CD-adapco sales up 22% last year – and so far this year

Mar 27, 2009 | Hot Topics

We’re not quite done with earnings announcements, it appears. And maybe 2009 won’t bethe disaster everyone forecasts. CD-adapco President Steve MacDonald said the followingat the company’s annual European user conference:“In the midst of constant...

The Tata Nano: "Triumph of Indian Ingenuity"

Mar 22, 2009 | Hot Topics

That’s how the BBC referred to the $2000 car introduced yesterday in India. Their reporterhad a chance to test-drive the car and said it was surprisingly … not disappointing. At leastaccording to the BBC, there had been concerns that Tata’s price...

IBM buying Sun?

Mar 19, 2009 | Hot Topics

Sun Microsystems’ share price has nearly doubled since Wednesday on rumors that IBMis interested in acquiring the troubled hardware maker. For many old-timers Sunworkstations were the first non-proprietary hardware on which CAD software was availableand their...

Update: MSC exec change — Investors like!

Mar 13, 2009 | Hot Topics

Yesterday I wrote that investors seemed lukewarm to the the change in CEO and COO atMSC, with Ashfaq Munshi taking over. By the close of trading, MSC shares were up 11%and look to open "up" today signalling that shareholders have confidence in Mr. Munshi...

Happy Pi Day!

Mar 13, 2009 | Hot Topics

Yes, it’s that time again: tomorrow, March 14, marks Pi Day. For those who need therefresher, Pi= 3.1415926535… (3.14 — get it?) According to the day’s website, Pi Day is"celebrated by math enthusiasts around the world". Economy got...

Management shake-up at MSC Software

Mar 12, 2009 | Hot Topics

MSC today announced the departure of Chairman and CEO Bill Weyand and Glenn Weinkoop, President and COO, and their replacement by Ashfaq A. Munshi as interim Chief Executive Officer and President. The company’s Board of Directors has retained a national firm to...

ESI Group reports steep drop-off in Q4

Mar 10, 2009 | Hot Topics

ESI Group today reported revenue growth of 2% to EU70.2 million for the fiscal year endedJanuary 31, 2009. Excluding acquisitions, revenue declined about 5% from fiscal2007/2008. Like other engineering software companies, business slowed dramaticallyduring Q4: ESI...

Twenty-five years of VAR success

Mar 9, 2009 | Hot Topics

A lot of press releases come in every day and few are all that notable. One of today’s stands out, not for its content so much as for what it represents. Autodesk is holding its annual VAR (value-added reseller) conference this week and issued a...

Bentley moves user conference online

Mar 6, 2009 | Hot Topics

It’s official: citing cuts in its customers’ travel budgets, Bentley has moved its userconference online, reframing the content as a series of webinars. Given the cost toBentley to stage the annual extravaganza, this only makes sense, as its revenue is...

MSC rides a winding road

Mar 3, 2009 | Hot Topics

MSC Software proved last week that it is not immune to the slowdown in spending seenby other PLM suppliers. Total Q4 revenue of $65 million was down 9% from a year ago,leading the company to an operating loss for the quarter. For the year MSC reported totalrevenue of...

ANSYS – weak Q4 leads to worries about 2009

Mar 1, 2009 | Hot Topics

ANSYS shares were hammered late last week, falling to a 52-week low after the companydramatically lowered its forecasts for 2009 — even though results for 2008 were OK.On the plus side:- CEO Jim Cashman said that companies continue to see a need to innovate, and...

CD-adapco’s stimulus bill: "No Engineer Left Behind"

Feb 27, 2009 | Hot Topics

CD-adapco today upped the ante on helping displaced engineers improve their skills andmarketability. "No Engineer Left Behind" is a global program — all others that I’m aware ofare US-based — offering training at any CD-adapco facility, a...

Stimulus bill: what’s in it for PLM?

Feb 19, 2009 | Hot Topics

The Wall Street Journal posted a handy summary of the 1,073-page stimulus bill signedby President Obama on Monday. It’s possible that the bill contains provisions not in theJournal’s table, but judging by the summary, Washington is hoping that...

MSC and Elliott Assoc. reach agreement on “standstill”

Feb 14, 2009 | Hot Topics

Elliott Associates and MSC Software today filed a schedule 13D with the SEC stating that the two had reached and agreement under which the various Elliott entities that already own 13.4% of the outstanding shares of MSC will not buy more than 2.96 million additional...

DS 2008 results as expected — but 2010 looks interesting

Feb 12, 2009 | Hot Topics

Dassault Systèmes reported final results for 2008 earlier today and issued outlook for2009 that reflects what the company believes will be a "challenging" 2009, with conditionssimilar to those seen in Q4 2008.Highlights from the earnings calls and releases:-...

Invention Machine wants to help you innovate

Feb 2, 2009 | Hot Topics

A couple of weeks ago, I was fortunate to hear Boston Scientific speak about how it sought to build a culture of invention and discovery that leads its various businesses to successful new products. Randy Schiestl, VP R&D, and Jude Currier, cardiovascular...

Autodesk’s plans for Algor shaping up nicely

Jan 28, 2009 | Hot Topics

I recently had a long chat with Autodesk’s Amy Bunszel, product marketing manager inthe Manufacturing Solutions Division(MSD), about the company’s plans for Algor.First of all, all Algor employees will remain in Pittsburgh. Mike Bussler, founder of...

Dassault Systèmes missed Q4 on 20% drop in new license revenue

Jan 17, 2009 | Hot Topics

DS released preliminary fourth quarter results today, showing that the global economiccrisis is affecting all price points along the PLM curve. DS reports that preliminarynon-GAAP total revenue is estimated at €382 million, compared to the company’sobjective of €385...