u p F r o n t . e Z i n e
the business of cad, enlightened
Issue #615 | September 22, 2009 | English Edition
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In This Issue
1. The upFront.eZine Tour of Russia
Part I: ASCON (last week; also available in Russian at isicad.ru/ru/articles.php?article_num=13302)
Part II: SoftDev
- About the Company
- The Problem of Marketing
- Questions for SoftDev
- Questions from SoftDev
Part III: "The Future of MCAD" Roundtable, Moscow (next week)
2. Out of the Inbox, and our other regular columns
[Disclosure: Some of the firms mention in the "The upFront.eZine Tour of Russia" provided assistance with the airfare, accommodation, ground transportation, and meals.]
The upFront.eZine Tour of Russia
Part II: SoftDev
Location: St Petersburg, Russia
Time Stamp: Mon 07 Sep 2009 03:21:10 PM MSD
About the Company
SoftDev was among the first companies to set up outsourcing of Russian programming talent to the West. They began in 1994 with one international client, now known as IMSI/Design. That was a good year to start up, for it was easy to hire very skilled programmers at reasonable cost; back then, the Russian labor market was a buyer's market.
For a number of years, IMSI was their only client due to a deliberate lack of marketing: in those days it was better to be neither seen nor heard in Russia. After 2000, however, SoftDev gained a roster of many clients, all of whom were word-of-mouth referrals. The biggest difference from Ascon (featured last week) is that SoftDev does not develop any major products of its own.
Today, about 50% of SoftDev's projects are for CAD; the other 50% are for business applications. Its 70 employees sign NDAs [non-disclosure agreements] that do not allow them to acknowledge the companies for which they are working. Appropriately enough, their office is located on the site of a former military enerprise, still secured by female guards and watched over by a small bust of Lenin. It was recommended that I take no photos, since security would probably object.
The company's primary goal is win a request for work, to do a good job, and then continue the relationship with the customer. The majority of SoftDev's employees are programmers, with a slim administrative staff. Engineers work in teams, one for each customer. Teams change in size according to the project size, divided into subgroups for large projects. Two other teams -- QA and release engineering -- work for all the other teams.
The old Soviet economy had been oriented towards the military, and so until 1989 most graduates with scientific degrees went to research institutes, some of them working with computers. Most middle-age Russian programmers took similar paths: grew up in Soviet era, and then switched to programming in the post-Soviet era. Many software developers at SoftDev have degrees in mathematics, system designs, and even ship building. This is a strength, because they know how things are designed; they are not just computer programmers. In contrast, the younger, post-Soviet people have their computer programming degrees but not the experience.
As wages increase in Russia, however, the goal of outsourcing is changing from being a low-cost supplier to providing the highest quality workmanship.
The Problem of Marketing
A marketing problem for SoftDev is that they cannot take credit for successful projects, because they work is largely secret. They end up revealing only the failed ones. For example, they wrote an application that integrates the D-cubed constraint manager into AutoCAD, Rhino, and other programs. But then Autodesk introduced their own constraint manager for AutoCAD 2010 -- an example of the changing marketplace. Another failure: they wrote an interface for the CyberGlove, but it never went to the market.
Customers who can be named include IMSI and ODA, but not ITC. When I tried to ask more about their involvement with the Open Design Alliance, I was told the ODA no "longer welcomes mention of SoftDev." In any case, SoftDev is not the only outsourcer working for the ODA.
The primary leads for new work comes from customer employees who leave for another company; once there, they recommend that their new employer try SoftDev. For instance, Michael Cartwright (fomrely of IMSI) launched SolidDocuments PDM software, and then continued working with SoftDev.
The programmers at SoftDev were intrigued by my claim that man will never make it to Mars. I clarified the arguments I had made in a weblog posting, while they countered with arguments of their own. Clearly for them, getting to Mars was just a matter of solving the engineering challenge.
During our discussions, the occasional Russian word came through to me, such as words that sound like "journalisto", "Amerikaninsky," and "plug in."
Questions for SoftDev
upFront.eZine: Will SoftDev ever release their own software products?
A: We did develop a couple of our own products, mainly to keep our engineers busy between outsourced projects. One example was the library for the DGN file format, which became commercially successful. Usually, however, our company does not have the sales structure to distribute our own products. Instead, we play to our strengths in the outsourcing market.
upFront.eZine: About cloud, iPhone, direct modeling -- could SoftDev do these if clients wanted?
A: We have been flexible in the past, so we would learn it as required. Our engineers are constant learners.
upFront.eZine: When it comes to writing a CAD system, does SoftDev specialize in certain areas or does it write the whole thing?
A: We have never turned down a project because of inability to to execute. The only time we reject a project is hen it needs to be done fairly urgently and we do not have resources available immediately or have a conflict of interest. Some NDA agreements require that we cannot work on similar projects.
Questions from SoftDev
Q: Will there be new CAD platforms in the future, or will the tenancy be towards vertical applications running on a single CAD platform?
upFront.eZine: The movement is towards creating a single CAD program whose file format handles all the data needed by verticals. For instance, Autodesk is slowly unifying the file formats of Alias, AutoCAD, Inventor, and Revit into a new DWG format, I believe.
The only new CAD programs of the future will be replacement code that takes advantage of new technologies, OS-independence, and new programming techniques. I think the key for CAD vendors is to create very complex file formats that make translation impossible. For example, if SolidWorks and Catia (finally) exchange data through a common (and complex) file format, that would benefit Dassault Systemes in eliminating the ability of translator companies to reverse engineer the formats.
Q: Will there ever be a unified file format for all CAD programs?
upFront.eZine: Not between all CAD programs, because CAD vendors desire to lock in customers. They will continue to support a variety of open formats so that they cannot be accused of being monopolies.
Q: Who will win: a CUDA-lke GPU or the CPU?
upFront.eZine: I think the CPU will always win, because it is the default chip common to all computers. In order to use CUDA-accelerated software, the computer must have an nVidia graphics board, which represents is a subset of the graphics board market (among ATI/AMD, Intel, and so on), and so CUDA cannot become a standard. Further hindering the CUDA's success will be Intel, who will resist any attempt to dislodge its effective monopoly in CPUs, and could conceivable add CUDA-like functions as an extension to the Pentium CPU.
Q: Should CAD vendors keep info on new products secret, or be open about it -- or half way between?
upFront.eZine: Be open, because then you can get more feedback from users on whether the new product is going in the right direction.
Q: It seems that CAD programs are looking more and more the same. Your thoughts?
upFront.eZine: This is to be expected, because there is usually one best way to do anything. CAD programs started off dissimilar, and then saw in each other better ways to do things, and so copied features -- just as all cars operate in roughly the same manner. Here, I am alking about the user interface, not the code behind the UI.
Q: Will the command line in AutoCAD ever go away in favor of other user interfaces?
upFront.eZine: Autodesk has a history of leaving in old commands and user interface elements, incuding AutoCAD's original UI, the side screen menu. For those of use who find the keyboard most efficient, the command line is still there, but it can be turned off.
Q: What is the future of CAD in general? Will there be any major engines in the future, like today's solid modeling, rendering, or physics?
upFront.eZine: The only one I could foresee is CAM, but even that is too specialized for the mass market.
SoftDev SPB
Head office: St Petersburg, Russia
Funded: 1994
Ownership: Private
Employees: 70
Annual revenues: Unstated
Primary software: Outsourced CAD and business software projects
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[S14,21]
Out of the Inbox
CADlogic's 2D DRAFT IT V3 comes as a single download file, contianing all four versions of the program:
- Free version can be used indefinitely
- Two low-cost upgrade options (GBP20 and GBP99).
- Full Architectural system (GBP299).
www.cadlogic.com/products/draftit/default.aspx
Kubotek slashes the price of its Spectrum Multi-CAD Viewer for $99 (regular $695). It views and prints the most 2D and 3D CAD formats, such as SolidWorks, AutoCAD, NX, CATIA V4, Pro/E, IGES, and STEP; add $500 for CATIA V5 format. Seven day trial download from info.kubotekusa.com/spectrum-99
IMSI/Design updates TurboCAD Pro 16.1 Mechanical Edition ($1,395) with new twisted extrude, quick pull, thread tool, extrude to face, mid-point constraint, tweak to body). ODBC database connect palette, and SketchUp export. www.turbocad.com/TurboCAD/TurboCADforWindows/TurboCADPro16MechanicalEdition/tabid/1172/Default.aspx
MIE Solutions releases v10.4 of MIE Trak, their production control software for manufacturing, featuring 100+ enhancements. www.miesolutions.com/mie/index.php/MIE-Trak
VariCAD announces VariCAD 2009 2.0 3D/2D mechanical CAD system with improved geometric constraint module, parameters and geometric constraints within solid creation profiles. and parameters for angles within a Boolean tree. 30-day trial version of 3D documentation suite from www.varicad.com
QuadriSpace says they've got their software running at "levels beyond the competition." For instance, an 874-part hot tub displays at 37 frames per second, versus 4-9fps for competitors #1 and #2. Trial version from www.quadrispace.com/downloads/trial.htm
Vote of confidence: Siemens decides to use its own software. "Siemens PLM Software, a business unit of the Siemens Industry Automation Division..., today announced Siemens AG has adopted Teamcenter software as its corporate-wide standard for product data management (PDM)." [Whew!] www.siemens.com/teamcenter
Active Sensing releases PDXpert PLM 2010 Edition ($999) product lifecycle management software, with new bill of materials Markup Wizard, file content indexing, and more. www.BuyPLM.com
Just like Autodesk: StudioGPU "continues to democratize the 3D production space for broadcast, cinema and design with the release of MachStudio Pro 1.2, a real-time 3D workflow and rendering package." The price of democracy? $4,999 (special North America introductory price; includes AMD ATI FirePro V8750 graphics board). www.studiogpu.com
SolidMap is a SolidWorks add-on that visualizes the dependencies between features, parts, and files. The new version of SolidMap is available as a free trial from www.solidmap.com/try
The new Lattice3D Dataway from Lattice Technology delivers multiple 3D CAD data files directly into Lattice Technology’s XVL apps for digital mockups and 3D technical docs (PDF, XVL, Excel and HTML). It's the first commercially-available product developed on Adobe's 3D OEM platform. www.lattice3d.com
And SpaceClaim joins up with ANSYS to create ANSYS SpaceClaim Direct Modeler for creating, simulating, and modifying 3D models; works with ANSYS 12.0, 11.0, and Workbench software. www.ansys.com
- - -
These were some of the news items posted during the last week at the WorldCAD Access blog <worldcadaccess.typepad.com>:
- Bidding War Over MSC
- Cimatron Faces Delisting
- CAD in Your Browser, Some Day
- Problem: Marketing Non-Windows-centric Products
- Kubotek Pre-announces V9
- Autodesk's Shut-Down-the-ODA Campaign Continues, Unabated
- Adobe Q3: Down 21%
And at the Gizmos Grabowski weblog <worldcadaccess.typepad.com/gizmos>:
- Wireless Mouse Needs 2 USB Ports
- When Wireless Internet Almost Works
- My New Camera: Same as the Old Camera
- World's Biggest Bug
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[621]
Hardware News
A1 Technologies plunges the price of 3D scanning and printing to GBP320 (about US$550) and GBP750 (about $1275), respectively. The 3D scanner uses a hand-held laser and a camera; the 3D printer you build yourself. www.a1-tech.co.uk
People/Companies on the Move
ModuleWorks and Robotmaster are partnering to provide robot simulation: robot programming tools to generate CAD/CAM style robot "toolpaths." www.ModuleWorks.com or www.robotmaster.com
Viewpoint Construction Software integrates accounting and project management software, and their new Channel Partner program is designed for those "... thriving on creating wow and delight for their customers." www.viewpointcs.com
Sonasoft names Bruce Serpa as vp of sales. Mr Serpa is the former director of North American sales and strategic alliances for i365/Seagate Technology.
MecSoft and Roland DGA have an OEM agreement to package JewelMILL CAM software with Roland's JWX-30 milling machines for jewelers. www.rolanddga.com/products/milling/jwx30
Market News
Creaform grew its 1H revenues by 25% over last year; Creaform Shanghai reports growth of 505%.
Brand New Books and eBooks
The Codewriting Workbook: Creating Computational Architecture in AutoLISP
by Robert J. Krawczyk
Published by Princeton Architectural Press
416 pages, 274 drawings, with 400 LISP routines on CD
WorthWhile Web
http://www.businessinsider.com/microsofts-mobile-strategy-is-still-a-mess-2009-9
Microsoft's Mobile Strategy Is A Mess
by Dan Frommer
http://blog.vlad1.com/2009/09/18/webgl-in-firefox-nightly-builds/
WebGL in Firefox Nightly Builds
by vladimir
http://www.geocities.com/WallStreet/8925/alinsky.htm
Alinsky's Rules for Radicals
by Craig Miyamoto
Letters to the Editor
"I would be interested to know if our Russian counterparts are dealing the the same BIM/specs or specs/BIM issues as we in the US and Canada? (Good newsletter. I particularly enjoyed Mark Chaney's "A Few Comment to BIM Developers", issue #581.)"
- Wayne Yancey, Associate
CALLISON
The editor replies: "None that I know of, unfortunately. The vendors I visited were primarily involved in MCAD. There was no mention of BIM, not even by Autodesk CIS."
"Many thanks for a great read."
-Wesley Benn, Australia
Notable Quotable
"In traditional media outlets 'aggregator' is a dirty word (unless they are the ones doing the aggregation)."
- Marshall Kirkpatrick, ReadWriteWeb
www.readwriteweb.com/archives/breaking_news_online_how_one_19-year_old_is_shakin.php
Thank You to Our Subscribers & Donators
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- Peter Lawton: "Thanks Ralph, great stuff for many years!"
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Contact!
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Entire contents copyright ©2009 by upFront.eZine Publishing, Ltd. All rights reserved worldwide. Letters sent to the editor are subject to publication. Article reprint fee: $250 and up. All trademarks belong to their respective holders. "upFront.eZine," "The Business of CAD," and "On your desktop every Tuesday morning" are trademarks of upFront.eZine Publishing, Ltd. Letters to the editor may be edited for clarity and brevity. Translations and opinions expressed are not necessarily shared by upFront.eZine Publishing, Ltd.