SolidWorks World 2012 is already behind us, and I wanted to take this opportunity to share some thoughts with those of you who weren’t able to attend this event.
The SolidWorks community has grown considerably over the past year. In 2011, we generated 15,939 new customers and attracted over 250,000 new users, which brings us today to 1.7 million users. To put this data into perspective, if the 1.7 million SolidWorks users formed a new city, it would be the fifth largest in the United States, ahead of Philadelphia. And that number is expected to reach or exceed 2 million by SolidWorks World 2013.
I also recently learned that over 50,000 of you have received certification through our CSWA, CSWP and CSWE programs. This is an exceptional result, which shows that mastering SolidWorks is a skill sought after by employers around the world. If you are already a SolidWorks user, the least we can say is that you have made the right choice.
SolidWorks was founded on a very simple idea: to bring the power of 3D solid modeling within the reach of every engineer. From the earliest days of SolidWorks, you, our customers, have been our priority. And eighteen years later, we still attach great importance to the customer experience. We have demonstrated to the whole world that it is possible to develop a sustainable business while treating its employees, customers, resellers and partners with dignity and respect. But we also know that our products are not perfect. They can always be better. We can always do better.
Last September, we announced the release of the 20th version of SolidWorks, with the update to version 2012. This release is quite unique because we really focused on improving the key processes that affect your day-to-day business. For example, SolidWorks 2012 allows you for the first time to calculate and compare material prices early in the design process, all right in software. This new design costing functionality is already helping some companies meet their manufacturing cost goals by providing them with real-time, automatic manufacturing cost estimates early in the design process. Some of you are already telling us that you can now create more accurate quotes than before, all with a time saving of up to 80%.
We’ve also introduced Large Design Management, which makes it easy to manage designs quickly and easily, regardless of their size. Finally, we have added many updates for the convenience of the user. These are small modifications, the impact of which is often considerable. In particular, we’ve improved the Equation Editor and simplified the process of placing balloons in drawings.
At SolidWorks, we’re committed to giving you the tools you need to design products that change the world, while improving your efficiency. We also stay true to our core design principles. Our goal: to help you easily solve complex technical problems, without adding unnecessary complications. It is this will that characterizes us. We call this making it “as easy as SolidWorks products”.
As many of you know, the R&D team is putting all its efforts into developing a new 21st century CAD platform. As CEO, it’s my responsibility to make sure we have a strategy to harness new processing power trends, technologies and solutions to deliver them to you. You’ve probably heard us say that over 90% of new features are driven by customer requests, and that remains true.
On behalf of the entire SolidWorks team, thank you all for your participation in the SolidWorks community. Our connection to the community is what keeps us moving forward. It is thanks to him that we are still so passionate about our work. But it is also it that allows us to keep our feet on the ground by forcing us to constantly ask ourselves the question “are we acting in the interests of users? “. Thanks again to everyone.
Bertrand sicot
