Happy Holidays!
Our world is a troubled place. I, for one, plan to unplug for a few days, hope for snow (but not too much) and enjoy my family and friends. And perhaps too much Stollen. We'll see. I wish the same for you and look forward to continuing our conversation in the new...
Trimble stretches into agricultural sales automation
Trimble announced today that it has acquired privately-held IRON Solutions to help automate farm operations by linking equipment dealers, seed and chemical providers to the grower's ERP and CRM systems. That's a very cool idea, and one that's been used in the...
AU 2014: a potent mix of strategy and tactics
I’ve been trying to wrap my brain around Autodesk University and am still not sure what my main takeaways are — and it ended almost two weeks ago! On the one hand, it was the most strategic and visionary AU ever, as Autodesk flexes its muscles in both technical and...
3DEXPERIENCE: Think differently to innovate more effectively
Why do you do what you do? What’s your end goal? Only when you’ve answered those questions, think about how —which tools and techniques, how you’ll approach the task, whether and how you’ll simulate and collaborate … That’s the nexus of Dassault Systèmes (DS) 3D...
Exa’s Q3 at low end of guidance even with strong license growth
Exa Corp. reported Q3 results just now that show solid growth as customers continue to convert from consulting engagements (where Exa carries out projects) to software license buyers. Total revenue was up 13% to $16 million, at the low end of the guidance issued at...
Bentley’s Year in Infrastructure: connections, options & tech
Bentley’s Year in Infrastructure (YII) Conference is a 4-day extravaganza of AEC (Architecture, Engineering and Construction), civil engineering, plant design, offshore structures — literally the stuff that makes our world. Some of the best projects in infrastructure...
Trimble adds maintenance, planning to its rail offering
The more I follow these companies, the more I realize how little I know about how the world around me works. Today, Trimble announced today that it has acquired Nexala, a privately-held company that makes enterprise solutions for railway operators. Like many big,...
ESI’s Q3 stalls, momentum expected in Q4
While the US was busy with turkey day, ESI announced Q3 results that show strength in Europe that did not offset weakness in other parts of the world. License revenue continues to hold steady, though without much growth momentum, while the “refocusing” of the services...
Appreciating …
Thursday is Thanksgiving in the US, a holiday that celebrates family, friends and good food. It also reminds us to be grateful for all that is in our lives. My list is long, and it includes you -- for reading this blog, emailing your thoughts and challenging me when...
3D Systems snaps up Cimatron for just under $100 million
3D Systems and Cimatron today announced that 3D Systems will acquire all outstanding shares of Cimatron for $8.97 per share in cash for a total of around $97 million, including cash. That $8.97 is a 48% premium to Cimatron's closing price on the Nasdaq on Friday, a...
Autodesk customers flocking to subs, boost FQ3
Autodesk reported results last night that show its transition to subscriptions is picking up steam. Total revenue was up 11% to $618 million, knocking both its own forecast of around $600 million and the investment analyst consensus out of the park. Delcam, acquired...
Long Beach lessons: Simulate in 1D/3D, add test for better decisions
What a difference a year makes! At the 2013 NX CAE Symposium, Siemens introduced its LMS acquisition to long-time NX CAE, NX Nastran and Femap users; this year, LMS’ products turned up in nearly every presentation, highlighting the important integration of 1D and 3D...
Quickie: Cimatron’s Q3 up 8% y/y
Cimatron just reported results for Q3. Revenue was up 8% year/year to $11.2 million, making it the 18th consecutive quarter with year/year revenue growth in constant currencies. The company has been pressured to articulate a strategy for additive manufacturing, for...
Philae lands and tweets!
We take a break from our earnings and conference coverage for a space update: Rosetta's little Philae probe has landed! Philae sent back this picture, taken from a height of 3 km just before it landed at around 11AM ET: All sorts of cool images and video are...
AVEVA announces H1, inline with September reset
AVEVA today announced fiscal H1 2015 revenue of £86 million, down 21% year/year -- basically as announced in October. The good news: no new bad news. I still need to parse the details, but at a high level: The company reported strength in China, India and parts of...
Take a break and watch Engineering Happiness
I'm on a plane, making my way to the Dassault Systèmes 3D Experience Forum in Las Vegas. You, however, have Wifi so connect your speakers and groove to this lovely video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z4zymdaEJlA Bentley showed this last week at the start of the Year...
PTC beats Q4 expectations; disappoints on F15 outlook
So, it's 11 PM here in London, Bentley's Year in Infrastructure winners have been announced (and they're partying hard downstairs -- congrats to you and all of the finalists; it was a tough, tough contest) but back in the real world, PTC announced results for Q4 and...
ANSYS has a decent Q3 but disappoints on outlook for Q4
ANSYS just announced that revenue for Q3 was $234 million, smack in the middle of its guidance but still below Wall Street expectations, so expect the share to open down a bit today. Also likely to not help with the share price: Q4 guidance of $243.9 million to $251.9...
Quickie: London, bristling with infrastructure projects
Yesterday marked the start of the 2014 edition of Bentley's Year In Infrastructure conference. COO Malcolm Walter told us that he counted over 100 cranes while looking out the window at Bentley's London offices --and I can see something like 20 from my hotel room...
MuM’s VAR business strong — own software, too
Mensch und Maschine Software, Autodesk's largest European reseller but also a software developer in its own right, just announced Q3 results that were, well, darned good. Revenue was up 14% year/year (y/y) to €32 million. Revenue from the company's own software was up...
