I’ve been more than lax lately in posting, I’ve been downright lazy. I’d love to say that I’ve been too busy, but I’d be lying. I’ve just had writer’s block, I suppose. I am, however, going to try to be more diligent. Only time will tell. To that end, I want to talk about the meaning behind the title of this post.
I know of companies that, though they are on subscription, are "behind the times" in releases. I know of one company that is still using ’06 even though they’re probably paying $50,000+/year in subscription fees. The question I have is "why?". Why would this happen? This particular company is a large manufacturer and could benefit greatly from ’08. Why would they allow themselves to get behind the times? In this instance, it’s their IT department. When SolidWorks installs are managed by IT departments that don’t "get it", they end up hindering engineering. While I do understand the need for software management, software should be managed by people who understand and, God forbid, use the software. The whole reason for alpha and beta testing of the newest versions is to give the people in charge of the installs the ability to…wait for it…TEST the software prior to implementing it company wide.
SolidWorks usually releases new versions around August, with SP1.0 coming 6-8 weeks later. One would think that by December or January, a company could have all its "testing" done and implement the newest version. When an IT department is so "all-powerful", as is the case here, they end up costing the company money. I’ve heard that they’re talking about going from ’06 directly to ’08. How much time do you suppose is going to be lost while all the users try to figure out the new interface? I say "figure out", because training doesn’t come into play there. That could probably be another post…
My point is this, manage your installs wisely. You pay x-dollars/seat of SolidWorks for support and upgrades. By not upgrading, you’re throwing money out the window. That money should be benefiting the company by improving the tools when improvements are available. Granted, "improvements" may be a subjective term here, but you get my point. When an IT department is given carte-blanche over a SolidWorks install, many of them will, well, screw it up.
Ok, I’m starting to ramble here and, before I really start to rant (ala Matt), I’m going to end this post. I would, however, love to hear your thoughts on companies that fall "behind the times".
Feb 16
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