Siemens Acquires Leading CAE Developer CD-adapco
Siemens PLM recently announced the acquisition of CD-adapco, a leading developer of engineering simulation software. CD-adapco is particularly well-known in the areas of computational fluid dynamics (CFD) and finite element analysis (FEA).
The deal will cost Siemens a cool $970 million. This deal is further confirmation of the importance of CAE in general, and the importance of CFD simulation in particular, in the ever increasing digitization of product development.
According to Siemens, CD-adapco and its software will be integrated into the PLM software business, which is part of Siemens’ Digital Factory division.
“By adding advanced engineering simulation tools such as CFD to our portfolio and experienced experts in the field to our organization, we’re greatly enhancing our core competencies for model-based simulation that creates a very precise digital twin of the product,” said Anton Huber, CEO of the Digital Factory Division.
Both the CAE and simulation areas are becoming increasingly important as companies aim to digitize their entire product development process. This trend is supported by the major PLM players who continue to buy solutions and companies that can help them develop cutting-edge simulation technologies.
Siemens is one of the companies that consistently makes investments in this area. The acquisition of Belgian CAE developer LMS International for €680 million in 2012 is another recent example. LMS is best known as a supplier and developer of software tools for testing and simulation of mechatronics-related systems.
Through the LMS acquisition, Siemens gained access to software such as LMS Virtual.Lab for simulation and optimization of the performance of mechanical systems, including structural analysis, NVH (Noise, Vibration and Harshness), durability, system dynamics and dynamic movements, to name just a few.
By securing the CD-adapco portfolio, Siemens PLM now has access to software solutions covering the disciplines of fluid dynamics (CFD), solid mechanics (CSM), heat transfer, particle dynamics, flow pressure loss, electrochemistry, acoustics and more.
CD-adapco is based out of Melville, New York, with 40 offices around the world. The company employs 900 people and had a revenue of close to $200 million at the end of the last fiscal year. For the last three years, the company has seen an annual growth rate of about 12 percent; a growth rate that Siemens expects will continue.
PTC Updates Augmented Reality Platform
PLM software developer PTC has released new enterprise-focused features for its recently acquired Vuforia augmented reality platform. These features include Windows 10 support and an object recognition solution called VuMark.
According to PTC, these improvements will help address the broader enterprise market opportunities related to augmented reality, a technology that so far has primarily been used for entertainment and marketing.
“PTC believes the technology has arrived to completely transform the way we interact with and experience things, and that technology is augmented reality,” said Jay Wright, Vuforia general manager & senior vice president at PTC. “Our goal with Vuforia is to deliver an augmented reality experience on top of all types of things - and fundamentally change the future of work.”
One of the ways that PTC seeks to achieve this lofty goal is through the VuMark barcode solution. According to the company, VuMark is a universal solution that can deliver an AR experience on any object while allowing the design freedom to create a custom look and feel.
VuMark also provides a simple method for encoding data such as a URL or a product serial number. It overcomes the limitations of existing bar code solutions that do not support AR experiences and detract from a product’s appearance.
Vuforia is one of PTC’s most recent acquisitions, and is playing a part in the company’s strategy surrounding the Internet of Things. When PTC purchased Vuforia from Qualcomm Connected Experiences for $65 million in October of last year, PTC president and CEO Jim Heppelmann stated that the technology would be used to “merge the digital and physical worlds.”
The platform has over 200,000 developers who have used it to build more than 20,000 apps for phones, tablets and digital eyewear.
PTC states that support for Windows 10 and VuMark will be made publicly available to all developers this spring. It will also be available ahead of time to selected developers as part of the Vuforia Early Access Program.
TechniaTranscat Extends Major Automotive PLM Agreement
TechniaTranscat, Europe’s largest reseller and consultant for Dassault Systemes’ PLM products, recently announced that it has extended a major PLM agreement with "an unnamed leading German OEM/vehicle manufacturer.” The three year contract is valued at €8 million and includes training, business and methodology consulting, a help desk and support for the customer's infrastructure.
A major part of the delivery is based on a Service Level Agreement (SLA) delivery model.
“This is a confirmation of our delivery capabilities, our PLM knowledge and our strategy, which is to have a strong local presence in the major German automotive clusters,” said Rolf Wiedmann, PLM director at TechniaTranscat DACH.
SAP Reports Massive Growth from Cloud Solutions
German ERP giant SAP, one of the largest providers of PLM software, reported an impressive fourth quarter of 2015. Total revenue for the full year landed at €20.8 billion, an increase of 18 percent compared to the previous year.
Interestingly, new cloud based technologies made a solid entry into the SAP numbers. The increase in "new cloud reservations" was 103 percent, to €883 million; while revenues for cloud subscriptions and support increased by 110 percent to reach almost €2.3 billion. In total, revenues related to software and cloud solutions increased by 20 percent to €17.2 billion.
“Our main strength in 2015 is that we have been able to show that our new S/4 HANA database is now on track to get a definite breakthrough,” said SAP CEO Bill McDermott.
McDermott also noted that SAP’s complete vision of the cloud is what differentiates the company from its competitors both in terms of end-to-end and point solutions.
“Our fantastic result for 2015 is validation that we have chosen the right strategy, with innovations around digitization in general and cloud computing in particular helping our customers become true digitized businesses,” McDermott added.