Siemens, PTC, Autodesk, and Dassault Systèmes Named Market Leaders in ABI Research’s MCAD SaaS Solution Supplier Competitive Ranking

The new Competitive Assessment by global technology intelligence firm ABI Research provides an in-depth and unbiased examination of the solutions offered by eight Mechanical Computer-aided design (MCAD) solution suppliers. The analysis focused on nine criteria segmented across innovation and implementation. These include the product's core functionality, computer-aided additions, extended functionality (generative design, AR/VR, simulation, rendering), and cloud capabilities. In addition, the report evaluates new user experience, deployment for large manufacturing enterprises, business model innovation, market share, and partner solution ecosystem.

The companies evaluated and ranked are:

Market Leaders: Siemens, PTC, Autodesk, Dassault Systèmes
Mainstream: ZWSoft
Followers: Alibre, IronCAD, TurboCAD

“Siemens (Solid Edge, NX, newly released NX X) came out on top in the competitor ranking, positioned first due to its CAD solutions providing a full suite of Computer-Aided Technology (CAx), multiple deployment options (on-premises, hybrid, SaaS), flexible pricing through subscription or token, and the most comprehensive network of solution partners which expand CAD capabilities,” states James Iversen, Industrial and Manufacturing Industry Analyst at ABI Research. With its seamless transition from on-premises to SaaS, PTC is the top innovator, as users can directly port over data and model files from CREO to its new CAD solution CREO+. Another strong point bolstering PTC’s score is customer feedback, a key criterion where PTC holds a dominant foothold through its active client engagement.

Autodesk scored well, ranking third overall with AutoCAD and Inventor, providing a robust CAD experience that serves all manufacturing verticals and having strong points in new user experience and market share. Dassault Systèmes came in fourth and scored well by offering flexible payment structures, the largest market share, and the second-largest partner ecosystem.

Innovative functionality was the most significant distinguishing factor between the leaders and the mainstream/followers. ZWSoft, Alibre, IronCAD, and TurboCAD typically serve smaller manufacturers but have viable CAD solutions for large-scale manufacturers. The pitfall for these providers comes from restricted cloud capabilities and the availability of SaaS deployment. “The vendors which fall in the mainstream and follower’s category provide strong CAD capabilities but need to work on consolidating offerings into a singular CAx solution, then deploying cloud and SaaS to bolster market share amongst large scale enterprise,” Iversen concludes.

These findings are from ABI Research’s MCAD SaaS For Large Enterprise and Manufacturing at Scale competitive ranking report. This report is part of the company’s  Industrial and Manufacturing Technologies research service, which includes research, data, and ABI Insights. Competitive Ranking reports offer a comprehensive analysis of implementation and innovation strategies to offer unparalleled insight into a company’s performance and standing compared to its competitors.