Explaining the Evolution to 3DEXPERIENCE World

After making the announcement at this year’s SOLIDWORKS World, many people have asked why we would change the name of an event that, after all, has been very successful for more than twenty years?

We want our major event to be a reflection and showcase of the deep transformation that we, at SOLIDWORKS, have decided to undertake a few years back and yes, it’s about the concept of “experience.”

Let me take a step back and clarify what I mean by that.

Starting towards the end of the last century there has been a lot of research around the business value companies can obtain by creating “experiences” for their customers while providing goods and services. In 1996 Andy Grove famously said that the computer industry was more about the delivery of life-like interactive experiences than building and selling personal computers. The same year Silicon Graphics opened a demo center in Mountain View, CA, that enabled its customers to have immersive experiences with 3D visualization, which the SGI CEO called “experiential computing.”

We all now understand and appreciate why Apple products are so successful and why people line up at Starbucks stores. Neither invented mobile communication or coffee shops, but both are delighting their customers with unique ways of interacting and by providing the consistent quality of service that everybody is now trying to emulate.

At SOLIDWORKS we have put a lot of effort into creating a unique user experience aimed at removing friction between the creative process of design and the actual realization of a product. We do this through a lot of research in human-computer interaction and observing our customers’ workflows while listening to their recommendations. This is certainly at the heart of what SOLIDWORKS is, and that is not going to change. We obsessively focus on improving that fluidity of response and reliability of outcome that our users have come to count on.

There is a lot more about the transformative force of “experience” thinking. Producing unforgettable experiences has been described by many economists as the next stage of value creation. We certainly believe it is at the foundation of the Industry Renaissance, as we even call our platform for business and industry innovation, the 3DEXPERIENCE platform.

The transformation of SOLIDWORKS World into 3DEXPERIENCE World therefore, further elevates ourvalue proposal for our customers at the level of experience.

First, this means striving to foster a human-centric approach to technological advances and innovation, because we believe that design has to be for the service of human life, therefore human enterprises have to work in harmony with nature and be inspired by nature.

Second, experiences are also about creating a connection on a personal level. We want to know each of our users in order to deliver exactly the value they need and ask for, while also nurturing their growth by providing knowledge and know-how to achieve their goals.

Third, experiences are inclusive; we want to open up new possibilities for everybody by supporting the creation of networks and marketplaces that reveal and promote excellence across our vast ecosystem.

We believe that our transformation will further expand our ecosystem because the values of experience as outlined above will inspire a larger audience from designers and engineers to entrepreneurs, students, educators, makers and hobbyists alike.

We want our iconic event to be a memorable experience itself! We want to make it meaningful to all attendees; we want a combination of large, inclusive, galvanizing moments and targeted, focused, audience-specific experiences. But, most of all we want to invite people from any business and industry to come and share the excitement of our vision and realize what is possible through the creations of the members of our community.

We have always said that innovation happens at the intersection of science, art and technology. Now, we want our event to further expand along this axis and spark the passion for what we call the Authentic Design Experience.

So welcome to the 3DEXPERIENCE World, a world of life-centric innovation, wonders and inspiration. If you would like to attend 3DEXPERIENCE World in Nashville, TN, February 9-12th, 2020, please click here to register.