Commentary:
MCAD/MCAE Industry View – A May 2010 Update
by Dr. Russ Henke
Henke Associates
Introduction:
This May 2010 issue of the MCAD/MCAE Industry Commentary recounts the financial performances of a selected group-of-five MCAD/PLM/MCAE vendors (G5) for the nominal First Quarter of calendar 2010.
In the first MCAD Industry Commentary published May 2003 in MCADCafé.com, then-recent yearly and quarterly financial performances of a selected group of public Mechanical Computer Aided Design (MCAD) and Mechanical Computer Aided Engineering (MCAE) vendor companies were analyzed and compared. Expectations of future financial performances of these same entities were documented.
The May 2003 MCAD Commentary was followed by twenty-six quarterly updates in MCADCafé.com, one for each subsequent calendar quarter. URL's on all past articles are available. The entities initially covered were ANSYS, Autodesk, Dassault Systèmes, UGS PLM, ESI Group, Moldflow, MSC.Software, PTC and Tecnomatix.
As a result of the acquisition of Tecnomatix by UGS that closed April 1, 2005, Tecnomatix was eliminated from coverage thereafter as a separate entity.
On May 7, 2007 UGS announced the close of its acquisition by Siemens AG effective May 4. Thereafter, the business went to market as UGS PLM Software (and later as Siemens PLM Software), a global division of the Siemens Automation and Drives (A&D) Group. Over the years UGS itself had bounced back and forth between being a public company and a private company under different ownerships. Regrettably, we have been able to gain very little insight into UGS' financial performance itself from public Siemens' corporate reports after the Siemens acquisition. Occasionally we will include Siemens PLM Software news items that bear on the industry as a whole.
Then on June 25, 2008 Autodesk completed its acquisition of Moldflow Corporation, so thereafter Moldflow was eliminated here from separate coverage.
On July 07, 2009 MSC.Software announced that it had entered into a definitive agreement with affiliates of Symphony Technology Group (STG) under which a company controlled by STG would acquire all of MSC's outstanding shares in a one-step cash merger transaction. This acquisition of MSC.Software by STG was finally consummated on October 14, 2009. No financial results for MSC.Software were published for Q3 2009. Unless and until such data are subsequently made available, MSC.Software has been dropped from coverage herein, although occasionally MSC.Software news items that bear on the industry as a whole will be mentioned.
Henke Associates recognizes that some MCAD/PLM/MCAE vendors have expanded their offerings into the world of “multiphysics” by moving beyond pure MCAD into other disciplines, such as fluid dynamics and electronic analysis (e.g. ANSYS). This Commentary will also report on these new areas as appropriate.
This twenty-ninth MCAD/MCAE Industry article in the sequel recounts mainly the financial performances of the remaining group-of-five (G5) MCAD/PLM/MCAE entities for the nominal first quarter of calendar 2010:
Autodesk San Rafael, CA
Dassault Systèmes Vélizy-Villacoublay France
ESI Group Paris, France
PTC Needham, MA USA
The following is divided into two (2) basic sections; the first of which covers Recent MCAD/MCAE News Highlights, and the second section discusses the G5 financial results for the nominal First Quarter of Calendar Q1 2010. Enjoy!
Recent MCAD/MCAE News Highlights:
On May 03, 2010 The University of Pittsburgh's (Pitt) Swanson School of Engineering announced it had deployed software from ANSYS, Inc. (NASDAQ: ANSS), providing its engineering faculty and students access to world-class simulation tools. Pitt has licensed ANSYS Academic(TM) and Ansoft Academic(TM) product bundles that include tools for classroom demonstrations and hands-on instruction as well as sophisticated products that provide the unlimited numerical capabilities necessary for doctoral and post-doctoral work.
ANSYS Academic product bundles provide universities access to all the features and capabilities available in its industry-standard engineering simulation tools in a value-added, scalable manner that meets the needs of diverse users. Not only can Pitt users access the simulation capabilities in individual engineering disciplines -- structural mechanics, electromagnetics, thermal analysis or fluid dynamics -- but they can take advantage of the technology's multiphysics capabilities to solve complex problems and perform multi-scale engineering simulations. ANSYS recently added Ansoft Academic product bundles to the portfolio, enabling students to address radio frequency, microwave, signal integrity, electromagnetics and mechatronics sectors.
"Our students now have access to the same powerful simulation tools that are used by professionals across the global engineering field. The software provides them with hands-on, real-world experience that will enable them to deliver more value as they move forward in their careers," said Brian Vidic, director of technology at the Swanson School.
"Traditionally, there was little overlap among various engineering disciplines," said Paul Lethbridge, academic program manager at ANSYS, Inc. "However, there is a growing trend toward blending these separate disciplines to create relatively new and emerging fields such as microsystems and mechatronics. By incorporating these coupled-physics capabilities in the ANSYS Academic portfolio, we are helping to train a new generation of 'multiphysicists,' or engineering generalists, who can meet the changing needs of industry. Whatever the user's primary engineering discipline, the multiphysics capabilities of ANSYS software allow him or her to explore beyond the limited scope of a single product, which encourages innovation and multi-scale thinking."
The University of Pittsburgh, founded in 1787, is one of the oldest institutions of higher education in the United States. Today, the University serves more than 35,000 full- and part-time students at its 132-acre Pittsburgh campus and four regional campuses. The Swanson School of Engineering's 100 faculty members serve nearly 2,500 students in six departments -- including Bioengineering, Chemical and Petroleum Engineering, Civil and Environmental Engineering, Electrical Engineering, Industrial Engineering, and Mechanical Engineering and Materials Science. The School also offers interdisciplinary programs in Bioengineering and Chemical Engineering, Bioengineering, Computer Engineering, Engineering Physics, Manufacturing Systems Engineering and Petroleum Engineering. To learn more, visit www.engr.pitt.edu or www.pitt.edu.
By the way, Dr. John A. Swanson, the founder of ANSYS, Inc. in 1970, delivered the commencement address to University of Pittsburgh graduates on May 2, 2010, and he also received from the University an honorary degree of Doctor of Science “Honoris Causa” on the same date. Dr. Swanson is also a Pitt alumnus, Pitt trustee and John Fritz Medal Winner. Dr.Swanson has donated millions of dollars to the University of Pittsburgh and its engineering school, including a $41.3 million gift in 2007 which, at that time, was the largest single gift ever by an individual to the university. He has also created the John A. Swanson Institute for Technical Excellence, which houses the John A. Swanson Center for Micro and Nano Systems; the John A. Swanson Center for Product Innovation; and the RFID Center of Excellence. He also has established the John A. Swanson Embedded Computing Laboratory in Computer Engineering. In 2007, the university renamed its School of Engineering to the Swanson School of engineering in his honor.
On May 5, 2010 Autodesk, Inc. (NASDAQ: ADSK) unveiled eight industry-oriented software suites to help students learn core design and engineering skills. The suites contain the full range of Autodesk 2D and 3D design software tools used by professionals worldwide. The bundled packages encourage a multidisciplinary educational approach, helping faculty teach key concepts that help prepare students for rewarding careers in architecture, engineering and the digital arts. These suites, offered globally, are available in English and more than 10 other languages.
