Say Goodbye to Concurrent Use Licenses

The GIS landscape is changing once again, and this time it’s the familiar Concurrent Use (CU) license model that’s being phased out. Esri has announced the deprecation of both Concurrent Use licenses and the ArcGIS License Manager. This will directly affect users of ArcGIS Pro and ArcGIS CityEngine currently using CU. While this shift aligns with broader trends in software licensing, it does mean that organizations relying on these legacy models will need to start planning for a transition.

Why the Change?

Esri is transitioning to a licensing framework that emphasizes secure, permission-based access and centralized management of GIS content. The recommended path forward is through ArcGIS user types, which offer “a more modern and scalable approach to managing access across teams and platforms” (Esri). Unlike Concurrent Use, which leverages a shared pool of licenses, named users are assigned to an individual person.

Don’t Want to Change?

Sadly, you will need to decide if you want software upgrades or Concurrent Use. ArcGIS Pro can still use CU licenses with the existing software (3.5.x and possibly 3.6.x) if you have perpetual CU licenses. However, CU licenses are tied to a maximum version, and moving forward, there will be no way to request newer licenses as you upgrade ArcGIS Pro. There will definitely be an impact on companies that use CU for large numbers of casual users to manage costs, global CU pools, and some emergency management mobilization scenarios.

Key Dates to Keep in Mind

Here’s a breakdown of the timeline and what it means for your organization:

December 1, 2025: Maintenance renewals will transition to equivalent ArcGIS user types. MyEsri will also remove the ability to convert ArcGIS Pro add-ons to Single Use or Concurrent Use licenses—or revert them back.
March 1, 2026: Last date for software releases that support Concurrent Use licenses.
Q2 2026: ArcGIS Pro and CityEngine versions released after this point will no longer support Concurrent Use.
Through 2028: ArcGIS License Manager will continue to support older versions of ArcGIS Desktop, Pro, and CityEngine until those products reach the Mature phase of their lifecycle.

Time to Evaluate Options

If your organization is still using Concurrent Use licenses, now is the time to evaluate your options and discuss them with your Esri reps. Before updating to newer versions of ArcGIS Pro or CityEngine in 2026 and beyond, you’ll need to transition to a supported license type. This means using ArcGIS user types or Single Use licenses (for ArcGIS Pro only) and/or evaluating future GIS software needs. Failing to do so will result in updated software that simply won’t be setup to work properly. There are options beyond ArcGIS Pro, but for many GIS departments, the integrations run too deep.

While this change may require some adjustment, it’s part of a broader effort to modernize how GIS software is accessed and managed. For many organizations, the move to user types will offer greater flexibility and control. Regardless of why it’s happening, it’s important to plan ahead to avoid disruption.