Rumour about SW buying Conisio. 3

[GoWithTheFlo]

Today at my job I heard a rumour about SolidWorks buying Conisio. (For those of you that don't know, Conisio is a program that lets you organize files and projects like PDM).

Anyways, I was wondering if anyone knew for sure or could confirm the rumour.

It could be a good thing as I have heard that Conisio is more powerful than PDM and also a lot more user-friendly. I have not tried it though. Are there any happy (or unhappy) Conisio users out there?

Salutations.

 

[ctopher]

I have never seen Conisio and never heard or read the rumor. Can you find out from your coworkers where the rumor originated from?

Chris
Systems Analyst, I.S.
SolidWorks Pro 06/PDMWorks 06
AutoCAD 06
ctopher's home site (updated 06-21-05)
FAQ559-1100
FAQ559-716

 

[GoWithTheFlo]

As with any good rumor, a friend of his told him, but he does not know where he got the information.

Maybe it really is just a rumor, but I was wondering if it could mean that PDM would get replaced by Conisio.

Once again, does anyone have ever used Conisio? Is it really that good?

 

[Heckler]

It would be my guess that SWx is after a true product lifecycle management (PLM) package. This would make them on the level with CATIA and Pro/e.

Best Regards,

Heckler
Sr. Mechanical Engineer
SW2005 SP 5.0 & Pro/E 2001
Dell Precision 370
P4 3.6 GHz, 1GB RAM
XP Pro SP2.0
NVIDIA Quadro FX 1400
o
_`\(,_
(_)/ (_)

Never argue with an idiot. They'll bring you down to their level and beat you with experience every time.

 

[dezignstuff]

SolidWorks / Dassault already has SmarTeam, which in my opinion is very powerful but not nearly worth the commitment it takes to keep it going.

I don't believe that PDMWorks is going to go away.

Conisio doesn't really compete with either the high end SmarTeam or the low end PDMWorks. I could see it being acquired to eliminate a competitor and assimilate technology, and possibly fill that mid-level role where it seems to belong.

As a product, I've seen it, and it is easy to use, but my impression was that it had an odd approach to vaulting. It might be one of those products that doesn't change file names or use a proper vault. It might just record the locations of files wherever they are, and manage them from there. That may not be right, but I do remember being not so impressed with their approach to the vault. I did like the rest of the product, though. It uses Windows Explorer for most of the interface and claim to be able to train users in 5 minutes.

 

[ctopher]

I don't believe that PDMWorks is going to go away.

Conisio doesn't really compete with either the high end SmarTeam or the low end PDMWorks. I could see it being acquired to eliminate a competitor and assimilate technology, and possibly fill that mid-level role where it seems to belong.

I 100% agree

Chris
Systems Analyst, I.S.
SolidWorks Pro 06/PDMWorks 06
AutoCAD 06
ctopher's home site (updated 06-21-05)
FAQ559-1100
FAQ559-716

 

[smcadman]

I Googled this and couldn't find anything resembling SW buying Conisio.

The system supports any application running on a Windows-based computer including CAD programs such as SolidWorks and all Microsoft Office® programs such as Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Project, and Outlook. Rather than struggle with cumbersome interfaces, users perform all functions in Conisio through Windows Explorer or one of its other integrations.

http://swcommunity.com/news_full.php?cpfeatureid=11248

http://www.solidworks.com/pages/partners/PartnerDetails.html?ID=1032&productid=449

Either this is a rumor or SW may want an easier-to-use PDM - PLM application. How many times have you read on this forum about how finicky PDMWorks or SmartTeam is to use? Eating up the competition sounds reasonable also.

Flores
SW06 SP4.1

 

[GoWithTheFlo]

I never thought about the ‘’eating the competition’’ theory, but it sounds reasonable…

 

[GBor]

...but it sounds reasonable

Generally I would agree, but this isn't the way SolidWorks Corporation typically works. With a PDM-PLM application, they may be more willing to purchase companies since these applications directly enhance the total package for most if not all users, but specific applications, they seem to try and interface. I'm really speaking more of specialty products, but...

 

[smcadman]

Maybe absorb would be a better word. At a SW conference, they said SW bought Intellicad, but it was actually licensing IntelliCAD instead. From IntelliCAD, the DWGEditor was born.

Have any of you seen the new Easter Egg in SP4.1? Now that's funny.

Flores
SW06 SP4.1

 

[ctopher]

Easter Egg?

Chris
Systems Analyst, I.S.
SolidWorks Pro 06/PDMWorks 06
AutoCAD 06
ctopher's home site (updated 06-21-05)
FAQ559-1100
FAQ559-716

 

[Heckler]

SWx could be trying to build something similiar to the PTC Product Development System which uniquely delivers Web-based architecture that supports today's globally distributed environment.

Don't get me wrong - PDMWorks is a great product but it falls way short to a true PLM


Best Regards,

Heckler
Sr. Mechanical Engineer
SW2005 SP 5.0 & Pro/E 2001
Dell Precision 370
P4 3.6 GHz, 1GB RAM
XP Pro SP2.0
NVIDIA Quadro FX 1400
o
_`\(,_
(_)/ (_)

Never argue with an idiot. They'll bring you down to their level and beat you with experience every time.

 

[dezignstuff]

SW /DS has purchased companies for:

- toolbox (Cimlogic)
- PDMWorks (DesignSource)
- SmarTeam
- Cosmos
- ACIS (Spatial)

Purchasing another wouldn't be out of range.

I don't believe anyone would argue that PDMW is a "true PLM" application. It's usually billed as workgroup file management, which seems appropriate to me.

 

[crjones]

In February Dassault bought MatrixOne to add to it PLM products

 

[ng89]

In 2003, my company began using Conisio. I believe at the time we were only the third or fourth U.S. cmpany using Conisio. They are based out of Sweden (if my memory serves me correctly).

We have been satisfied overall with what we need Conisio for, which is primarily basic document management. It is much more powerful than what we actually use it for though.

Our biggest gripe is that there seems to be a number of compatibility issues between Conisio and SolidWorks. We have also been having a lot of SolidWorks crashes and recently I isolated the cause of them – a Conisio add-in in SolidWorks. Support has also been harder to get in recent months.

Within the last few months, I believe Conisio became a Certified SW Gold Partner, so I’m hoping that solves some of the compatibility issues. Also maybe of note is the following release:

“GCS are the authors of Conisio. Based in Stockholm, Sweden, GCS specialize in lifecycle management software for design data. Founded in 1993 as a subsidiary of the German based company Genius CAD-Software GmbH, GCS developed mechanical CAD applications for Autodesk. Prior to acquisition by Autodesk in 1998, more than 150,000 licenses were sold. Between 1998 and 2004, GCS was a fully-owned subsidiary of TurnIT, a public company group. At that time, TurnIT had a turnover in excess of $110M, with over 1,000 employees. In early 2005, GCS were taken into private ownership through a management buyout, and private investors were brought in.”


Windows 2000
P4 2.40 GHz
Video Card -
Manufacturer: NVIDIA Corporation
Card: Quadro4 900 XGL/PCI/SSE2
Driver: 6.14.10.7184

 

[pdybeck]

Its official.

http://www.solidworks.com/pages/news/viewrelease.html?prid=362

Pete

 

[SBaugh]

This application will not be taking place of PDMworks in case any of you are wondering... at least not anywhere real soon.

Regards,

Scott Baugh, CSWP

http://www.scottjbaugh.com

faq731-376

 

[dezignstuff]

Wow. Let's start some more rumors, like subscription is going to be free for all existing customers!

 

[CorBlimeyLimey]

Hey, dezignstuff, pass around whatever it is your smoking.


Helpful SW websites FAQ559-520
How to get answers to your SW questions FAQ559-1091

 

[rockguy]

I'll second the free subscription or least a multi-tiered plan so you only pay for what you actually use.

Rob Rodriguez CSWP
President: Northern
Vermont SolidWorks User Group

http://www.robrodriguez.com

(updated 5/01/06)
SW 2006 SP 4.0