CAD Manager's Newsletter (#357)
12 Jan, 2016 By: Robert GreenCAD Management Predictions for 2016
Which trends should you keep an eye on in the coming year, and how should you adapt to them?
Welcome to 2016! Now that the New Year has arrived, I'll continue my annual tradition of sharing predictions for how CAD market trends will change in the coming year. I'll also discuss some ways CAD managers can accommodate those changes.
My methodology for determining market trends isn't scientific, but it draws on a number of perspectives and solid sources of first-hand experience, including:
- Interviews conducted with software industry personnel
- Experience with my clients
- Feedback from readers of the CAD Manager's Newsletter
- Feedback from members of the Facebook CAD Manager's Unite group
- Conversations with IT and CAD managers around the U.S.
- Conversations with hundreds of CAD users at Autodesk University.
Let's have a look at the trends I think should be on your radar screen in 2016. Here goes.
Trends to Watch For
Of course, forecasting the future is never an entirely accurate undertaking, but here's what I expect will happen in 2016:
- Cloud skepticism grows
- Information security becomes paramount
- Building information modeling (BIM) continues to solidify
- Hardware storage speeds jump
- CAD upgrades become sluggish
- Optimization remains key to success.
Let's dig into each trend in more detail, with an eye toward why the trend is developing and how CAD managers may need to adjust their strategies.
Cloud Skepticism Will Grow
Cloud hype has been thick for the last few years. In fact, the haze of jargon and exaggerated marketing claims has been so overbearing that it is sometimes hard to tell what "the cloud" actually means. In the past year, however, that's become more clear, with cloud-based software being defined in one of the following ways:
- Software whose licenses are locally installed, but are controlled from a cloud-based account (such as Autodesk 360 or Microsoft's Office 365) – this is sometimes called rental software.
- Software that is entirely installed and maintained on a remote server (for example, Autodesk's BIM 360 Glue).
Autodesk Users Take Notice: Licensing Changes Coming in 2016
Attention all users of Autodesk software products: If you haven't yet educated yourself about the licensing changes that are under way, now is the time! I recommend you start with these columns I wrote in recent months:
- "Autodesk Software Goes Subscription-Only in 2016"
- "Autodesk VP Explains Software Licensing Policy Changes"
- "Updated Autodesk Software Costs Calculator"
Do you have a helpful tip, recommendation, or question for the CAD Manager's Newsletter? Send it to me at rgreen@cad-manager.com. If I use your tip in the newsletter, you'll receive a Cadalyst prize!
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