SolidWorks World becomes 3DX World
By now you’ve probably heard that SolidWorks World 2019 has already been announced as the last SolidWorks World. Next year’s big event from DS/SW will be called 3D Connection World. No wonder the user group guy from SW retired this past year. Dassault has been trying to figure out how to switch SW users to V6 for most of the last decade. This at least will give their new event a lot of momentum to start.
It seems to me that 3DXW is going to look a lot like PLM World from Siemens. It’s not about CAD. CAD users are definitely the most excitable, but there’s a lot of profit to be made from other corners of the product development universe. From my time with Siemens, the Solid Edge people were very unhappy with the PLM World treatment. I’m going to guess that the Works users are going to feel the same disappointment.
I’m not sure who’s circulating the memo, but CAD just isn’t cool enough to support a bunch of rabid users any more. We have to be propped up by the rest of PLM applications now. And with all the cloud in CAD these days, we may have to share more spotlight at our own conferences with IT people, accountants, librarians, and the like.
We’ve been through the discussion about the slow migration from Parasolid to V6 many years ago. We don’t really have to go through all of that again. It seems that all of the people driving the enthusiasm for Works have left for new adventures. It’s time for something new. I just think that users aren’t going to give Dassault as much credit moving forward as they are hoping for. Personally, if I’ve got to choose between PTC, DS V6, Autodesk Cloud, or Siemens, I’ll probably pick Siemens, with an occasional eye on some of the Autodesk toys. Or maybe I go rebel and pick IronCAD.
Anyway, people can agonize over this, but I’m a little burnt out on it, having been expecting it since the last time their plan misfired. I will continue to work with the product as long as there is a demand for the stuff I do. But this is why I decided years ago to diversify my skills and work with other tools that are more forward looking.
I see that his is logical transformation from “cool youngster” to adult age.
SolidWorks has excellent CAD system, recently the purchased tons of side tools to cover full engineering scope. Seems that design tools are ready – mean hard to create something what users want-need to buy.
Another hand when to look data management and how all those new tools are integrated to one data management workflow, then I would say this is point what is not considered at all. And now comes the point – without good data management tools is impossible to open doors of enterprises. TeamCenter, SmarTeam, Windchill and others are old a f*k and terrible to use but they work in enterprise level and size. And this is a real achievement to be honest…
Now SolidWorks need to choose to go and try to develop full platform to enterprises or stay small and medium size company tool. During this transformation most of what makes SolidWorks to SOLIDWORKS will be probably abandoned. Tons of macros, addon tools, customization, VBA etc… most likely won’t be new version compatible. Will all author of those tools forgives and makes online versions for free like today?! Will new 3DX will be something what excite people? Well.. we will see…
To look how proud are SolidWorks users and to see what for example TeamCenter users talk and feel are more like another universe…
But to be ironic, I’m sure that SolidWorks gets own box in new “partner pavillion”…
My school and school board is been transitioning away from SWx to Autodesk Products. Autodesk provided the school board with a great suite of products for free, along with free student downloads with a 3 yr license.
In contrast SWx demanded a minimum of 60 seats at $5000+ per yr per school. My school only has a 25 seat lab, and SWx resellers would not take that into consideration. The SWx license costs were more than the entire department budget. At the high school level, bot SWx and Inventor are pretty much the same.
SWx is hurting themselves with these tactics, while Autodesk is finding a way to exploit this with the education establishment.
Izzy, Which school, and can you provide some contact information so someone from Solidworks can help? my email is my firstname@firstnamelastname.com. My username in these comments matches my name.
There can likely be a middle ground found.
Charles-
As an Adjunct Professor at Palomar College for 6 1/2 years now teaching Intro/Advanced SOLIDWORKS classes, there is “no middle ground” when it comes to schools purchasing seats, period.
Cheers,
Devon
The people who come up with these appallingly bad DS product names and then try to fit up SW with similar bile should be held under water until no more bubbles rise…. It doesn’t matter how many times they are told they keep trying to dress up SW as something it isn’t or doesn’t want to be. It has its own well establish brand/identity – leave it alone. Enough of DS imagining their proclivity for cross dressing demonstrates some special flair or appreciation of engineering that SW users don’t have and need…
Personally I don’t want a world where people ‘identify’ as engineers on the basis of possessing a superior taste in acronyms rather than knowing what the hell they are doing. Give me back SWW. ‘Experiences’, ‘connections’, bah! Why does everything good devolve into an dystopian opportunity for customer farming in the hands of marketing?
It isn’t clear to me if DS are one those companies who have purchased their own shares with cheap money over the last decade and are now one of those zombie entities waiting to self destruct in the coming hyper inflation apocalypse, but it wouldn’t surprise me.
I looked at their last business report and was incredulous at the amount of goodwill and intangibles they claimed which handily balance the books. Who knows if DS will survive the day of fiscal reckoning. I think it is very wise for anybody to be prepared to take up alternatives to SW not only for diversity of income but in case it becomes too sickening to behold their advertising.
SW itself doesn’t seem to be where DS income growth is coming from these days so possibly they feel the need to widen and target their attentions. Never the less it would be sad to see SW being relegated in importance to being in just another room in a sprawling conference centre. God forbid it should become treated like SolidEdge but you can see the similarities and that is worrying.
This is 3DXW, 3-D-W-X, on a flight from SW customers to Renters Servitude, mayday ,mayday…
Well recently I did find Autodesk have bought a large number of shares back and they have a silly P/E ratio so I guess we can guess where they are going in the coming crisis. Still looking for DS activities…
Matt-
This can’t really be a surprise. It’s been 9 years in the making. There is (was) one difference between SWW events and Siemens PLM World events. SWW is a massive marketing event run by DS. PLM World was always a complete business entity on its own. Siemens and PLM World partnered on the event. This was a true “user” conference. But that is even gone this year too. PLM World will non longer hold the events.
Yeah, like I said the only surprise here is how long it took. Still, it’s a disappointment to users.
What’s really ironic was that it was “announced” at the keynotes on day 1 and quite honestly it was not really explicitly said “there’s no more SWW it’s now 3DX”… So users initially were walking around confused. Then once it was “understood” the jokes started kicking in….”hey you going to 3D widget world next year?!?”
This really is the beginning of the end. DS has had their foot on SW neck and this is just them furthering the notion that they need to keep the functionality tampered down to not really compete with Catia.