Judging from the cards and letters, I may be in the minority when I suggest a CAD Olympics could be an important factor when buying CAD software.
So what is important? I'd like to survey TenLinks' readers to find out what drives them to buy CAD software. Here are some reasons I thought of (in no particular order).
- CAD program is a market leader?
- Or, how could so many users be wrong?
- Longevity of company
- Company reputation
- Trust in brand of current CAD software
- What others in similar industry are using?
- Checklist of features, robustness
- Benchmark
- Having vendor demonstrate software with company’s specific design tasks
- Reviews in magazines or online
- Evaluation during trial period
- CAD Shoot Outs
- (Yes, I'm going to list it anyway)
- Published case histories
- Success stories, such as "XYZ Inc. Cuts Design Time at Acme"
- Ability to read/write existing company design data
- Advertising, print and online
Did I miss anything? Do let me know.
johnDr, the names of the people doing the posting are below the post. The 3dmojo post was by Alex Niehaus. The post by ToxicVoxel is something different. Just wanted to clear that up.
Posted by: Garth Coleman | October 03, 2006 at 06:46 PM
The post by toxicvoxel above is using an email adress that belongs to me. The pseudonym has been used by me on other blogs. I have no affiliation with 3Dmojo.com
Posted by: johnDr | September 19, 2006 at 12:28 PM
the reason i buy cad autocad software is to stay current
because as a CADD technical support consultant it is the reason im in business
Posted by: larry ostrander | September 17, 2006 at 07:04 PM
All of the above.
Posted by: Richard Williams | September 17, 2006 at 11:18 AM
Generally it is a combination of the following two factors:
1. Peer pressure – (Remember in your college days you feel ‘backward’ if you don’t smoke or drink because everybody seems to be doing it?). There is so much hype and discussion about the ‘never before capabilities’ latest version and everybody around us seems to be using it.
2. You are compelled to upgrade by the vendor policy.
Rest all is hogwash. :)
- Sanjay Kulkarni
Posted by: Sanjay Kulkarni | September 17, 2006 at 04:36 AM
We rate on increased profit margins. Will this software make us money or cost us money. After all thats what its all about, right?. If its a little known company or a big corp doesn't really matter to us. If after the purchase and a set timeframe we set for this software to be profitable thats all that matters. Legacy data is a buzz we don't get caught up in. Lets face virtually all CAD software can migrate your legacy in a areasonable fashion if really needed.
Posted by: Craig | September 13, 2006 at 08:04 PM
An important factor not on your list is the availability of trained staff for a specific CAD system considered for purchase. Can you find operators at short notice when you hit that deadline bottleneck. If available how do rates compare to operators using GunToTheHeadAndUpgradeNowCAD?
Posted by: ToxicVoxel | September 13, 2006 at 02:59 PM
Hi, Roopinder. Cool poll. We like #11 and have a little more to say (as usual (-: ) at www.3dmojo.com
Posted by: Alex Neihaus | September 13, 2006 at 01:21 PM
I believe #2, #4 and #11 drive the process. Nobody ever got fired for buying AutoCAD (as an example) because it's been around for 20 years (#2), everybody is using it (#4) and chances are that your data archives are compatible with it (#11). If I were to add another to the list it would be cost and/or upgrade policies.
Posted by: Robert Green | September 13, 2006 at 11:31 AM
another factor is occasionally, one or more members of staff already experinced with that software.
Posted by: Donovan | September 13, 2006 at 09:58 AM