ESI’s 2015 put the “tech bricks” in place for the future

Quickies: OnShape, Bentley, Hexagon and PP&M — oh my!

May 2, 2016 | Hot Topics

So much news, so little time. A quick roundup of interesting news: A couple of weeks ago, OnShape reported that it has now sold shares valued at a total of $105 million, an increase of $25 million from last year’s announcement. By my reckoning, this...
ESI’s 2015 put the “tech bricks” in place for the future

PTC’s Q2 revenue misses but positions for the future

Apr 26, 2016 | Hot Topics

It’s tough to be PTC right now. Most indicators are going in the right direction: subscriptions are ahead of expectations (though that means perpetual license revenue is below plan), IoT-related sales are growing as PTC sells both standalone IoT solutions and...
ESI’s 2015 put the “tech bricks” in place for the future

MuM had “best Q1 in company’s history”

Apr 25, 2016 | Hot Topics

Now, that’s a headline. We’re all worrying about how the switch to subscriptions across the software universe affects the software creators and their reseller partners, and how many will be unable to manage the cash flow implications of the change —...
ESI’s 2015 put the “tech bricks” in place for the future

PTC surprised by subs, DS continues to roll

Apr 21, 2016 | Hot Topics

It’s a big day in PLMish earnings, as PTC reported last night and Dassault Systèmes this morning. We’ll get to details in other posts but here are the highlights: PTC continues to struggle with the mix of traditional and subscription licensing, causing...
Autodesk adds to its renderers, buys Solid Angle

Autodesk adds to its renderers, buys Solid Angle

Apr 18, 2016 | Hot Topics

Autodesk just announced that it has acquired Solid Angle, maker of Arnold, a ray-tracing image renderer for high-quality 3D animation and visual effects creation. Arnold was co-developed with Sony Pictures Imageworks and is now their main renderer. Autodesk says...
Quickie: Yokogawa closes KBC acquisition

Quickie: Yokogawa closes KBC acquisition

Apr 13, 2016 | Hot Topics

Back in February, Yokogawa outbid AspenTech for KBC, the UK software developer and consultancy focused on operational optimization for the oil and gas industry. The deal needed to be approved by UK regulators, which happened on April 5, and on April 7 both boards of...
ESI’s 2015 put the “tech bricks” in place for the future

Altair makes waves, snaps up AWE

Apr 12, 2016 | Hot Topics

Altair is one of my favorite companies — but I don’t get the chance to write about it as often as I’d like because it’s not publicly traded and so we miss those four chances per year to take a deeper dive. Why do I admire them? Because they...
Are you on a path to obsolescence?

Are you on a path to obsolescence?

Apr 10, 2016 | Hot Topics

No, not you personally but your IT? How many different backup types do you have, cluttering up your environment? Just from my desk, I can see audio and data cartridges, CDs, DVDs. and USB drives of all sorts. In my filing cabinets, I’m pretty sure I’ve got...