrent Use Alerting. Administrators can set a concurrent use threshold and disable offline use. A user who would exceed the threshold can choose “Cancel and Quit” or “Acknowledge”. Acknowledging is recorded, may be notified to the administrator, and records usage that could become an overage if the peak exceeds owned perpetual licences.[3] The help text warns that thresholds do not guarantee that no overage will occur, for example during network delays.[3] Catalog proof: Concurrent use thresholds do not guarantee against overage.
- Feature levels. Products sold by feature level (for example by pipe count in the OpenFlows products) record usage against the level the user selects. Owned perpetual feature levels are shown separately. Selecting one that is not owned raises a warning about potential term licence charges.[3] Catalog proof: Choosing a feature level not owned can create term licence charges.
- Offline use and check-out. If the user is not signed in or the network drops, and offline use has not been disabled, the product keeps working for a limited number of days.[3] For longer offline periods administrators issue single or bulk check-out licences.[2]
Usage data and compliance
The program agreements define Usage Data broadly. It covers volume, duration and time of use, number of users, features used and location of users, and it is owned by Bentley as its Proprietary Information. Subscribers must not alter or interfere with its collection.[6] Under SELECT, pooled licensing continues only while products communicate Usage Data to SES.[6] The Bentley Analytics Program lists identifying unauthorized use, “including license compliance activities”, among the purposes of usage data. That data includes licence, entitlement and activation information and device names.[8] Catalog proof: Subscriber must not interfere with Usage Data transmission; Usage data is used for licence compliance activities; SES replaces activation keys with user sign-in.
Virtualization & partitioning
In a Virtualized Environment, SES must be used so that each session requires its own licence.[6] SES records a Windows machine name for each session, and the Term License Fact Sheet counts unique machines. Read together (commentary), each concurrent virtual session is likely to count as a machine for peak purposes.[1][4] Catalog proof: Each session in a Virtualized Environment needs its own licence.
Cloud / BYOL
SES itself is a cloud service. Bentley publishes no separate rule for desktop applications running on customer-managed public cloud machines, beyond the Virtualized Environment clause.
Programs: Virtuoso practitioner licences
A Virtuoso Subscription is bought online on bentley.com. It is a 12-month term that renews in line with the applicable subscription terms.[7] Bentley’s FAQ calls the resulting entitlement a Practitioner License. Within the product it behaves like a commercial licence. Because Virtuoso users receive unlimited access to the eligible products, SES access controls and threshold alerting are disabled for them.[7] Catalog proof: Virtuoso users have SES access controls and threshold alerting disabled.
- Assignment. An administrator assigns each licence to a user. Unassigned licences are not used for entitlement or billing, and administrators see reminders about them. CONNECTION Client 10.00.18.x or later records the usage correctly as Practitioner rather than against the pooled threshold.[7] Catalog proof: An unassigned Virtuoso licence is not consumed.
- Machines. The licence may be installed on two machines but used on only one at a time. The user must sign out before changing machine. It may be checked out for offline use for up to the licence period.[7] Catalog proof: Virtuoso licence may be installed on two machines but used on one at a time.
- Versions. Subscriptions are only available for CONNECT Edition applications. V8i SS10 products entered support-discontinued status on 2022-01-01.[7] The Lifecycle Policy dates the end of V8i SELECTseries 10 support to 2021-12-31.[11]
- Keys. Each subscription includes a number of Keys, which are credits for expert services and tailored training. Keys “do not represent number of licenses”.[9] Catalog proof: Virtuoso Keys are service credits, not licences.
- Cancellation and renewal. New subscriptions may be cancelled within 30 days if no Keys were redeemed and usage reports are consistent with the request. Renewals are automatic, and cancelling one requires contact 30 days before the renewal date.[7] Catalog proof: Virtuoso renewals cancel only with 30 days notice.
Examples of published Virtuoso prices, as displayed in EUR on 2026-09-30:
| Offer | Price shown | Keys | Catalog SKU |
|---|---|---|---|
| MicroStation | EUR 3,382.00 | 2 | MicroStation Virtuoso subscription (12 months) |
| Bentley Infrastructure Cloud Connect | EUR 316.00 | 0 | Bentley Infrastructure Cloud Connect Virtuoso subscription (12 months) |
| Bentley Infrastructure Cloud ProjectWise | EUR 968.00 | 0 | Bentley Infrastructure Cloud ProjectWise Virtuoso subscription (12 months) |
Source: [9][10]. The hosted ProjectWise Flex Bundle requires a minimum purchase of USD 15,000.[10] Catalog proof: ProjectWise Flex Bundle has a USD 15,000 minimum purchase.
Out of scope
- CONNECTION Client installation, identity federation and the user registration process, beyond their licensing effect.
- Seequent licensing technology (Seequent ID), which has its own terms.
- The Subscription Analytics Portal reports themselves, which require an account.