Monthly subscriptions for CAD software improve flexibility for larger manufacturers

Last week I blogged about easy access to professional CAD software for inventors and startup manufacturers, and how this is helping them meet their needs for excellent design tools while minimizing their capital outlay and maximizing their flexibility. In this blog I want to focus on the experience of largermanufacturing organizations who are also benefiting from monthly subscriptions of Solid Edge.

An example is Kimball Office a division of Kimball International, a furniture manufacturer based in Jasper, Indiana, USA. Kimball is a significant user of Solid Edge software and you can read a case study or watch a video about the productivity improvements that they are experiencing in their design processes. I was particularly interested to discover how Kimball is using synchronous technology to make better use of legacy data, and the impact that it having on enabling designers to be more creative (and I just came across a new article from Desktop Engineering on how they are reverse engineering proven design components into Solid Edge so they can re-use them in new designs).

In a recent interview with Ricardo Espinosa, Kimball’s R&D  Engineering Initiatives Manager, we found out how they are using monthly subscriptions of Solid Edge to give them the flexibility they need to meet peaks in demand for design work.These licenses are used by Kimball’s consultants, contractors and interns, and the flexibility offered by monthly subscriptions has avoided the need to expand their base of perpetual licenses. As Ricardo says “Buying additional license for a month, or a few months is too expensive, so renting those licenses is the exact solution for us.” Another alternative for Kimball would have been for their designers to work in shifts, but the additional capacity that monthly subscriptions has given them has avoided this situation.

I am interested to hear from other manufacturerswho obtain their software (not just CAD software) on a subscription basis. I have heard that our program is quite flexible compared with some others, the software is identical to that available through perpetual licenses, and users can choose the level of capability they need. Subscriptions can also be suspended at times that they are not required and reactivated easily. As Ricardo says “We use it just as we need it!”



Last week Karsten Newbury briefed industry analysts on the Solid Edge monthly subscriptions program, including a recent expansion that make these software subscriptions available in 24  countries. You can read Monica Schnitger’s blog post “Solid Edge subscriptions, affordable, professional CAD” with her reaction to these latest updates.