Issue link: http://digital.copcomm.com/i/1453602
16 cgw j a n u a r y • f e b r u a r y • m a r c h 2 0 2 2 W e'll remember the pandemic years for a lot of reasons, but 2021 will go down as a year of surprises. That's the finding o Jon Peddie Research (JPR) in its CAD report for 2022, based on CAD data the company has mined and an- alyzed throughout the past three years. The JPR analysts kept expecting to see a decline in revenues as a result of the pandemic and the shutdowns that accompanied it — not to mention the supply chain shortages and sales channel disruptions. However, the CAD companies saw no decline in their revenues. What has happened instead? The CAD companies have decades of experience, and even before there was a whisper of a new virus, the soware companies have been building resilience into their business models. Add to that, the successful CAD companies have a will to diversify that has defin d them and served them well in times of crisis. At the top level, the CAD industry has turned overwhelmingly to subscriptions, which means that the sharp highs and lows that accompany product releases have been smoothed out, as soware is updated regularly and pushed out to customers. Depending on their contracts, customers commit to their soware for at least a year and oen longer. At a deeper level, the design and engineer- ing industries have transformed themselves. Vendors are not selling soware packages, they are selling systems, which has allowed them to expand into adjacent and some new markets. As you might have guessed, the driver for this transformation is digitalization, and the digital twin, and it is moving like a wave through all business sectors. THE TWO FACES OF CAD Jon Peddie Research divides the CAD market into two super-segments: AEC and Manufacture; it can be argued that most sub-segments fall under one or the other. In this year's CAD report for 2022 by JPR, it appears that all major vendors have enjoyed revenue growth. The AEC indus- try — which includes Autodesk, Aveva, Bentley Systems, Hexagon, Nemetschek, and Trimble — has seen dynamic growth in spite of early setbacks as the pandemic hit local regions worldwide. Construction sites shut down, new projects were held up, and caution ruled. The construction industry has also been plagued by worker shortages and supply chain upheaval. The use of building information models (BIM) has changed the AEC industry. When fi st introduced, it was primarily an idea for architectural firms but it has grown to encompass the construction industry and all aspects of a building project. It additionally has opened the door to digital twins, facilities management, and, onward, to smart cities. CAD 2022 END OF ERA, BEGINNING OF ANOTHER WITH NEW UNCERTAINTY AND PLENTY OF PROMISE BY KATHLEEN MAHER At the dawn of 2022, JPR's study using vendor forecasts as well as its own, found the immediate future looks promising, but the problems of 2020–2021 have not disappeared. However, JPR doesn't expect any sharp drops near-term. The names are the same but the companies are taking on more work. The leading companies in the CAD market have been in business since the early 1990s and before, but their tools and their customers have changed signifi antly.