Discount pricing: A bad idea

Feb 1, 2010 | Hot Topics

Note, 02 February 2010: Since posting this yesterday, I’ve been informed by Kubotek that these deals were for 2009, and are no longer offered. Check with them for current offerings and pricing. Kubotek also tells me that they an “awesome year end and the best year...

Social media changes some of the rules

Jan 29, 2010 | Hot Topics

In business school we were taught that businesses should engage with prospects in a systematic, organized way, moving them through a standard set of steps to purchase:awareness –> consideration –> preference –> trial –> purchase.The Internet...

PTC blows by targets in FQ1, ups guidance for the year

Jan 27, 2010 | Hot Topics

As previewed last night, PTC announced startlingly strong results for the December quarter, 2009. To recap, total revenue was up 8%, led by a very strong rebound in license revenue. Not surprising, maintenance revenue was down, since it’s driven by license sales in...

PTC reports solid December quarter, license up 48%

Jan 26, 2010 | Hot Topics

PTC just reported results for the fiscal first quarter. Quick points: • Q1 revenue of $258 million, up 8%, driven by license growth of 48% • PLM license revenue was $45 million, up 143% year-over-year • PTC reports a slight year-over-year decline in maintenance and...

Mentor Graphics trying to make a splash with CFD

Jan 26, 2010 | Hot Topics

Mentor Graphics bought boutique CFD house Flomerics in 2008 to strengthen its offerings in the printed circuit board (PCB) and accelerate its entrance into markets outside the traditional (and volatile) electronics space. Before it became Mentor Graphics’ Mechanical...

AVEVA says recent performance is “Satisfactory”

Jan 25, 2010 | Hot Topics

In the opening salvo of earnings reports in the greater PLM universe, AVEVA Group today issued an interim statement saying that its performance since October 2009 is “satisfactory” as the company has seen resilience in the oil, gas and power segments, especially in...

SAP blinks, delays maintenance hike

Jan 19, 2010 | Hot Topics

You just gotta love spin: “In a demonstration of its commitment to customer satisfaction, SAP [on January 14] announced the introduction of a comprehensive, tiered support model” that leaves 2010 pricing at 2009 levels. Recall that SAP tried to move all customers to a...

2009: The year the buyer/vendor balance shifted

Jan 15, 2010 | Hot Topics

As we look back on 2009, it becomes apparent that the single story of the year might have been “doing more with less”. For too many companies, this meant closing plants, reducing their workforce and cutting costs wherever possible. CIOs were charged with cutting IT...

Are you social?

Jan 14, 2010 | Hot Topics

It’s been a while since I’ve blogged about PLM’s efforts to engage in social media, so it’s time for an update. On a somewhat depressing note, not that much has changed. Yet. And that’s the good news: a number of PLM companies are still in the watching phase, trying...

CAE to rebound in 2010, up 8%

Jan 13, 2010 | Hot Topics

Forrester Research yesterday gave a rosy forecast for tech spending in 2010, saying in a press release that “global IT spending, which dropped 8.9 percent last year, will rise 8.1 percent in 2010 to more than $1.6 trillion.” Forrester sees spending on computer...