IFS: How its Pricing Model is Aiding AI Deployment

The implementation of AI has grown exponentially in recent years, but many companies are still overcoming concerns related to inconsistency and rising costs.

These barriers have prevented organisations from fully leveraging AI capabilities across their operations, limiting the technology's potential impact.

Now, IFS, one of the world's leading providers of industrial AI, is working to make AI adoption more streamlined and financially predictable.

Its new pricing model for AI represents a fundamental rethinking of how enterprise AI solutions are packaged and sold, moving away from constraints that have traditionally limited AI deployment across industrial operations.

Removing barriers to AI adoption

Amid market turbulence and ongoing geopolitical volatility, business leaders are increasingly harnessing AI-driven insights and automation to ensure resilient operations. 

Procurement practitioners, for example, are seeking stable and resilient suppliers, giving them a more visible role in the context of business success.

While many are turning to AI in order to gain more detailed insights, some still aren't enjoying the benefits due to cost concerns. To combat this, IFS has announced its pricing model which enables organisations to deploy industrial AI to wherever it creates value – without constraint or extra costs.

"This is a clear message to our customers: rather than rationing users, IFS wants you using AI everywhere you can to create value," says Mark Moffat, CEO at IFS.

"Our customers should not have to choose between automating their operations and controlling their software costs. This progressive move on pricing removes that trade-off entirely. We are not pricing the workers. We are pricing the work."

Asset-based AI pricing transforms accessibility

Traditional enterprise software pricing models price 'per user', but IFS is moving away from user-based licensing to a model which is more grounded in operational reality for AI deployment.

As a result, customers can pay by assets, instead of by users. If a company has 12,000 people and machines, but only 400 assets, it is now paying for those assets, rather than paying the cost of the employees.

In doing this, IFS customers can be confident in their AI costs, knowing that they align with operations rather than facing uncertain costs. They can expand their AI projects and grow their organisations without worrying about the added costs of user-based licensing.

Instead of it being person-specific, the model aligns the AI software investment with the assets that are manufactured, managed and maintained – including vessels, components and infrastructure.

This makes AI more accessible, as it offers a more solid cost, rather than fluctuating with the number of staff who might need to interact with AI systems.

"IFS moving into the next realm of pricing means buyers have flexibility in the agentic world," says Mickey North Rizza, Group Vice-President, Enterprise Software at IDC.

"IFS' new pricing model helps companies operationally scale their investment to the value levers it needs to run the business. This new methodology will help clients sustain their economic value."

Scaling AI without financial constraints

Every business is having to adapt to the changing demand of the world, but they should not be limited to what they can afford when it comes to AI deployment.

As pressures to do more with less increase, industrial organisations are facing a crossroads: they have the potential to expand what they are capable of producing, maintaining and delivering through industrial AI, but the limits of cost have been impacting these businesses.

Through its pricing model, IFS is allowing workers to do more by directly driving work and outcomes with AI tools. The approach is designed for industrial systems of action, helping drive greater value for customers.

Through measurable, auditable and transparent metrics, IFS is working to help businesses meet their AI expansion goals without the added costs that have traditionally constrained deployment.

Aly Pinder Jr, Research VP, Aftermarket Services Strategies at IDC, adds: "Asset-centric organisations have made the shift to expect to work with technology vendors that can align the partnership in a way for shared benefit and flexibility enabling growth as market conditions evolve."

The evolution in pricing allows IFS to expand its own industrial AI strategy, working to meet the changing demands of market needs.

As customers navigate an increasingly AI-driven industrial landscape, IFS is aiming to help its customers capitalise on new opportunities without financial barriers limiting where and how they deploy AI capabilities.

Through its pricing model, IFS is working to help procurement leaders do more with less spend while maximising their AI investments across operations.