Get ready! Earnings are starting …
No, we're not changing our focus to industrials! Yesterday did, however, mark the start of earnings season with Alcoa announcing that Q2 was far better than expected, which raises the bar for all other earnings releases to come. Alcoa said that revenue for the...
Happy 4th!
Here's hoping you have a safe and happy 4th of July holiday! Catch some sun, take in a concert, enjoy family and friends, appreciate all that it is good. We'll catch up next week.
Quickies: PTC/Atego done, Aras adds Dr. Eigner
A quick update on happenings in our little PLMish world: PTC said yesterday that it finalized its purchase of Atego, first announced at PTC Live Global a few weeks ago. You may recall that Atego develops model-based systems and software engineering applications. PTC...
Thinking about simulation?
Considering how long codes like Nastran have been in use, it always gives me pause when someone asks me where and how to start with simulation. That's when I realize that the vast majority of people aren't simulating anything. Yet. The aerospace and...
Morning coffee: SofTech partners, Bentley sells, World Cup & more
I still need to bring you up to speed on what I learned at HxGN Live, Hexagon's user conference; at a session on hand-held laser scanners hosted by DotProduct and in the briefings squeezed into rare days in the office between trips. And I will. But, right now, it's...
Quickie: Autodesk buys entertainment project management supplier
Autodesk just announced that it's acquiring Shotgun Software, a developer of cloud-based production tracking, review, and asset management software for the media and gaming world. Terms of the acquisition were not disclosed. Autodesk says Shotgun has 500 customers,...
Quickie: Altair closes FEKO acquisition
Altair said today that it finally closed the acquisition of EM Software & Systems (EMSS), first announced back in December 2013. I am trying to get details, but suspect roping in the South African company's distributor offices in the United States, Germany, and...
PTC Live: CAD, PLM, Services, IoT – lots of IoT
PTC had a tough balancing act last week at its Live Global event: act like a CAD and PLM company for the majority of the attendees, help a smaller but vibrant community of manufacturers develop their services delivery capabilities while also pulling us towards the...
GrabCAD’s PDM Workbench: design collaboration in minutes
I know you're all looking for posts on this week's PTC Live Global and PTC Live Service Exchange, and I'll get to those, but I need to fill you in on a little shindig GrabCAD threw on Tuesday. You know about GrabCAD, right? It's a library of nearly 500,000 CAD parts,...
How do you know when it’s time to update?
I'm at PTC Live Global in Boston right now and we've had no lack of news: PTC announced an acquisition (Atego, more soon), Creo 3.0 and Creo Elements/Direct 19.0, agreements and collaborations galore. In today's post over at the PTC Creo blog, I pick my favorites from...
Morning coffee: patents, deals and Björk
Welcome to a shiny new week! I'll be at PTC Live Global, the first user conference that will feature PTC's combo of CAD + PLM + ALM + SLM+ IoT + well, whatever other initials come out of it. Last year, we all learned about "servitization", creating bundles that...
ESI’s Q1 down year/year, partly due to planned change in services
ESI Group reported today that fiscal Q1 2014/5 revenue was down 7% to €20.1 million, in part because of the company's intention focus on high value services engagements that are likely to lead to future license sales. Had services revenue held constant with last year,...
They did it again: HXGN acquires data & content database provider
Hexagon continues its acquisitive ways, adding North West Geomatics Ltd. (aka North West Group) to its quiver of geospatial data providers. North West also created Valtus, a database that enables the integration of content through a hosting service. Valtus appears to...
Quickie: Autodesk acquires Bitsquid, adds real-time 3D vis to design
What a day! Autodesk just announced that it has acquired Bitsquid, the Swedish creator of the Bitsquid game engine. Not surprising, this bolsters Autodesk's offering for the game development industry but it also has potential in other markets that can benefit from...
Quickie: Autodesk’s Derrek Cooper on NEi acquisition
If you recall, Autodesk didn't really say that it had acquired certain assets of NEi Software last month -- the news leaked out as customers found out from NEi partners and resellers. Last week, Autodesk's Derrek Cooper blogged about it and gave some hints about...
Mining heats up: Trimble acquires MIS
As you know, I was at Hexagon's user conference, HxGN LIVE, last week, where mining was featured as an emerging market for Hexagon's offerings. Hexagon's team told investors that mining is an underserved industry, technologically, and that even in times when new mines...
SIMULIA SCC highlights simulation in an enterprise context
It took an entire day, but Dassault Systèmes (DS) finally got its point across during the last session of day one at the SIMULIA Customer Conference 2014: the 3DExperience platform may be new, but is comprised of the same Abaqus CAE, iSIGHT, Tosca and other products...
Solid Edge U showcases cool toys and happy customers
It's a sleepy Tuesday morning in Atlanta. Siemens PLM and Solid Edge welcome us to the latest iteration of Solid Edge University, etcetera etcetera etcetera. Just as we're settling in for some serious corporate presentations, in zooms a guy on a go-kart -- but it's...
Quickies: Hexagon & Trimble acquire to extend their capabilities
I'm at the Hexagon user conference, HxGN LIVE in Las Vegas, and you know the event wouldn't be complete without an announcement or two or ten. Yesterday, Hexagon announced that it has acquired iLab Sistemas, a Brazilian provider of planning and optimization solutions...
Musings on analyst craftsmen and the rest of the world
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 simulation...
