Cloud Based CAD Solutions – Future of Product Development

Blog • CAD & Simulation

Technology adoption in almost every facet of life continues to impact business in unexpected ways. Consumers can order an item they saw online in seconds and have it delivered to their door. The amount of flexibility given to consumers when ordering online services is unmatched.

Why shouldn’t product development be the same?

According to CBInsights, the events at the turn of the decade have exposed how vulnerable manufacturing and related industries are when facing unpredictable disruptions, such as labor shortages, tariffs, and mandated lockdowns. This contrasts with other industries that were able to accelerate the use of digital tools to meet new demands quickly.

The difference? Manufacturing and product development firms have moved product design and engineering processes to the cloud. However, all that is changing.

Cloud based CAD solutions are software that allows users to design, edit, and create 3D models entirely in the cloud. This means that instead of having to download and install software on their own computers, users can access cloud-based CAD programs directly from their web browsers. Cloud based CAD solutions are often subscription-based services, with users paying a monthly or annual fee to use the software.

Cloud based CAD solutions offer several advantages over traditional on-premises solutions, including increased flexibility, scalability, and collaboration.

Flexibility and Scalability

One of the biggest benefits of cloud based CAD solutions is that they offer increased flexibility and scalability. With on-premises solutions, you’re limited by the number of licenses you have purchased. If you need to scale up your operations, purchase additional licenses—which can be costly. With cloud based solutions, you can easily scale up or down as needed, without purchasing additional licenses. This can save you a lot of money in the long run.

Collaboration

Another big benefit of cloud based CAD solutions is that they offer increased collaboration. With on-premises solutions, it can be difficult to collaborate with others because everyone needs to be working on the same network. With cloud based solutions, everyone can access the data they need from any device without relying on company network access or workstation-class computers. This makes it easy for team members to collaborate on projects, regardless of location.

Enhance Security

Cloud based CAD solutions also offer enhanced security. Data is backed up in the cloud and can be accessed from anywhere. This is a major advantage over on-premises solutions, which are often lost or damaged in disruptive events such as floods or fires. This will be discussed in more detail below.

If you’re looking for a resilient business operation that can withstand any major disruptive event, consider moving to a cloud based solution for your CAD needs.

When choosing a new CAD solution for your business, it’s important to consider the total cost of ownership (TCO). Often, when investing in a new on-premises product development tool, the only line items on a software vendor’s quote are the upfront license costs and training.

But there are other costs to consider:

• Upfront License Costs
• Hardware and Software Requirements
• Server Management
• Networks
• Firewalls
• VPNs
• Storage
• Backup and Disaster Recovery

As you can see, many hidden costs are associated with owning and maintaining a traditional CAD solution. While the upfront license cost may seem the only expense, many other factors must be considered when budgeting for your new system.

When considering moving forward with your chosen solution, be mindful of the “iceberg effect,” where only the top 10% of costs – the license costs and training – are visible. Costs are important to configure when future-proofing your business with CAD.

Iceberg Effect: The hidden costs of on-premises product development solutions vs. an Onshape subscription.

If you already use on-premise product development software, you’ll know that the total cost of ownership is an order of magnitude higher than the software vendor suggests.

The costs involved in managing a team of engineers and their hardware and software requirements can be substantial. Companies must manage and maintain multiple servers, networks, firewalls, VPNs, storage, backups, and disaster recovery plans.

Facilities require server rooms with adequate power, cooling, fire protection, and physical security. Software must be downloaded, installed, configured, licensed, and updated yearly on each server and every client workstation. This needs an army of IT professionals to keep things running smoothly.

If your company operates across multiple sites, continents, and time zones, multiply all those costs. Implementations take longer, and maintenance or disaster recovery downtime can halt an entire business.

If you can put actual figures on all those activities, including the number of lost hours per employee and their hourly rates, you’ll get a true snapshot of what your CAD system costs you annually. It adds up to a tidy sum.

If you already use on-premise product development software, you’ll know that the total cost of ownership is an order of magnitude higher than the software vendor suggests.

A quote from a cloud-native vendor can be taken at face value.

With cloud based CAD solutions, the price is truly the price. Just add the annual software subscription costs and training (if required). The delivery mechanism makes a big difference—everything is served from the cloud and accessed through a web browser or mobile device.

Since every device has a web browser, regardless of its specification or operating system, existing hardware can be utilized without investing in the latest and greatest to get the best performance. Backups and upgrades are taken care of automatically with zero IT overhead.

If you search for any online ROI Calculator that compares cloud-native and on-premises software (and there are many, believe me), they report similar results. Some go into a lot of detail, and some are more conservative, but they all arrive at the same conclusion: Cloud native is more cost-effective than on-premise.

The amount of savings you can expect will vary from company to company. Some example figures are detailed here, and you can try them out for yourself using your numbers and Onshape’s ROI Calculator.

Cloud-native tools are being deployed in virtually every other area of a modern business to streamline operations for Remote Team Collaboration, including sales, marketing, finance, and HR. So why not product development?

Watch the video on Calculating CAD ROI Onshape vs. SOLIDWORKS to learn how Onshape can reduce overhead, improve product development processes, and give you a competitive edge. It’s time to utilize Remote Team Collaboration better for your business with CAD!

TriStar PLM Solutions welcomes questions. Feel free to CONTACT US if you can’t find what you’re looking for, or call us at 800-800-1714