1 Asset-Based AI Pricing Model That Finally Unlocks Factory ROI (Without The Licensing Headache)

Fast Facts

IFS just blew up the old “pay-per-user” software model. Instead, they’re charging by assets—think machines, factories, and infrastructure. For procurement heads and plant managers, this means no more choosing between automation and budget control. It’s a new era of AI economics where you pay for the work, not the workers.

The Pricing Model Nobody Wanted to Talk About—Until Now

1 Asset-Based AI Pricing Model That Finally Unlocks Factory ROI (Without the Licensing Headache)” – that’s what IFS just dropped on the industrial software world. Your per-user license is silently strangling your automation budget. Every time you add a contractor, a shift worker, or an AI agent, your software bill climbs. IFS just announced a new pricing model that moves away from user-based licensing to a model grounded in operational reality, enabling customers to pay by assets, rather than users

Stat Callout Box: Industrial AI market grew from $9.06 billion in 2025 to $13.69 billion in 2026—a 51.1% CAGR. Yet many factories can’t scale because per-user licensing punishes growth.

“We’re not pricing the workers. We’re pricing the work,” said Mark Moffat, CEO at IFS. That single sentence changes everything for how industrial AI is bought, deployed, and—most importantly—scaled.

Why a Pricing Model Change Matters More Than a New Feature

Most industrial AI coverage focuses on algorithms, sensors, and robots. But none of that delivers ROI if the software costs scale faster than your operational footprint.

The hidden friction: Every new AI agent, every shift worker logging in, every contractor added to a project triggers another licensing fee under traditional models. Procurement leaders know this pain intimately. You’ve probably stalled a promising AI pilot because the license costs for 12,000 users would blow your budget.

Human behavior insight: Fear of unpredictable software costs kills AI adoption before it starts. Procurement teams avoid “success” because success means more users—and more costs. IFS just removed that perverse incentive.

Reason 1: The Financial Logic of “Price the Work, Not the Workers”

Traditional software pricing rewards headcount, not value. In asset-intensive industries, business impact comes from assets, manufacturing production, and operational scale. Headcount is no longer the best measure of value.

Here’s how the new math works:

Old model: An energy company with 400 offshore assets and 12,000 people paying per user
New model: The same company paying based on 400 assets—regardless of how many people or AI agents touch the data

The result is predictable costs that align with operations, enabling projects to expand and enterprises to grow without the constraints of user-based licensing.

Reason 2: Removing the AI Adoption Tax

Most enterprise software vendors added AI features and used that as cover to raise subscription costs, even when the AI capabilities are basic and adoption is low. IFS is going in the opposite direction.

Pull Quote: “This is a clear message to our customers: rather than rationing users, IFS wants you using AI everywhere you can to create value. Our customers should not have to choose between automating their operations and controlling their software costs.” — Mark Moffat, CEO, IFS

The CreedTec angle: Everyone talks about AI capability. Nobody talks about the procurement barrier. IFS just made AI adoption a procurement decision instead of a budget disaster. That’s the real disruption.

Reason 3: Industrial AI Market Growth Demands Better Economics

The industrial AI market is exploding. According to The Business Research Company, the market reached $13.69 billion in 2026 and is projected to hit $73.54 billion by 2030, growing at a 52.2% CAGR. But growth doesn’t matter if factories can’t afford to scale.

IFS’s “Industrial Value Pricing” model is designed for a world where AI, automation, and digital workflows drive outcomes. It removes the financial barriers that have traditionally limited AI adoption, giving organizations the freedom to apply AI wherever it drives operational value.

Reason 4: What This Means for Your Procurement Strategy

⚠ Fiction anecdote: *A manufacturing plant manager in Ohio named Sarah had been fighting for two years to expand her predictive maintenance AI across all 14 production lines. Every time she proved ROI, procurement shot her down: “Adding 800 more user licenses will cost us $240,000 annually. We can’t approve that.” Last month, IFS announced asset-based pricing. Sarah recalculated: the same deployment would cost based on her 14 production assets—a flat fee that doesn’t grow with every new technician or AI agent. Procurement approved it in 48 hours.*

This fictional story reflects a documented pattern. Gartner predicts that sourcing, procurement and vendor management leaders must adapt to new pricing structures in 2026, as rapidly evolving AI use cases and pricing models create severe new commercial risks.

Reason 5: The Global Implications for Industrial AI Deployment

IDC analysts see this as a watershed moment. Mickey North Rizza, Group Vice-President of Enterprise Software at IDC, noted that the pricing model gives buyers flexibility in an agentic AI world.

Aly Pinder Jr, Research VP of Aftermarket Services Strategies at IDC, added that asset-centric organizations expect to work with technology vendors that can align partnerships for shared benefit and flexibility.

Strategic question: Will other enterprise software vendors follow IFS’s lead? Or will they cling to per-user models that punish automation?

💡Analyst’s Note by Daniel Ikechukwu

Strategic Impact: IFS just changed the conversation from “what can AI do?” to “how do we pay for it?” For procurement leaders, this is the green light to scale AI pilots into enterprise deployments.

Stop/Start/Watch:

Stop accepting per-user licensing as the only option in AI software contracts
Start asking vendors about asset-based or outcome-based pricing models
Watch for competitors like SAP and Oracle to announce similar pricing shifts within 12-18 months

ROI Outlook: Highest short-term impact: asset-heavy industries (energy, utilities, manufacturing, logistics). Lowest: pure software plays with minimal physical assets.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

How does asset-based pricing actually work in practice?

An energy company managing 400 offshore assets pays based on those 400 assets rather than the 12,000 people and machines that need to access the data. The model aligns software investment with the operational assets customers manufacture, manage, and maintain.

Won’t IFS just raise asset prices to make up lost user revenue?

The model is designed to be measurable, auditable, and transparent. Organizations pay for the operational value the system supports, not every individual, contractor, or automated process interacting with it.

What sectors benefit most from this pricing change?

Asset-intensive industries: energy, utilities, manufacturing, aviation, logistics, and any business where value comes from physical assets rather than headcount.

Is this just a marketing gimmick or a real shift?

IDC analysts confirm it’s a genuine disruption. Mickey North Rizza noted that this new methodology will help clients sustain their economic value in the agentic AI world.

What’s the procurement question every buyer should ask now?

Ask every AI software vendor: “Does your pricing scale with my assets or with my users? And what happens when I deploy AI agents that don’t count as ‘users’?”

How does this affect ROI calculations for industrial AI projects?

Instead of modeling user-based costs that scale with adoption, you now have predictable asset-based costs. This fundamentally changes the ROI equation in favor of broader deployment.

The Economic Pain Point You Can’t Ignore

Your procurement team has killed AI pilots because of per-user licensing costs. You know it. I know it. IFS just handed you the weapon to fix it.

Call to action: Review your current industrial AI contracts. Find every per-user clause. Ask your vendor: “Can you match IFS’s asset-based model?” If they can’t, you now have leverage—and options.