Musings on analyst craftsmen and the rest of the world

Musings on analyst craftsmen and the rest of the world

Jun 2, 2014 | Hot Topics

Many old-school simulation experts are craftsmen, honing their meshes and input decks to fine precision. That competence is often stashed in simulation centers of excellence that act as internal service bureaus for project teams — great for the kind of...
Morning coffee: BRIC troubles and Reading Rainbows

Morning coffee: BRIC troubles and Reading Rainbows

Jun 2, 2014 | Hot Topics

Happy Monday! Hope you had a great weekend, and forgot all about work. Let’s get caught up with recent news. It’s the Economy … The BRIC countries (Brazil, Russia, India and China) were the engines of the world’s economic growth and a huge target of opportunity...
Exa’s Q1 falls short — but for a good reason

Exa’s Q1 falls short — but for a good reason

May 31, 2014 | Hot Topics

Exa announced Q1 results on Thursday that were good, not great. Revenue was just under $14 million, at the low end of the company’s guidance but still up 10% year/year (y/y). Exa CEO Steve Remondi told investors that a few passenger car and heavy vehicle...
Exa’s Q1 falls short — but for a good reason

Autodesk’s Q1 a study in moving parts

May 29, 2014 | Hot Topics

There’s been no shortage of news from Autodesk lately, what with new licensing options, acquisitions, 3D printing and an RV touring the US*, so it’s no surprise that the Q1 earning call tried to put it all in perspective. CEO Carl Bass addressed the 3D...
Morning coffee: BRIC troubles and Reading Rainbows

Morning coffee: deals, cars and snowmelt. Yup.

May 27, 2014 | Hot Topics

So here we are, just a few days from June. Where does the time go? It’s full-on user conference season so there’s more to cover than ever — let’s get right to it. It’s the Economy … … And it continues to send and receive mixed signals....
Happy Memorial Day!

Happy Memorial Day!

May 26, 2014 | Hot Topics

Today is Memorial Day, when the US pauses to honor the men and women who gave their lives in service to the country. Unofficially, it’s also the long weekend that kicks off summer, when many people eat too much at the first cookout of the season. If you’re...
Rev up to trounce the competition!

Rev up to trounce the competition!

May 19, 2014 | Hot Topics

Are you using the latest version of the software you rely on to do your job? Why not? You’d be amazed at how often I talk with users who are a couple of revs back — they tell me they don’t have the money to upgrade, or they’re too busy, they...

Quickie: Update on Autodesk and NEi

May 15, 2014 | Hot Topics

My goodness — the piece I posted yesterday about Autodesk acquiring certain asset of NEi Software really poked the bear! You’ve been commenting and emailing like crazy, which leads to this quick update: No, I don’t know more that what I originally...
Exa’s Q1 falls short — but for a good reason

Autodesk adds Nastran to its CAE offering

May 14, 2014 | Hot Topics

Autodesk confirmed yesterday that it has acquired certain assets of NEi Software, including its flagship Nastran solver. Autodesk isn’t ready to say anything about its plans for Nastran but we can speculate that it wants to add its powerful linear and nonlinear...