Looking Ahead to the Future of SOLIDWORKS World and the 3DEXPERIENCE

As I announced during this morning’s general session, SOLIDWORKS World is changing. In 2020, the event will be known as 3DEXPERIENCE World. While change is coming, I’m here to tell you that SOLIDWORKS, and the spirit of SOLIDWORKS World, will not be left behind.

Change is constant. Back in the early days of SOLIDWORKS, many experts dismissed the technology, saying it was a toy. It was impossible to put CAD on a desktop. Think of those statements today and it’s hard not to laugh. Change came in 1995, and technology has continued to evolve at an unprecedented pace. We all need to embrace this pace of change and, as a result, strive for new possibilities. No one wants to be a mid-90s expert in 2019 and beyond. We cannot remain stagnant. We cannot rely on the past. We will continue to build on the house that SOLIDWORKS and its users designed and built, but we must respond to expanding technological needs by bringing what made desktop CAD revolutionary 25 years ago into the decade to come.

Now that you have insight into the change, I’m excited to preview what you can expect next year in Nashville. First and foremost, you can expect a whole lot of SOLIDWORKS…shocking, I know. You will still find everything you’ve come to expect each year but also applications and uses of 3D technology you may not expect. The traditional main stage content will continue, in a different venue at World, and attendees will enjoy more value and more content, NOT less. There will be a larger selection of learning opportunities, events, presentations, products, new 3D technologies, the latest in technology advancements from partners (so yes, a bigger Pavilion), and a massive influx of technology from the vast Dassault Systèmes R&D investment, hand selected by SOLIDWORKS, tailored to and for the SOLIDWORKS user. World will continue to be a place for thinking creatively and networking, and sharing visions for R&D advances in the coming decade that will benefit all attendees.

Of course, World will include SOLIDWORKS, but we also want to integrate SOLIDWORKS in the greater selection of solutions available on the 3DEXPERIENCE platform. We believe that incorporating new technologies on a desktop architecture is not scalable, hence the need to instead connect to a platform architecture that is designed for scalability and capacity. As you’ve witnessed over the past two decades, we’ve continued to drive SOLIDWORKS applications forward in terms of usability, quality, and productivity, to deliver a complete design ecosystem. Now, our focus includes cloud and platform enablement, and delivering extended functionality with 3DEXPERIENCE.Works.

3DEXPERIENCE.Works expands the ease of use and simplicity that have been hallmarks of SOLIDWORKS applications to a new category of business solutions on the 3DEXPERIENCE platform. You will become more inventive, efficient and responsive across their different processes. This will become your competitive differentiator.

3DEXPERIENCE.Works is an example of how SOLIDWORKS users will benefit from Dassault Systèmes’ large R&D investment. Basically, SOLIDWORKS went shopping at Dassault Systèmes’ HQ in France and picked technologies to incorporate into its solutions. You have been asking for simulation and other technologies to meet the needs of today’s business environment. We are uniquely able to leverage most of those needs through our own products, all with the unique SOLIDWORKS DNA that makes you efficient and productive. You have SOLIDWORKS, and now you can add new capabilities, like advanced simulation and sub-D modeling, to your design toolbox.

At the end of the day, SOLIDWORKS is technology. It is you, the user, that makes the product special. The blood, sweat, tears, and capital you’ve poured in over the decades is what makes SOLIDWORKS unique. It’s our duty as a company to continue to pay back your sweat equity. Yes, change is coming. However, our commitment to providing you with the best possible solutions for getting work done successfully and achieving your goals will not. Your openness to embrace new technology is what made SOLIDWORKS the company it is today. Your involvement and passion will shape the future of SOLIDWORKS. I’m excited to be part of this next evolution with you.