Is Subscription-Based CAD Inevitable?

Is subscription-based CAD the way of the future? Other software vendors like Adobe and Microsoft seem to believe so. Adobe’s Creative Cloud and Microsoft’s Office 365 are the featured products on their websites and they will do everything they can to get you to get you to purchase them rather than the standalone versions.
But will CAD follow the same trend? I don’t have a Magic 8 Ball, but here are some reasons why I would argue the answer is yes:

• Budgets are tight  
• Material costs are rising so you need to be financially flexibleCAD is an enabling technology, but many companies are more concerned with having a single integrated product development environment 
• CAD is becoming a commodity
• Cheap/free CAD doesn’t get the job done (I “can” walk 20 miles to work, but why should I when there are other more effective means of transportation) 
• Growing pressure on cost reduction for product development as well as product operation 
• Global competition

Subscription-based CAD is conducive to product development needs and the needs of the organization as a whole. For example, release only one new product a year? Subscribe to a seat of CAD rather than purchasing it outright so you can have it when you need it. Or, do you have a need to reduce product development costs while increasing design quality? Subscription-based CAD allows greater collaboration at a lower cost. You can have the flexibility to have more of your design team focused on innovation in the conceptual phase at a fraction of the cost. Are you a consultant that lives on a project-to-project basis? Get CAD when you need it.

So, are you ready to take the leap? Click here to learn more and to choose the package that’s right for you (starting at $130 a month).

Labels: CAD, CAD design, subscription