A consulting firm holds concurrent-use seats of a circuit simulation package under an agreement permitting no more than the licensed number of simultaneous users. Usage logs for the past quarter show an average of simultaneous users and a peak of . Additional seats are sold at USD 1,450 per seat per year. The additional annual license cost required to bring the firm into compliance is most nearly:
- (A)USD 2,900 per year
- (B)USD 8,700 per year
- (C)USD 11,600 per year
- (D)USD 20,300 per year
Show worked solution
Answer: (C)
A concurrent-use cap is satisfied only at the logged peak of 14 users, so the firm buys the 8-seat shortfall for an added USD 11,600 each year.
Concurrent-use terms cap simultaneous users at the number of seats held, so the entitlement must cover the logged peak; sizing to the average of 8 leaves the firm in breach on every occasion demand climbs above the seat count.
The seats already licensed remain in force, so only the deficit between the required count and the existing entitlement is purchased.
The per-seat charge is a recurring subscription rate, which makes the compliance cost an ongoing yearly commitment rather than a one-time purchase.
FE Reference Handbook — Ethics and Professional Practice: NCEES Model Rules, Rules of Professional Conduct (licensee's obligation to employer and client; intellectual property and software license compliance)
Why the other choices appear
- (A)Sizes the purchase to the average of 8 simultaneous users, 8 - 6 = 2 seats at 1,450, giving 2,900; an average does not satisfy a cap on simultaneous users.
- (B)Prices the 6 seats already held, 6(1,450) = 8,700, instead of the shortfall above them.
- (D)Licenses all 14 peak users from zero, 14(1,450) = 20,300, ignoring the entitlement already in force.