How to Make a Bad CAD Decision

IDC recently did an assessment of CAD vendors,which included the companies we talk about here at CAD/CAM Performance. All of them are considered “Leaders” by the analyst firm. Take a look at how they stack up:

A vendor’s position on the y-axis reflects its current capabilities and how well they’re aligned to meet customer needs. In this category, IDC analysts looked at how well a vendor is building, pricing, positioning and differentiating its value proposition.

Positioning on the x-axis shows how well a vendor’s future strategy aligns with what customers are likely to require in three to five years.

Market share is indicated by the size of each bubble, and a (+) or (-) indicates whether or not the vendor is growing faster or slower than the overall market.

So how do you choose?

With all these vendors bunched together in the place we all want them to be, is it possible to make a bad decision when it comes to choosing a new CAD platform?

It would appear to be next to impossible, but let me tell you—I’ve heard stories about each of these leading vendors that run the gamut from horrific tales of woe to rave reviews. So what is it, besides excellent feature sets, that makes one CAD application click for a specific CAD team?

I like to think that a lot of it has to do with the many variables that center around the human factor.

The first variable is usability. How intuitive is a particular platform for end users? These days, the UI has to not only make sense for engineers and designers, but also other stakeholders, like marketing types, who aren’t accustomed to CAD programs. Be sure to test-drive the software before you make a commitment.

The second variable, and this is often overlooked, is the community of users who embrace the product. Do you like the “vibe” around a certain CAD platform? Are other people in your industry vertical using one CAD application more than others? Do you like and respect the people who belong to user groups and attend user conferences? Are there people who lecture on a specific CAD application who really inspire you?

We’re being very subjective here, and there are certainly cool people who use all of the leading CAD platforms, but you should feel like you’re part of a group of people who inspire you to maximize your performance.

Other human variables include the sales, support and account management people you’ll be dealing with. These variables are more relevant to CAD team managers than end users, but they should definitely factor into your CAD decision. Do the sales reps understand your needs and help you solve your problems? Are the support people responsive and good at explaining things? And are the account managers attentive and eager to make billing easy and convenient?

When you’re dealing with Autodesk, Dassault Systèmes, PTC, and Siemens PLM, I don’t think there are any bad CAD applications—but there can be bad relationships. So do your homework and use the human factor to make your best CAD decision.

All of us at CAD/CAM Performance would love to hear your CAD vendor stories—the good, the bad and the ugly. Please share your experiences.