PTC LiveWorx 2020 – The Race Towards Cloud and SaaS Future

Yesterday, I attended the first-ever LiverWorx event delivered fully digitally online. The recent pandemic situation made many companies to switch their conference and events plans to live online events. Check my earlier blog – PLM Conferences go digital. What to expect from your next virtual event. LiveWorx delivered yesterday an impressive example of a virtual event with live sessions, a catalog of on-demand presentation, and a social media presence.

I’m still digesting the presentations and materials. However, the main message from PTC I captured yesterday from Jim Heppelmann, PTC CEO was clear about the future of Cloud and SaaS.

PTC is focusing on SaaS transformation of the industry. By 2020, 70% of manufacturing companies will be using SaaS solutions (according to IDC)

The collaboration and remote online experience is the key. Examples of Onshape acquired by PTC just seven months ago is a great demonstration of how SaaS and cloud technologies can be used.

Note the name – PTC Atlas. This is the code name of the platform PTC is developing using Onshape technology to bring all PTC products and services to SaaS.

What is my conclusion?

PTC is clearly in the arms race to have the best cloud environment. The acquisition of Onshape is a foundation, but it is clearly not enough to bring a complete CAD/PLM portfolio to the SaaS platform. While PTC made great steps towards cloud and SaaS, the feature set, completeness of the solution, and demanded user experience of SaaS products can make a huge difference. The adoption of SaaS products is different from what the CAD and PLM industry developed in the past 20-25 years. Onshape history demonstrated a lot of interesting trends and specific requirements for SaaS products. Other vendors such as Autodesk and Dassault Systemes are also racing towards future SaaS and cloud development. It is a long race with many stops. The stickiness of cloud solutions is probably higher than what we’ve seen in the past with desktop CAD systems. So, the winners of this race will change the market share positions of vendors in the 2020s and beyond. Just my thoughts…

Best, Oleg

Disclaimer: I’m co-founder and CEO of OpenBOM developing cloud based bill of materials and inventory management tool for manufacturing companies, hardware startups, and supply chain. My opinion can be unintentionally biased.