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Issue #472 : : May 2, 2006 : : The 11th Anniversary Issue |
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C o n t e n t s More CAD for Free PTC Q2 Conference
Call Below the Radar and other regular columns.
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Write the Editor. Donate to upFront.eZine through Paypal. Access nearly-daily CAD commentary at our blog: WorldCAD Access. |
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IMSI had the "Corporate Seeding Program," a clever euphemism for shipping one million copies of TurboCAD free. That was last decade. Last year, Alibre (French for "has free") released Alibre Xpress as free 3D modeling MCAD software. Last week Google released a free version of SketchUp, 3D conceptual AEC software. And Bentley Systems has been quietly making PowerDraft free to anyone able to pass themselves off as a student. ("I am a student of human nature; the world is my classroom.") The free versions are fully capable. No time-outs; no critical features disabled, such as saving to file; no advertising. These are significant packages, ideal for the small shop, student, and hobbyist. Be clear that this isn't CAD welfare by corporations for corporations. These CAD programs are free in the hopes of (1) increasing mindshare; (2) upgrading to the fee version, plus ancillary costs; and collecting data on potential customers. After all, the easiest person to sell to is an existing customer (provided said customers don't hate your guts for screwing them around).
The Biggest CAD Company in the World Rachel Dalton quotes an unnamed attendee of COFES (no, I didn't attend) who stated that the two biggest CAD companies are now Google and Adobe. Well, just peripherally, I would say. Google SketchUp is pre-CAD and Adobe TTF is cross-CAD. Just as EDS was not the biggest CAD company in the world when it owned UGS, a real CAD compmay. But do take stock of their market values: 1. Google - $126 billion (By comparison, Microsoft's market value is $280 billion.)
It's About the Metadata Google no more wants to be a CAD vendor than does Microsoft. Google's interest is in representing information; its Master Plan calls for getting us to input all that data for Google for free, and them then selling it back to us. A 3D building model isn't CAD to Google; it's only another source of metadata (information about data). Made a renovation? Sell the info to City Hall's bylaw inspectors. Roof looking in need of repair? Sell the data to roofing contractors. Microsoft's interest has been controlling the desktop through the OS APIs [operating system application programming interfaces] that CAD vendors slavishly employ. Microsoft gets them do the work of locking customers to Microsoft's operating systems. When Microsoft professes its interested in a format like 3DXML, it's just another step towards full customer lock-in. Williams Gates III is content to allow Bernard Charles share his podium for an hour, if it'll help prevent high-end CAD users off'ing to Linux. Adobe's aspiration differs in that it wants to insert itself in the flow of data between CAD packages. I'll have reader reactions next week on Adobe's purchase of TTF, but in the meantime note carefully the PTC Q&A later in this issue. Links: floatingpoint.typepad.com/pr_marketing_and_the_busi/
In Related News From Susan Smith of 'AECWeekly' I learned of the Discovery Viewer from ArchVision, an ActiveX control for viewing SketchUp files in Office documents. Viewing is free; you'll need to pay US$129 to place the models in documents using Discovery Office. /www.archvision.com/DiscoveryViewer/
Revenues up and profits down -- that marked PTC's Q2. Revenues increased to US$200.2 million during the quarter, but profits fell in half to $10.8 million after the company expensed employee stock options, as now required by US law. The share price slumped by $1 to $15 on the news. For 2006, PTC expects to make $810-$820 million. By 2008, the company hopes to join the $1-billion club.
Q&A by Financial Analysts (Paraphrased) [I thought PTC executives kept mentioning "NASA," but then realized it was their American accent in pronouncing "Mathsoft" -- ma-sof] Q: Is there any pent up demand for technical documentation? A: It may have snuck up on people, including analysts. The demand needs a little bit of cultivation. We have a complete solutions: CAD, vaulting, workflow, and configuration management.
Q: Do you see Adobe 3D as a competitor or a partner? A: We plan to become the world's most prolific producer of Adobe 3D data.
Q: What is the organic growth rate [leaving out revenue from acquisitions] for the quarter? A: We don't disclose that level of detail. Services in the mid-teens, maintenance at 4-5%, and licences in the high single digits.
Q: Does the weakness in Japan include Toyota? A: Toyota is our #1 revenue-producing customer. I think we are just lagging a little bit in getting out the message that we are now integrated, instead of having point solutions involving CAD and Windchill. We are still looking for a Japanese national for the leadership role there.
Q: What is the addressable market for all of that together [MathCAD, Windchill, Arbortext, Pro/E]? The average Pro/E customer has less than 10 seats. How much is the average customer PLM'ing the way you define it? A: Within the traditional Pro/E base (a.k.a. discreet manufacturing) and adjacent markets, where MathCAD and Windchill have a foot in the door. There's plenty more runway, like with Airbus and Boeing who use Windchill but not Pro/E. The trio of products can go individually where Pro/E never could.
Q: IBM disclosed that their PLM business is 6% of revenues with revenues down from the year before. How much can IBM help you? A: I think that IBM needs a better partner [than Dassault]. IBM really believes in PLM and can't be happy that revenues are declining. I think that's what's driving IBM's relationship with us. I think a lot of PLM vendors are doing better than Dassault. We're only 1/4 into our deal with IBM. We won our first deal with IBM, replacing Matix/Dassault at CAE [flight simulators] in Canada. Technical documentation will drive more services, servers, and other software.
Q: Mathsoft has been around for 20 years with 250,000 users. Where do you think the revenue synergies will come from? A: They have 75% customers in North America, so we can help them go global. We have only a thousand customers in common, with 20,000 active Pro/E customers. Each Pro/E seat needs 1.5 Mathsoft licenses. There's lots of upside. Link: www.ptc.com A summary of CAD industry news you may not have read elsewhere, or that I found interesting:
Google releases a subset of SketchUp for free; the regular version continues to be $495 and is renamed Google SketchUp Pro. sketchup.google.com Graphisoft says that Archicad 10 will ship in early May with fully integrated layout process and more intuitive user interface. www.graphisoft.com/products/archicad/ac10 Elysium becomes a Vendor Member in the JT Open Program. By coincidence, the company at the same time announced its support for the JT format. Elysium's Suppliers Hub Web server translates CAD and CAE data automatically without the need for "skilled operators." www.elysiuminc.com CAXA of China merges with the AcePilot e-business Division of Asiatek of Taiwan. CAXA distributes IronCAD in China, while AcePilot is used for planning and scheduling in manufacturing plants. www.caxa.com - - - These news items were posted during the last week at the WorldCAD Access blog <worldcadaccess.typepad.com>:
Hardware News Metris launches ModelMaker D, their handheld laser scanner with digital camera technology. www.metris.com
Seminars & Conferences The first Autodesk User Group International (AUGI) UK CAD Camp will be hosted by the University of Surrey in Guildford on Jun 20. www.cadcamp.com VisMasters Design Visualization Conference is Aug 4 in Boston MA USA. www.archvision.com Trimble Dimensions user conference is Nov 6-8 in Las Vegas NV USA. www.trimbleevents.com NAFEMS World Congress 2007 is May 22-25, 2007 in Vancouver BC Canada. www.nafems.org
Magazine/eZine/Weblog Updates Blogs about blogs: Cadopolis.com adds a live feed page that updates postings from 50 AutoCAD-related blogs throughout the day. www.cadopolis.com/autocad/cadopolis-new-autocad-blog-feed-channels.shtml
WorthWhile Web www.nytimes.com/2006/04/25/business/25seats.html?ei=5065&en=fadad91e10dfaa90&ex=1146628800&partner=MYWAY&pagewanted=print Letters to the Editor BTW, this issue marks the 11th anniversary of upFront.eZine.
Re: Licensing vs Subscriptions "I wanted to clarify a potential misunderstanding on our earlier promotion and our subscription licensing, which you characterize as being more expensive. "Our upgrade promotion was a terrific opportunity for CoCreate 2D customers to make the move to our 3D. Customers interested in the offer received the upgrade for free. They only needed to purchase the first year of technical support (sometimes called maintenance), not a subscription. "Our subscription licensing model is a 'rent' versus 'buy' licensing model. Aside from significantly lowering the entry price for purchasing any part of our product suite, it also provides a high degree of flexibility to companies that want the ability to regularly adjust licensing to match their fluctuating staffing levels, without being tied to a traditional (or perpetual) license. "The annual subscriptions are aggressively priced to include full support as well as access to all major and minor upgrades. This is equivalent to the same level of service we offer through a maintenance contract to the traditional license purchasers. "It takes over four years for subscription licensing to cross financial paths with a traditional license on an annual maintenance contract. "Both licensing models have different benefits. By offering both models, customers get to choose which is best for them. In some cases subscription licensing is less expensive and the most appropriate choice. Customers that have short term project needs or volatile staffing levels will definitely find this appealing. In other cases a traditional license may make more sense. Regardless, the customer benefits by having the choice between the two -- and that is something we get excited about. "If we talk about our collaboration products I can throw
a third licensing model into the mix, which is hosted licensing.
That's a whole different discussion for another day that has its
own set of benefits for a company."
Re: School Politics "It's like fishing in a barrel. Sounds an awful lot like
'big brother' to me! Anybody identify the tablet PC shareholders?" - - - "Thanks for your efforts. I look forward to reading it every
week." "I am enjoying your publications you sent and thank you
for your service to the CAD community." "Every Tuesday morning I can freshen up my day by means
of your very updated knowledge on the CAD area. Thank you for your
continued and great work."
Spin Doctor of the Moment "Winning at Internet Poker For Dummies"
Notable Quotable "[Convincing a corporation to blog is] as if you removed
every single ethically-questionable tactic used by PR professionals
and replaced them with a single olive branch."
Copyright 2006 by upFront.eZine Publishing, Ltd. All rights reserved worldwide Article reprint fee US$250.00.
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