Evan on Engineering Software

Last week, Bernard Charles, CEO of Dassault Systemes, announced that the company is going to rebrand the SolidWorks reseller channel as the "Dassault Systemes Volume Channel." 

I think this is a great idea.  I think they ought to consider going all the way, and rebranding the SolidWorks company (and product) as DassaultWorks.

Actually, I think this could be the start of a new trend.  For example, I was thinking about Fiat.  You know that they own Ferrari, right?  Just think how rebranding Ferraris as Fiats could improve things.  For example, here's the Fiat Enzo:

Oh... you don't think this is a good idea?  But the Fiat Group is an important company, with a strong brand!  It has major operations in agriculture, construction, and publishing, and in addition to Ferrari, owns Abart, Alfa Romeo, Lancia, Maserati, and Iveco.  Oh, and don't forget that it has an ownership in the well-recognized Lada automobile brand in Russia.  (Hey -- there's a thought. They could rebrand Maserati as Lada.  Think of the connotations!)

Still not convinced?  Neither am I -- yet rebranding Ferrari as Fiat makes more sense than rebranding SolidWorks as Dassault.

For some reason, Dassault's management seems to be under the impression that their corporate name brings with it a halo effect.  My sense, based on absolutely no market research at all, and only on informal conversations with CATIA users and industry pundits, is that it's more of a horns effect.  Out of all the companies in the CAD/PLM industry, Dassault has an unmatched reputation for customer-hostile policies.

Let me give you an example of how people react to Dassault: 

Last month, at COFES, I was involved in a hallway conversation with a heavy duty industry consultant (a guy with serious credibility), and one of the higher-ups from SolidWorks.  The consultant told the SolidWorks guy that their association with Dassault hurts them in the market.  This wasn't a little off-the-cuff comment -- it was a direct and to-the-point statement, made with no malice. (And, actually, this consultant, like many knowledgeable people in the industry, has great respect for SolidWorks.)   The SolidWorks guy responded, saying that it isn't a problem... because most SolidWorks customers don't even know that SolidWorks is owned by Dassault.

They will soon enough.

A couple of days ago, I asked the consultant if he had some inside information that he wasn't letting on about at COFES, and knew the branding change was imminent.  No... he was just telling the SolidWorks guy what his own research had indicated.

So far as I can tell, the only people who are likely to be really enthusiastic about this rebranding are those who work for Dassault Systemes (in France), or for Autodesk. 

As a matter of background, I was in the first wave of SolidWorks resellers, back in 1995. Vic Leventhal, SolidWorks' COO, was a former AutoCAD reseller.  He understood that, to attract the best resellers, he had to offer them a profitable business proposition.  In most cases, he did an impressive job of maximizing SolidWorks growth and revenue, while still leaving enough on the table so that the resellers were (reasonably) happy. I'm not saying Vic was a saint -- I got into some arguments with him, and I know of other resellers who were gored as a result of some aggressive moves that Vic took to keep up SolidWorks' growth.  Still, 12 years later SolidWorks has by far the strongest MCAD reseller channel in the industry, and it's mostly because Vic and his successors were able to constantly maintain the delicate balance between SolidWorks' needs, and those of its resellers.  I doubt that, given interference from Dassault, SolidWorks will be able to continue this process quite so easily.

Now, I  have an outsider's perspective, but I've seen quite a bit of evidence over time that one of the reasons why SolidWorks has continued to be so successful is that its CEOs (first Jon Hirschtick, and then John McEleney) have been effective at managing their relationship with Dassault.  This change doesn't bode well for that continuing either.

I was talking about this situation with another CAD industry consultant, and this was his take: When Dassault bought SolidWorks, it was like getting a goose that laid golden eggs.  In the past, SolidWorks has delivered enough "golden eggs" that Dassault has been willing to leave it alone.  But now, Dassault has decided it's time to put a saddle on the goose. 

Maybe it's better than killing the goose, but it's still kind of a strange thing to do.

(All the trademarks I've used here belong to their owners, e.g. Dassault, and Fiat.  The images here are parodies.  If you work for Dassault or Fiat, and are tempted to send me a warning about using your trademark, I'll probably send your letter/email to www.chillingeffects.org.)