When a Vendor Moves All New Business to a New Model, Ask These Questions First

Asana's decision to move all new logos, self-serve customers, and sales-led renewals to its new Agentic Work Management model — rather than offering it as an optional upgrade alongside the existing product — is a meaningfully bigger commitment than a typical feature launch. When any vendor makes a new model mandatory for new business rather than optional, it changes what you're actually evaluating: not just a new feature, but the terms of your entire relationship with that vendor going forward.

Why Mandatory-for-New-Business Is Different From Optional

An optional new model lets existing evaluation processes and comparison points stay stable while you decide whether to adopt it. A mandatory transition for new business means there's no fallback to the prior, presumably more proven, model — you're evaluating the new approach with less track record to lean on, at the exact moment you're making a commitment. That's not automatically a reason to avoid it, but it changes the diligence required before signing.

Questions to Ask Before Signing Under a New Mandatory Model

• How long has the new model been in production with any customers, even in early access or beta, and what has their actual experience been — not just the vendor's own launch messaging
• What specifically changes in pricing structure, and does it scale predictably as your usage grows, or does it introduce new variable costs you haven't had to model before
• What happens if the new model doesn't work well for your specific use case — is there any fallback path, or is the new model genuinely the only option now for new customers
• How is the vendor's support and account team staffed for the transition specifically — a major internal shift can strain support responsiveness during the rollout period, worth asking about directly
• What early customer feedback exists, and can you speak directly with a reference customer who adopted the new model, not just read the vendor's own case studies

The Practical Stance to Take

A vendor moving decisively to a new model for all new business is a genuine signal of confidence — they're not hedging with an optional path. That confidence is worth taking seriously, but it's not a substitute for your own diligence. Ask the specific questions above, push for a reference customer conversation, and go in with clear eyes about the fact that you're adopting something with less accumulated track record than the vendor's prior offering, precisely because the transition is so recent.