Solidworks: Accompanying the ecosystem in all its breadth

Details: Released: 22.03.2021; Last updated: 07.11.2023; Hits: 11496

Dassault Systèmes SolidWorks has a new Director Eurocentral - Customer Role Experience. Jeroen Buring comes from Dassault Systèmes' own ranks and therefore brings a great deal of expertise to the table. We asked the passionate “digitalist” about his new role at Solidworks.

Content | Questions to Jeroen Buring

Jeroen Buring and his goals
- You have been the new Director Eurocentral - Customer Role Experience since November last year. What would you like to achieve in this new position and what role do you play at Dassault Systèmes?
- Which market segments are you particularly focussing on?
Summary of the first virtual 3DExperience World
DS Solidworks and the Corona crisis

The former webmaster, who built the very first websites at Hewlett Packard at the beginning of his career, also reports, among other things, on the first digital one 3dexperience World, the Covid-19 product changes and how he sees the future. The interview was given on March 1, 2021.

Jeroen Buring and his goals

You have been the new Director Eurocentral - Customer Role Experience since November last year. What would you like to achieve in this new position and what role do you play at Dassault Systèmes?

I've been with Dassault Systèmes since 2008 and have my predecessor Uwe Burk actively supported in successfully implementing his various strategies. I don't want to change that much about these successes, such as increasing growth rates, building up market segments and realizing gains. However, we are now seeing, not least because of the Covid-19 pandemic, that cloud technologies are once again moving into the foreground of market needs. In the last few years that had played less of a role.

I therefore also see my role in the Implementation of this ecosystem to accompany in its full range. There are customers who prefer the cloud because they may already have been hacked, others want the systems on their own infrastructure. Then there are cautious customers, small and medium-sized companies: I want our entire Solidworks team to support all needs so that each customer can find the optimal solution for themselves. In the meantime, the infrastructure has improved in many places. Of course, that plays into our 'strategy hands', because Solidworks has invested in cloud platform systems in recent years against the background of digital transformation.

Which market segments are you particularly focussing on?

For mechanical engineering, Solidworks already offers a large, tailor-made portfolio for both series and special machine construction. In 2020 the areas are very strong due to Corona Home and Lifestyle added. From the wonderful peloton to mobile homes, there are many extremely growing product portfolios here. It's also interesting to see how industries are now intermingling. The plant manufacturer builds his technology in Buildings on, suddenly joins the television Bicycle and so on.

Summary of the first virtual 3DExperience World

At the beginning of February Solidworks organized the first virtual 3DExperience World. How is the conclusion?

Personally, I missed the people. On the other hand, this format has 37.000 people reached. There is no room for them in any real hall. In the past, only a small group of 70 to 100 people came to America from Europe for face-to-face events. For example, 1700 Europeans from the sales area for which I am responsible (D, AT, CH, CZ, HU, SK, POL) were now involved. It is also advantageous that the sessions can be viewed again and again afterwards. Still, you don't have the same concentration. All in all, this first digital user meeting was a complete success.

The motto was Freedom to create? What does Solidworks want to achieve with this?

By freedom to create we mean the freedom to choose in which way the development takes place. Working in the home office, in the company, on the go, from wherever Solidworks would like to enable reliable access to all data in the cloud. The license models should also offer a lot of freedom here. With this in mind, Solidworks also presented many cloud topics at the 3DExprience World.

How far are you on the path of the industrial renaissance that you initiated about four years ago?

The industrial renaissance is about new business models to support. The invention of new business models requires the acquisition of information and people are also the focus in order to realize the invention of new business models. For example, selling a service instead of a product can be seen. In order for Solidworks to digitally support such invention processes even better, there was a whole lot of intellectual topics for this type of solution at the 3DExperience World.

One issue is Business intelligence with the help of big data on the Internet, the advantage of which can be explained very nicely with an example: A designer develops an innovation that may be suitable for a patent. In the past, the designer had to spend a lot of time researching whether there was already a patent. Today you can get this information automatically via the Business Analyst role on the basis of Netvibe's technology and also see which patents already exist for similar products.

Such Information at the hand of people Solidworks is very advanced in terms of technology. This example shows that the use of business intelligence within development and production will have a very high priority when selecting future systems or services. Even though we are very far advanced here, the topic is not yet being widely accepted.

A second issue is that Platform thinking. Almost all of the world's major system houses are on the move here. Today, our customers are also increasingly selling services for their products. The developers have to rethink this, everything is becoming a little smarter, and a lot of electronics are being added. With this in mind, the products gain know-how. At best, like the Peloton example, they are ordered millions of times when two technologies come together and a certain coolness can be represented.

DS Solidworks and the Corona crisis

What influence has the Covid-19 pandemic had on the development of your products?

Solidworks has prioritized how we can help our customers during this time. How can we support them with virtualization, for example. Solidworks has new products such as ours Web browser based XDesign roles Developed on our 3DExperience platform, which can be used anywhere without great installation effort. We have improved the LAN / WAN performance of existing products so that they can be used reliably in the home office. That took a lot of development and time.

How will this development continue after the pandemic?

That is a difficult question: up until now, product developers have been used to sitting next to each other at work and being able to exchange ideas at any time. The developers have learned in the last year that there is another way with the cloud, virtual conferences & Co. they got along very well. I've talked to some development managers who say they'll be working from home two or three days a week after this time. For us that means that Solidworks with its CAD products Enable long-term mobility needs.

What would you be happy about in terms of business, what is important to you?

I would be happy if the The start-ups' spirit of innovation would move a little more into the established companies. I push it a little myself every time I talk to our customers and we work with a lot of interesting start-ups. They are simply faster than the long-established companies, they think more openly and try new things. I also see this thinking and this free spirit in the “Freedom to create” motto of the 3DExperience World.

Soliworks exhibits at the Hannover Messe 2021.