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A Fifth of CAD/CAM Software Users Consider Renting for the Future
12/6/01



While only 2% of CAD/CAM using organisations currently rent their software, a fifth of them would consider doing so in future, according to recent research conducted by The Business Advantage Group Plc.

CAD/CAM users were interviewed about their attitudes to software upgrades as part of a telephone survey of 253 CAD/CAM user sites held in March 2001. The sample was taken from Business Advantage’s database of 20,000 UK CAD/CAM user sites.

The research also found that of the CAD/CAM using companies surveyed:


  • Only 13% acknowledged a need to ever increase their CAD capacity to cover short-term overloads.
  • Half of those willing to consider renting expressed a preference for receiving the software on disc, with the remainder preferring to download via the Internet, or use an ASP.
  • The proportion of companies in the Mechanical Engineering sector willing to consider renting was higher than other sectors.


According to Chris Turner, Managing Director of The Business Advantage Group, "The notion of software licensed for a term rather than in perpetuity is still an emerging one; from this perspective the fact that one in five companies is prepared to consider renting is encouraging for those vendors looking to exploit this avenue. Giving CAD/CAM users the ability to cope with short-term fluctuations in workload is a frequently cited benefit to users of the renting option. However, 87% of our sample said they have no need to obtain extra CAD seats to overcome short-term increases in workload. Looking at the CAD market as a whole, this indicates that if renting is to really take-off, these short-term needs may not be the main driver. Users will need to be convinced that there are greater overall benefits for them and that term licenses are at least as cost-effective as fully purchased ones."