More stickiness for Solidworks’ ecosystem
Solidworks announced they’ve acquired Centric Software.
Readers are likely familiar with Solidworks, one of the leading industrial 3D modeling systems, from which countless 3D printable models have been made. The company has acquired a majority stake in Centric Software, and thus it’s highly likely Solidworks will deeply integrate their functionality into the ever-expanding Solidworks ecosystem.
But what does Centric Software do? They are an automation company that provides tools for product design, including PLM, Product Lifecycle Management.
These are highly critical functions for many industries, who otherwise would be swamped with data, workflows, product versions, notes and everything else. Centric Software boasts of over 200 major manufacturers using their solutions to ease product design.
One example function is AI-based image searching. You can imagine the design division of a product manufacturer having zillions of possible textures available to consider for use in a new product. The Centric Software tools allow for rapid and intelligent searching to find the right texture.
This and similar Centric Software features are not things you’d find directly in Solidworks, but yet they are functions you probably would require if you were designing a product. This move by Solidworks adds to their ecosystem by including this function in a more natural way – at least in the future when they announce some formal integrations.
It also gives a big boost to Centric Software, who, through the stickiness of Solidworks’ ecosystem, will no doubt attract a lot more users. It’s also possible their tools will be positioned by Solidworks to be more easily available to smaller businesses.
This is the thought we’re having: making it easier to design 3D objects for business purposes can only make the likelihood of increased 3D printing higher. Thanks, Solidworks!
Via Centric Software and Dassault Systèmes
