Main attraction
An ever-increasing range of products is helping to provide SMEs with affordable, large-company solutions. Charles Clarke explains.
Today's so-called mainstream CAD market is becoming very crowded. Products such as Inventor, SolidWorks, Solid Edge, IronCAD, TurboCAD, CATIA V5 and now SpaceClaim by virtue of their 'price point' (about £5,000 or less) are all being promoted as mainstream products.
This market started in 1995 with the first release of SolidWorks and it is beginning to mature, but at the 'features and functions' level there is little or no product differentiation among the various players. Most have taken traditional routes to market and all the solutions are modelling oriented.
The traditional AutoCAD Dealer model does not work well in the mainstream market. Its section of the market requires a limited number of resellers with the technical knowledge of all the products it sells and knows the customers it is doing business with.
Contrary to popular belief this is not a 'features and function' market — prospective customers need the benefits of a complete software and services solution.
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