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Unfortunately I do think there is a strategy behind this. In the past NI was a company centered around hardware sales in the form of computer plugin cards. The fact that they were a lot better in providing good and well designed supporting software for that hardware was for years a distinguishing factor that made them grow while the competition had a hard catch up game to do and eventually all more or less faltered. The software in itself never really was the money maker, much of it even was given away free with the hardware and was considered a supporting expenditure that was financed with part of the profit for the hardware. When they had pretty much the whole market of what they possibly could get, they run into the problem that there was very little grow in this market anymore for them. So they set out to find new markets and moved towards turn key semiconductor testers that they could sell a dozen a time to the big semiconductor manufacturers for big money. Suddenly those pesky DAQ cards and DAQ boxes were just a margin anymore and they were at best a supporting technology, but the accompanying software was getting more an more a costly burden rather than a supporting technology. Nowadays there isn't one NI marketing but each division has pretty much its own marketing department and is also its independent profit center. And then an independent software/LabVIEW division suddenly shows mainly as a post in the cost category that doesn't bring in as much as it costs. So they try to increase the income but I think they missed that train already 15 years ago when they were refusing to consider other venues for LabVIEW. Nowadays the LabVIEW community is a marginalized small group of enthusiast who are looked at by the rest of the industry as a bunch of crazies who can't let go of their pet IDE and the rest of the world has moved on to Python and .Net and will move on to another hype in a few years. And the higher NI management is likely aware of that. While I do believe that the LabVIEW developers and the managers who directly work there really would like to make LabVIEW a good and flourishing product, I feel the higher management has already decided that this is going to be a dead end and have very little intentions to do anything else than let it bleed to death, so they can get rid of that liability.

If they had put "Synergy" in there we would have had a full house in BS Bingo. This seems to have been written by PR and is usually an indication of few tangible achievements.

I've setup a number of labs, including the test automation. In my previous couple labs I based the automation on LabVIEW. I enjoy programming in LabVIEW and have become quite proficient at it. Unfortunately, my junior engineers and design engineers can't seem to get used to it. The only reason they used it is because I forced them to. I am going to start a new lab, and I was researching if I should use LabVIEW or... something else. That's when I found out NI has gone to subscription only. My company probably doesn't mind, but I do. It is a sign that LabVIEW is on its way out and that NI has gone completely to the dark side. I can program in Python, but I don't really want to go to Python for the reasons that have already been mentioned by others in this thread. So, plan "B". But there is no plan "B", which is very unfortunate. I know what I want my automation software to do and look like, but it does not exist. I'm not sure I'm up to the task of making my own, so I guess I'm stuck with going to Python, unless NI suddenly changes course.

Speaking about plan "B", I hope that NI will change their decision and will provide perpetual licenses again. Subscription is a way for big industrial companies, but for individuals, small companies and start-ups it isn't an option. Labview was invented as tool for engineers which helps do their job, not just another tool for marketing stuff, it would be nice keep it in mind.

I can amortize 20,000$ one time license costs, I can't amortize 500$/ month subscription. Python seems more attractive every day.

Python. I know of very few LabVIEW positions in Europe for T&M. Very few vacancies are for LabVIEW now, generally. This seems to be a move to specific corporate customer types, like CERN. This will hit consultants. start-ups and small niche suppliers the hardest and say goodbye to most open source toolkits. With no new growth in uptake of LabVIEW and walled-off, future-proofing for existing customers, I see this as the death-throes of LabVIEW as eventually the corporate customers move away.