“3DEXPERIENCE Works has grown by 330% over two years,” says Dassault Systèmes' GEO leader.
Where is SOLIDWORKS heading? The question is of utmost importance in the product development world as the leading desktop 3D CAD developer is approaching 700,000 professional licenses (based on Griffin Securities’ estimations of users with active commercial licenses that pay subscription or maintenance costs). The question is particularly relevant when it comes to the recently launched 2024 version and its bundling with the 3DEXPERIENCE.
SOLIDWORKS’ CAD technology continues to meet high standards. The solution is used to design large assemblies, parts, functions, drawings, detailing, sheet metal, structural systems, electrical routing, product manufacturing information (PMI) and more. As expected, the 2024 release boosts performance and efficiency. In summary, it makes SOLIDWORKS easier for users to work seamlessly across different disciplines and to convey their design intent clearly.
But looking toward the future, it is more striking that Dassault Systèmes’ continues to bring the SOLIDWORKS community onto the 3DEXPERINECE platform. The question has been on the table for many years now, but growth has gained momentum. Now, after the decision in July 2023 that everyone who buys a SOLIDWORKS license gets the 3DEXPERIENCE Works platform (3DEXPERIENCE) for free, a long-awaited eruption of users can be expected.
“This is a move that many have been waiting for, and that can make a big difference,” says James Aslin, GEO leader of Professional Solutions at Dassault Systèmes, in today’s in-depth interview about Dassault’s focus on SOLIDWORKS in the 3DEXPERIENCE, sustainability, simulation and more.
What the Numbers Say
Regardless of what the future holds in terms of growth, Aslin claims that there is already momentum in terms of the community’s willingness to step up to the cloud and onto the 3DEXPERIENCE. However, it is unclear what the hard numbers are, as Dassault Systèmes doesn’t reveal that information. However, Aslin points out that the influx has already increased dramatically.
“Over two years, we have grown the number of [3DEXPERIENCE] Works users by 330 percent. But regardless of this, getting 3DEXPERIENCE Works in the bargain was a big announcement and it was very well received across the market as we gave everybody access to the platform in one stroke.”
He adds, “Our partners have also really embraced it … [it] adds even more value to our customers going forward to differentiate with the goal of sustainable innovation continuously at the top of their agenda. So, giving access to the platform is hugely beneficial to everybody.”
Real-Time Data Easily Accessible
A key question is: what’s included by bundling SOLIDWORKS with the 3DEXPERIENCE? A lot, says Aslin, pointing to the ‘Collaborative Designer for SOLIDWORKS’ role, which connects SOLIDWORKS CAD users to the 3DEXPERIENCE platform—making real-time data easily accessible to everyone on the design team.
“Basically, that allows you to store your SOLIDWORKS data in the cloud with version control and maturity. But also, within the offer we’re providing customers with the collaborative industry innovator, Comma-Separated Values (CSV) [files],” he said.
A CSV file has a specific format which allows data to be saved in a table structured format. They can be used with most spreadsheet programs, such as Microsoft Excel or Google Spreadsheets. The file format can also act as a gateway to many other capabilities the platform provides. For example, it improves collaboration activities such as task and issue management, change actions and component release processes, commented Aslin.
“Moreover, that’s also combined with the ‘collaborative business innovator’ role, which connects people and data through communities and dashboards to foster innovation. All of this becomes available for customers when they purchase SOLIDWORKS desktop perpetual. For those customers that still chose to have that solution and expand their SOLIDWORKS footprint inside of their organization, they then get access to the great business benefit technology we have in the 3DEXPERIENCE platform. But we also offer the same to those customers who are choosing a subscription model, SaaS (Software-as-a-Service), whether it be [a rental or the] SOLIDWORKS’ 3DEXPERIENCE Works cloud offering where all of this is already embedded.”
“The Right Time to Take the Step,” Claims CIMdata
Generally, I would characterize the 3DEXPERIENCE Works offer as a milestone, and more valuable than previous attempts to transition users to the significantly wider capabilities in the 3DEXPERIENCE. Anyone in the SOLIDWORKS community can now step onto the SaaS and cloud platform, and there are good reasons to do so.
At the same time, the inertia in bringing about a large migration towards the platform has been palpable. What in 1995 was a revolution with 3D CAD for everyone on the desktop is today an everyday phenomenon that many can match. But those who want to remain competitive need more, such as the modern lifecycle capabilities of the 3DEXPERIENCE platform. Among other things, it offers powerful tools for distributed, real-time collaboration, simulation and digital manufacturing.
Being connected to the platform’s services via an internet browser is a future that many places are already aiming to realize. When everything has the same data model, the scalability becomes as large as the cloud service enables, and therefore the technical capacity becomes significantly more comprehensive than what desktop CAD can offer. In short, there is much to be gained by stepping into this wider and more accessible environment.
But given all of this, does it make sense to take the plunge? Absolutely, claimed the PLM analyst CIMdata. In the new era of product development, companies using SOLIDWORKS absolutely need solutions that span the entire lifecycle. CIMdata said these companies can benefit greatly from Dassault Systèmes’ IP and expertise. Here, too, DS SOLIDWORKS has done a lot to support development and makes the techniques, accessibility and tools more useful for the average SOLIDWORKS user.
“This effectively democratizes access and efficient use by delivering them on the 3DEXPERIENCE platform. But it still remains a challenge because the average SOLIDWORKS installation has only a handful of users and only 10-15 percent of those have adopted data management solutions. One way to encourage adoption is to highlight the additional business value the platform can provide,” CIMdata concluded following the 2023 3DEXPERIENCE World in Nashville.
Brings More Holistic Collaboration
But technological advantages are one thing; business advantages are another. What is Aslin’s view here?
“The complete picture as to what the 3DEXPERIENCE platform brings to all of our customers contains a lot,” replies Aslin. He then points to the 3DEXPERIENCE platform’s business benefits like shorter time to market, more holistic collaboration, greater visibility into projects and faster experimentation through virtual twins.
“Moreover,” he continued, “if you look at the risk mitigation, there is the earlier identification of issues, which is more available on the 3DEXPERIENCE platform when you’re liberating multiple data sets. Also, the more unified environment where all stakeholders are encouraged to share their expertise across the different communities makes the ideas flow more freely. Those are the kind of benefits that we hear the customers [realize]. And this happens at high levels, the C-level, where the clients are deciding [if] it makes sense for them to use the 3DEXPERIENCE platform because of the additional functionalities.”
“We are Seeing a Shift”
According to this reasoning, does the perpetual licensing model dominate how SOLIDWORKS users want to access their CAD solution? Is the cloud, 3DEXPERIENCE and its advanced simulation and collaborative capabilities seen as unripe?
I asked Aslin.
“What we say is that we still have perpetual as an offering, I wouldn’t say that it is dominating going forward because we are seeing a shift,” he replies. “There’s certainly a trend where our customers are looking more at a SaaS, whether it’s a subscription model for desktop perpetual SOLIDWORKS, or it’s a cloud offering in 3DEXPERIENCE Works, which obviously provides additional functionality and much more technology related to the 3DEXPERIENCE business platform, which they get access to. So, we’re seeing that trend happening. It’s actually accelerating at quite a fast rate while the customers are deciding that 3DEXPERIENCE is a better solution for them.”
Whether this has to do with the financial model that they want to have, CapEx (Capital Expenditure in a one-time investment) or OpEx (Operating Expenses), is decided by the customer. But Aslin claims that ultimately across the globe, “we do see that customers accessing the 3DEXPERIENCE platform are making that jump over to the platform first-hand because of the additional technology and the amount of extended functionality it provides.”
“Our top priority is always going to be the customer-centric view,” he adds. “So, we never impose anything on our customers. We consult, we advise, we want to become the trusted advisor with all the customers we work with. This means that we give them flexibility in terms of what they require while at the same time providing as much game-changing technology as there is … Therefore, if it makes sense for the customer to maintain that SOLIDWORKS desktop environment because that’s the way their IT is set up and how they want the organization to continue, then so be it. We don’t change that for them.”
Sustainability and SOLIDWORKS Solutions
Aslin also touched on how SOLIDWORKS is affected by sustainability and climate issues.
“It is extremely important not only for us but also for all our customers, since it’s something that everybody has to address given how climate issues affect the whole planet. This year even more so, because among other things the EU’s new additional rules related to the corporate sustainability report directive (CSRD) and the carbon border adjusted meter (CBAM). The latter is about how much carbon is being used in actual products that are coming in from suppliers, which our customers have to pay close attention to since there could be a serious penalty should they fail to meet these demands. Bottom line is that sustainability is becoming more important as we’re going forward. Every single one has got to pay very close attention to their carbon footprint, as do we as an organization.”
He explained that the company has invested heavily in sustainability with solutions built in both SOLIDWORKS and on the 3DEXPERIENCE, where there is a specific role related to sustainability. “Customers can use these modules to ensure that their carbon footprint is very, very small and ultimately get down to zero [emissions],” he added.
Furthermore, he points out that sustainability is always a question of trade-offs in terms of cost, lead time, quality and more.
“There are so many parameters involved, so to be able to test and simulate what effects are with the different options you have is paramount. Everybody wants to make their things … more sustainable. But if that means that costs [increase] a lot or … if it brings … low quality, then it’s not acceptable. So, we’re always faced with options,” Aslin said.
A Growing Role for In-Depth Simulation
Therefore, simulation is a crucial part of sustainable design. In particular, I asked Aslin, what do you see coming?
He discussed Dassault Systèmes’ ideas and solutions around MODSIM, which unify modeling and simulation on a common data model within a single user experience on the 3DEXPERIENCE platform. The goal is to consider the whole product development process and break down barriers. So, MODSIM is more than simulation-driven design.
A good reason to connect to the 3DEXPERIENCE environment is that it provides sophisticated technologies and solutions for multidisciplinary design, modeling, multiphysics simulation and optimization. The MODSIM environment ensures a single source of truth for data and always maintains data compatibility.
“More and more customers are asking how they can use our simulation technology … to reduce the prototyping cost … The link between model and simulation is key,” Aslin says. “Significantly … our domain customers are asking us about that, but it’s more about what is it we can do from a manufacturing, governance and marketing perspective. Which is exactly what the platform offers.”
The new trend that Aslin points to is that customers really want to get more in-depth in terms of the simulations they’re doing, whether it will be electromagnetics, thermal mechanics and more. There is a lot of demand for more simulation, which is included in the SOLIDWORKS cloud offering.
