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Management

CADFIDENTIAL

30 Apr, 2005 By: Sara Ferris

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A behind-the-scenes look at the CAD world.

CAM on the rebound

Research firm CIMdata (www.cimdata.com) says that 2004 was a turnaround year for the CAM software and services market. It estimates that the market grew by 7.2%, from $1.107 billion in 2003 to $1.187 billion in 2004, after four straight years of flat or declining revenue. CIMdata predicts that growth will continue in 2005 at a 7.4% clip, resulting in $1.275 billion in revenue.

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Strange bedfellows

Headline speaker at Autodesk's Realize your Ideas roadshow is noted Macintosh evangelist Guy Kawasaki. He'll be joined on the podium by AutoCAD evangelist Lynn Allen. Could this be a sign of the second coming of AutoCAD for the Macintosh?

More bits

Microsoft is targeting the CAD/CAM/CAE market with its new 64-bit Windows XP Professional, but there's no real rush on the part of CAD developers to come out with 64-bit versions of their software. Hardware vendors were ready with 64-bit workstations and graphics card drivers (Dell, IBM, HP and Alienware all announced systems), but as of press time only PTC had announced a 64-bit version of Pro/ENGINEER for Windows. Still, Microsoft expects that even 32-bit CAD and CAM applications will benefit from having a full 4GB of virtual memory space available.

How much overtime do you work each week, on average?*

Rapid rollout

Daratech says its sources in Japan indicate that Toyota Motor Company may complete its deployment of CATIA V5 this year, just two years after it began implementation. A reported 3,500 seats of CATIA are currently in production at Toyota, leaving only 1,500 of Toyota's in-house TOGO system left to replace. According to Daratech, Toyota faced some data migration issues and the need to deal with larger CAD files. The biggest obstacle was retraining its engineers and finding enough operators for the additional systems.

Thanks for the memory

Data storage is expected to be the top priority for IT spending at mid-sized companies in 2005, according to a study by Info-Tech Research Group. Regulatory requirements such as Sarbanes-Oxley, continuity planning, and the popularity of multimedia are among the factors behind this interest. The SAN (storage area network) market is expected to grow by 40%.

Five-year trend forecast

If you can't beat 'em . . .

Former Autodesk product manager Jonathan Knowles returns to Autodesk to head its efforts to promote the DWF format as director of worldwide market development for Autodesk collaboration services. He leaves Adobe Systems, where he served as the technology strategist and worldwide evangelist for Adobe's Intelligent Document Platform. From his blog (www.jonathanknowles.com): "While I cannot solicit folks at Adobe for positions at Autodesk, there is no reason that you cannot contact me if you are interested."

No thanks to Linux

Info-Tech reports that close to half of companies that don't have Linux installed already are not at all interested in it. Of 1,400 companies surveyed, 27% have Linux installed, and another 10% plan to evaluate it in the next three years. Frank Koelsch, executive vice president of Info-Tech Research Group, says, "An important consideration for any midsized enterprise evaluating Linux is that although Linux is free, the support for it is not."

NASA gets nod

GlobalSpec bestowed its first Great Moments in Engineering award on the members of NASA's Crew Systems Division who devised ad-hoc air scrubbers for the Apollo 13 spacecraft 35 years ago.