Economy Still the Elephant in the Room

WALTHAM, MA, Apr 7, 2010 - Overheard at Autodesk AEC Tech Day: a major architecture firm has only enough contracts to last through June.

As the firm happens to be a poster child for Autodesk, one has to wonder how all the technology Autodesk is showing us will be received. The 2011 products no doubt have a wealth of enhancements, additions, gee whiz features -- too numerous to mention, as a matter of fact. The press is dutifully putting it to paper, computers, voice and video recorders, which at some point will emerge in publications, web sites, blogs, etc. In a ideal world -- or at least a up economy -- we'd be sure our readers would be slurping it up. After all,  we are seeing major releases of major products.

But we are far from an ideal world.

It is a world of no job or job insecurity. It is a world of contracts that once were on the horizon but have now disappeared from sight. The boss is getting fidgety and there sure are quite a few empty cubicles. We're avoiding our favorite restaurants and eating at home has gone from steaks to hamburger -- and might soon be rice and beans. Forget the European vacation, let's just chill at home this summer. And the kids don't need to go to Johns Hopkins, don't we have a pretty good junior college?

And into these lives of quiet desperation, do we dump thousands of words, pictures and videos of the CAD's latest bells and whistles?

Comments

[Dave Ault]

UGS Calls on Marketing to Put Solid Edge in the Lead
An interview with UGS VP Bruce Boes, who thinks other products getting more credit than Solid Edge is just plain unfair
by Roopinder Tara, Editor, TenLinks, October 7, 2005
Bruce Boes, VP UGS Velocity Series Marketing

TenLinks tracked down Bruce Boes, VP UGS Velocity Series Marketing, at the recent Solid Edge user conference. Despite running the show, Bruce made time to talk to us. (For a report on the user conference, see "Solid Edge Seeks Spotlight")

Bruce has been with UGS for 3 years. UGS has shown growth in each quarter of the last 3 years. Bruce is too modest to make the connection. You see, Bruce is more of a company man. He’ll devote most of our time together convincing me that Solid Edge is the best (SolidWorks and Inventor be damned) and that UGS is a great company. “What do you expect, I’m in marketing,” he says with a smile.

UGS Not Content to Let Products Sell Themselves

I talked with Bruce after Tony Affuso, president and CEO of UGS, had put him on the spot. Tony had told all assembled (600 estimated) Solid Edge users, vendors, etc., that UGS was not going to depend on the product selling itself, as it had in the past—they were now going to market the product! That put the ball solidly in Bruce’s court.

Here is a blast from the past for you Roopinder. We don't have to worry about some companies inundating us with pictures and words now do we. What can the upper management wonks at Siemens be thinking or drinking I don't know.