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Digital Transformation for Small and Medium Businesses How can small and medium businesses meet increasing pressures—creating innovative products that cost less and get to market first—without adding resources? With digital transformation, even the smallest organizations can leverage technology to level the playing field with large enterprises.

Digital transformation isn’t just an industry buzzword—small and medium businesses across the globe are putting technology to work to support their business processes, improve the methodology of innovation and provide greater value to their customers.

What is Digital Transformation?

A recent IDC survey of small and medium businesses shows that almost half agree that digital transformation will be essential to their company’s survival in the next 3-5 years. And many are already well underway in their transformative journey:

90% are budgeting for digital transformation

73% have begun the process of digital transformation

46.2% say technology levels the playing field vs. larger corporations

45.7% say digital transformation has helped free up resources and allowed business growth

As small and medium businesses invest in engineering, design and product development processes, they find that engineering and manufacturing can collaborate more easily, they gain business agility and can respond more quickly and precisely to changing customer demands, and they can bring their products to market faster. Where will your journey take you?

Overview Read the IDC study: Digital Transformation in Product Design and Development: The Opportunity for SMB Manufacturers This IDC InfoBrief examines the current and future investment plans of small and medium businesses (SMBs) so that firms can see where an adjustment in their investment plans for product design and development might be appropriate.

Industry 4.0

Digital initiatives are all a part of what is being called the next industrial revolution, also referred to as Industry 4.0, which enables greater business agility and profitability. Over 60% of midsize manufacturers (500 – 3,000 employees) either have or plan to have a smart, connected Industry 4.0 initiative in the coming year, according to IDC.

What does this mean for you? Manufacturers need to educate themselves and take action, or risk being left behind. But you don’t need to get fully “connected” overnight – the key is to get started on your digital journey. Digitalization of your product development process – from concept through delivery – will allow your company to move faster, achieve greater flexibility, and exploit new market opportunities.

Research indicates that digitalization helps small to midsize manufacturers gain a competitive edge by

• enabling greater collaboration both internally and externally
• increasing productivity in product design and development
• improving the ability to respond more quickly to changing market demands

Most importantly, it gives you a chance to get ahead – and keeps you from getting left behind.

 

What technologies can you leverage?

How can small and medium businesses take the first steps towards digital transformation?

More Productive Concept Design	Mobility
Generative design capabilities add machine intelligence to concept design. Define constraints, and the software automatically computes geometric solutions.	Access design projects from anywhere, with solutions that range from mobile viewing to full 3D design sessions and touch-based design interaction.
Cloud Computing/Software as-a-Service (SaaS)	3D Printing
Quickly share your data across design resources and with suppliers and customers, without being weighed down by hardware or IT support intensive platforms.	From prototypes to final products, 3D printing allows speed and agility for testing, customer review and feedback, and visualization.

See how Solid Edge enables Digital Transformation Solid Edge brings Digital Transformation to small and medium businesses by giving you access to the latest next generation tools in a flexible, affordable way. Take a test drive and see for yourself.

Improve Collaboration: Free Cloud-Based Portal Get free online CAD management, viewing, and collaboration, including browser-based access for viewing and markup and secure, controlled sharing. Share almost any file type with your shop floor, customers or partners.

 

How better CAD design wins races

Solid Edge fuels innovation and empowers you to design without boundaries using synchronous technology, which helps you design faster and more intelligently, without the constraints of traditional 3D modeling. Solid Edge gives you fully functional mobile design and collaboration, with access to design processes anytime, anywhere. With a choice of purchasing options catered to your business needs, you can implement a powerful and intuitive 3D design portfolio on your terms.

White Paper Five Tips for Large Assemblies Whether your assembly is 1,000 parts, or 100,000, this white paper will give you five strategies that you can put into practice today to improve assembly performance, and will teach you good habits for modeling and managing CAD assemblies of all sizes.

White Paper CAD Drawings: Learn top techniques Whether you’re an experienced drafter or you’re just getting started, this white paper will help you learn or refine basic drafting techniques to help you improve the manufacturability of your CAD drawings.

eBook Four considerations when working with sheet metal How can modern tools make it easier to work with sheet metal during both design and manufacturing? This new eBook, from industry expert DEVELOP3D, describes four considerations when working with sheet metal.

ROI Calculator Find your ROI with Solid Edge How can switching your modeling paradigm save you time and money? This calculator simulates the potential return on investment that you could realize by using synchronous technology in Solid Edge.

Highlights

Solid Edge Capabilities

How does Solid Edge provide everything designers and engineers need to accelerate product design, make revisions faster and improve design data re-use? From core modeling capabilities to next generation design functionality—Solid Edge has everything you need to get up to speed quickly.

Next Generation Design		Synchronous Technology		Sheet Metal Design
The future of 3D product development—generative modeling, additive manufacturing and reverse engineering, enabled by Convergent Modeling technology.		Combining the speed and simplicity of direct modeling with the flexibility and control of parametric design.		Complete sheet metal design system with support for the entire design-through-fabrication process.
Assembly Modeling and Management		CAD Drawing and Drafting		Photo-Realistic Rendering
Superior assembly performance, whether you’re dealing with a few components or hundreds of thousands of parts.		Drawing layout, detailing, annotation and dimensioning controls that automatically comply with mechanical drafting standards.		Photo-realistic images and animations from within the modeling environment to bring your models to life.
Cloud-enabled Design
Easy access across different devices, instant configuration of your CAD environment, and quick sharing of data with team members, suppliers and customers.

 

Solid Edge for Small and Medium Businesses

Small and medium businesses have access to industry-leading, professional product development software—with flexible licensing to meet your budget needs. Solid Edge is a portfolio of affordable, easy-to-use software tools that address all aspects of the product development process – 3D design, simulation, manufacturing, design management and more.

In addition to advanced product development capabilities, we provide access to training and resources to get you up to speed quickly and a vibrant online and offline community where you can ask questions and share successes.

Offer Visit Our Online Store Purchase Solid Edge as a monthly or annual subscription online, or buy a perpetual license through one of our partners.

 

Capabilities

Learn more about the Solid Edge portfolio

Solid Edge provides users with a full portfolio of solutions to meet a wide range of business needs. Solid Edge not only offers rich design solutions, but scalable solutions for simulation, manufacturing and data management as well.

3D Design		Electrical Design		Simulation
Speed, flexibility and next generation design		Integrated electrical design		Scalable simulation software that drives design
Everything you need in a design solution, plus everything you want, including synchronous technology, generative modeling, additive manufacturing and reverse engineering.		Overcome electrical design challenges early in the design cycle. Solid Edge electrical design software was developed to satisfy the requirements of companies where ease of use and value are as important as functionality.		By starting simulation early in design, changes are made when they are easiest, time-to-manufacture is shortened, and cost-to-manufacture can be reduced.
Data Management		Manufacturing		Technical Publications
Scalable data management		Traditional and additive manufacturing		Dynamic technical publications
Data management that meet the needs of all manufacturers, from startups and very small firms to larger manufacturers with distributed operations.		Solutions to support a variety of traditional and new manufacturing techniques, including machining, welding, sheet metal, molding and additive manufacturing.		Quickly create many types of technical documents, from simple illustrations for end user manuals to interactive technical documents for manufacturing and service.
Portal
Cloud-based collaboration
Share your design and manufacturing data securely throughout the product development process with the free Solid Edge Portal.

 

FREE Software Free 3D Design Software Try Solid Edge for Free Get instant access to a free trial of Solid Edge, and try it for yourself.

Free Software for Your Startup If you’re an early stage startup in business for less than three years, you can now apply to get Solid Edge for free. With no application fee!