Quickie: GE all in on 3D printing
General Electric, the global megacorp that includes aircraft engines in its huge manufacturing portfolio, announced today that it is acquiring two European 3D printing companies for a total of $1.4 billion, making ever more real its vision to supply more complex...
Big changes coming at ANSYS
ANSYS just announced that longtime CEO Jim Cashman will be stepping aside as CEO but will remain with ANSYS as Chairman of the Board of Directors. Taking the CEO reins will be Dr. Ajei Gopal, who has been a member of ANSYS' Board since 2011. Dr. Gopal became President...
Quickies: Acquisitions continue in the PLMish world
Just because you're lying on a beach, don't assume everyone is. We've had a couple of acquisition announcements come across the transom in the last week, and they're noteworthy. SofTech continues its shift in focus away from PLM. You may have known Softech for CADRA...
Q&A Friday: CD-adapco and CAE at the Olympics
It's a gorgeous summer day here in New England -- a perfect time for a little A to some of the Qs that have come in to the Schnitger Corp. website: Who is the CEO of CD-adapco? Bob Ryan has been the CEO of CD-adapco since June. You may know Mr. Ryan from his time at...
Hexagon acquisition boosts construction accountability
Dire reports about poor productivity on construction sites (plus, to be honest, the public perception that most workers are just standing around) means that this is an industry ripe for PLMization. Bentley, Trimble and Autodesk have been selling technology to this...
A primer: How do I pick the best [CAD/CAE/PLM/CAM/etc] solution?
I get a lot of question from readers but, by FAR, the most common one is: What's the best [CAD/CAM/CAE/CFD/PIDO/PLM/etc] on the market? It would be so easy, wouldn't it, if there were one easily identifiable answer to that question. And the vendors, of course, will...
Dassault Systèmes’ V6 finally gaining traction, 36% of NL* in Q2
By now, you're likely aware that Dassault Systèmes reported a Q2 that matched expectations, with good growth from the ENOVIA and SOLIDWORKS brands offsetting weaker performance from CATIA. DS left its guidance for the rest of 2016 unchanged, on the expectation that...
Q&A Tuesday: AVEVA, Bentley IoT, Geometric and earnings podcasts
Yes, I know it's Wednesday. But it IS a Q&A, so let's get to it: AVEVA NET Shell I'm going to guess that this reader was looking for information on Shell's use of AVEVA Net. Shell was an early AVEVA Net adopter, using it on a project in China more than 10 years...
Quickie: MuM intends to double profit in 2016 even in subs transition
Germany's Mensch und Maschine Software released earnings today, saying that the first half of 2016 succeeded in meeting its ambitious goals. Sales for the 6 month period were €88 million, up 8%, led by M+M Software which grew 12% to €23 million. The VAR...
PTC’s FQ3 shows surprising demand for subs
It's big-boy PLMish earnings week and, so far, so good. PTC on Wednesday (and Dassault Systèmes on Thursday, blog post in the works) reported that demand remains solid. PTC customers' appetite for subscriptions continues to surprise as it came in significantly ahead...