NetSuite is on a roll with whopping growth and expansion (16,000 customers, 2,000 employees, and 700 partners) and is even now talking about profitability, positive cash flow, and a hefty cash position (contrary to the popular belief that cloud software vendors are not profitable in general). The company’s third SuiteWorld annual conference brought about 5,000 attendees, which is significantly higher than the 3,000 and 1,200 attendees respectively for the previous two years’ events. While retail and multi-channel e-commerce was the main theme at SuiteWorld 2012, SuiteWorld 2013’s main theme was that manufacturing is ready for cloud computing too.

NetSuite for Manufacturing
This week’s release of NetSuite Manufacturing Edition brings to the marketplace a solution for manufacturing and product-centric companies that includes a portfolio of capabilities such as production routings and scheduling, financials for manufacturing with standard cost and work in progress (WIP) accounting, inventory management with available-to-promise (ATP), and supply chain integration. While previously NetSuite mainly targeted outsourced offshore manufacturing, NetSuite Manufacturing Edition now caters to manufacturers that make their own products. The offering is still a fairly generic discrete manufacturing solution, but it is likely that NetSuite will make it more vertical, in part based on tuck-in acquisitions and partner offerings.

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Marrying desktop and cloud design experience for more comprehensive industry workflows continues to be a theme at Autodesk. The latest Autodesk Design and Creation Suites offer access to the Autodesk 2014 software portfolio for building, product, plant, and factory design; engineering, construction, and infrastructure; and entertainment creation professionals. Read the rest of this entry »

There’s a great future in composite materials, the next generation of lighter, stronger, safer, and more energy-efficient materials.

After Siemens PLM Software acquired Vistagy more than a year ago, Autodesk yesterday announced that it has completed the acquisition of Firehole Technologies (do business as Firehole Composites), a privately held software company based in Laramie, Wyoming, that specializes in design and analysis software for composite materials. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed. Read the rest of this entry »

Autodesk, the leader in cloud-based design and engineering software, continues with its cloud software investments. Most recently, it acquired (for an undisclosed sum) technology and a development team from Allpoint Systems LLC, a small Pittsburgh, PA–based developer of software and solutions for collecting and processing LiDAR (light detection and ranging) point cloud data. The Allpoint Systems team and technology, which offers software and data processing solutions for collecting and processing LiDAR data to the roadway and building markets, will help Autodesk expand the development of cloud-based reality capture software and solutions. Read the rest of this entry »

In late November 2012, at the time of the Autodesk University 2012 conference, Autodesk, the leader in cloud-based design and engineering software, and INDYCAR, the auto racing sanctioning body behind popular racing events such as the Indianapolis 500, have signed a three-year technology partnership. INDYCAR already employs Autodesk’s desktop-based software within its operations for a variety of important functions. For example, the organization uses AutoCAD software to create detailed garage layouts before each event, which helps improve the logistics of load-in and load-out at venues.

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