Taking a look around at the engineering software market there are a few things that are clear and a lot of unanswered questions. 
One clear fact is that 2010 was a lot better than 2009 for most manufacturers and the engineering software vendors that serve them. From early indications, 2011 is looking even better. But there is still trepidation and a sense that things are still not settled. So what will happen to the market? What are companies doing about the uptick? How will they react, and what will the impacts be?
The Research Findings – 2009-2010
Tech-Clarity, Cyon Research, and Design Insight presented survey findings at last two COFES (Congress for the Future of Engineering Software) gatherings. These events bring together a great collection of people that are passionate about CAD, CAE, CAM, PLM, BIM, and other related topics. The research always generates some very interesting discussion. For example, in 2009 a discussion on the impact of the economy on smaller PLM and engineering software vendors sparked some hot debate between large and smaller vendors. In 2010 we reported that the smaller vendors who predicted they would “struggle but survive” were right. We also reported that the channels and VARs were hurt the most in 2009, and were the least optimistic about 2010. Follow the links above for some more insight. Looking back I am pleased at the job the collective wisdom of the survey participants has done in predicting the future of the market. After all, we are the market!
Research for 2011 – Share your Views!
Now, the time has come to gather data for COFES 2011 coming up in April of this year. This is where you come in. Please take the 2011 survey on the engineering software market to share your perspective. We want to hear from manufacturers, engineering firms, vendors, VARs, consultants, bloggers, other analysts, press, and anyone else that plays a role in this market. Help us find out if the channels and VARs were right to be concerned about 2010, and what strategies companies are adopting that may impact them further in 2011. We will share the results at COFES and then I will share my thoughts with you here.
So that was a quick peek into some past research, I hope you found it interesting. More importantly, I hope you participate in this year’s research. And I hope to see you at COFES in April to share some more lively discourse on the future of the engineering software market.