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SolidWorks World 2010: You Will Not Use SolidWorks on the Cloud

by Josh on February 3, 2010 · View Comments


I know, the last post clearly stated (with images) that SolidWorks and your precious models would get sucked up into ‘the Cloud.’ So, while we’re all getting comfy with that idea, I’d like to destroy it. The concept of it. We won’t use SolidWorks (or any other program) on the cloud. We will simply use SolidWorks. Here’s why…

The Cloud

First, we need to stop calling it the Cloud. It’s great for presentations, but it’s like calling email the Fatman – slow, inefficient, too much of’em. A better analogy would be the Ninja (thanks Al Dean.) However, storing data in ‘the Ninja’ just sounds disgusting. So, instead of explaining the future in the cloud, and then having to explain the cloud, let’s just say it’s instant. Instant computing, instant access, instant compatibility.

An example. Check out Dropbox. It’s been around since 2007 and has quickly become the most simple approach to what computing will be like. Seamless and accessible. Not in something, but about something, your data.

The Reaction

Dropbox is a static file example, though. How will you instantly access, create and modify your designs? The same way, instantly with instant response. Now that the word instant has become as annoying as the word cloud, let’s take a look at the idea of how this will happen.

OTOY has developed, in conjunction with AMD, a ‘server-side 3D rendering technology’ for gaming, based on OpenGL. At the very least, SolidWorks has talked with them. In September 09, Jules Urbach, CEO of OTOY, said the following:

A graphics card typically displays things on a monitor. Our technology does compression and virtualizes a game or application and it runs on a compressed stream to a client. In a browser, it will run instantly – no Flash, no browser, just HTML.

We developed a codec for this use that installs on the Webpage – then you can get HD streams that replicate your entire desktop in the cloud. This implementation allows you to play a Blu-ray disc full screen, or Photoshop, or SolidWorks. – Tech Republic

It’s rare you see that last word along with Photoshop and Blu-ray, so obviously there’s a partnership there. In the same arena of rendering tech, Autodesk has thrown in it’s funding to OnLive, another streaming game service. Both companies are investing in this technology. It is happening.

Here’s Jules at CES 2009. You’ll get a good dose of ‘cloud’ speak, but it easily shows you the capabilities of this technology.

What to take away from the above video?

“If we can put a game like this in the cloud, we can put any application in the cloud.” – Jules Urbach

Ok, so bam, the platform-independent SolidWorks concept shown Monday will solve all our issues. We’ll have other problems though – lost connections, service interruptions, but it’s likely we won’t even notice. Nevertheless, old people will frown and young people will laugh, but it will all be good, because it won’t be that ‘cloud’ thing. It will be instant access to design and design tools, interacting right along with all your other apps.

Tagged as: 3d rendering engine, autodesk, golive, otoy, solidworks world, solidworks world 2010, sww10

  • Bob Singer
    This is a interesting conversation. I am watching and learning all I can from the examples posts and ideas. What I am beginning to realize is this idea of "cloud' --> "DropBox" etc in reality is 15 year old technology with a new name !! Remember in the early 1990's we had application servers and file servers. It was UNIX based. Cloud - Same thing a remote application {/usr/apl/cadds} server you could log into from any workstation in any building as long as the main network was working and use the application via the network. We even did this in 1991 at GE in Louisville worked from India / Mexico / and KY. File servers, same thing as Dropbox just named different. What is happening is the next generations are just looking at technology the CAD pioneers already did and calling it something else. Hopefully the infrastructure is better to support the ideas. As a UNIX administrator I made a good living fixing corrupt files, locked applications as the network hiccupped occasionally and a user remotely lost data due to the remote handshake being disrupted. Now wireless is the new player, and other devices running big applications. File integrity and application freezing and releasing and resetting virtual licenses are most likely going to be a issue somewhere down the road. All it takes is a single weak link and BAM down hard, corrupted and lost files and work.

    I am happy to see this discussion being proactive. Will stand by at 2009 SP4.0 for now. Hardware purchase on HOLD till Apple comes into the picture.

    Whew, I am glad we invented everything back in the 1990's so IT people can have something to rename and try again !! 8^))))
  • I have high hopes that it will get better each time they try it again and slap a new name on it, much like gaming :) ...which for me, lately, has had the biggest problems on the hardware side of things. Red Ring of Death anyone?
  • chad schmidt
    Is everyone sure this is exactly how the cloud thing will work? I wasn't at SWW and it's difficult for me to form an opinion but I do have and idea how on-line multi-player video games work. Perhaps the actual geometry and solution reside on the server and the rendering and results are shown local to the client. In this scenario you not streaming video but only sharing information about the objects and their current solution.
  • Could be Chad. There's an important point there. Our desktops/laptops have a LOT of computing power. How is this going to be used? Maybe it's a shift to stronger physical/realistic modeling environments. It'll be interesting to see what OTOY is doing and how the CAD industry follows-up, or maybe even overtakes. :)
  • yeah Citrix probably is not very happy the ease of future platform independent software. I guess OTOY is using HTML5 to stream instead of flash. Sounds like SolidWorks on mobile platforms would be next.
  • After watching the "cloud" video I am throughly convinced that if Solidworks even thinks pursuing that technology and expecting customers to just blindly accept it will be the biggest corporate blunder since XEROX told Bill Gates windows was not something they wanted.

    The CAD software is a tool for engineers and companies to bring a product to market. Need to be robust stable and able to be secure. Same as a carpenter toolset, hammers etc. Seems every video I watch has younguns saying "cool" "neat" "gaming" . Not really what you want driving a direction. Maybe for Madden NFL, or WWC, or time wasters. Maybe time to dust off the T Square and drafting table to get the job done in the future. I remember when UNIX was the leading CAD program, and PC's started taking market share. IT people were in heaven thinking they ran the world and they had to. Engineering tools are not toys.

    Just a hard working engineers opinion.
  • I too am a hard workin' engineer, actually started on a t-square and drafting table, So trust me, I don't want to use something that's gonna make my life a living hell (arrrgh....spreadsheets) but I sure don't mind replacing a hammer with a nailgun, I just hope the cordless version has good battery-life, if you know what I mean.

    SolidWorks also said they were still going to have the 'normal' version of SolidWorks saying they don't expect everyone to switch right over to this new version when it's available. There was absolutely nothing said about drafting tables ;)
  • Kevin Quigley
    Josh I like your unbounded enthusiasm, and I can see that this is amazing technology, but at this time there are more unknowns than knowns. At the very least there is the question of cost, not to mention data security and access when your internet connection is down (like mine was for 5 days at the begining of this year due to a gas explosion nearby).

    Now that the cat is out the bag I hope SolidWorks will start to trial this with end users so we can test it on our existing infrastructure. Should be easy to do....it is platform independent and in the cloud after all :-)
  • Thanks Kevin, I'm definitely enthusiastic about anything that is pushing design tech ahead. It was interesting at the press conference with Jeff Ray and Jon Hirshctick. Jon is on the board of a security firm. He about got into it with people on the question of data security. His point, and I summarize... the number one risk of data security, is the employee taking the data out themselves. Everything else can be controlled.

    On connection, it will be a concern, and there are solutions some companies, like Google and Dropbox, have come up with that nearly eliminate the need for constant up-time.

    I asked Austin OMalley about use cases with this new tech. They are going through that right now and will be elevating the user trials. Believe me, if I find out anything, I'll definitely let you know! :)
  • Jonathan_Scott
    Concerns about security and privacy seem to be the primary concern that I hear from the SolidWorks community about "SolidWorks-on-the-cloud". SolidWorks didn't really address this to the broader audience at SolidWorks World 2010, but there are already answers out there, like private clouds and community clouds. I agree with Jon Hirschtick that one of the biggest threats to IP security today is people walking out the door with design content. My more complete thoughts on this subject, the basics of private and community clouds, and how PLM will benefit from cloud computing can be found at http://www.razorleaf.com/2010/04/cloud-y-with-a...
  • Of course there are more unknowns. But that was true when you drove to work today as well. We are in a time of unknowns.
  • Kevin Quigley
    I'm fortunate to be able to walk to work Chris........but my point is that showing a technology preview like this does nothing but cause ripples through the user base. I've said this in another comment but I'll repeat here. As a product designer/manufacturer when we launch a new product we say it will be available on 1st March, for £500, available from xyz stockists. It will do this, this and this, and will be compatible with this this and that. Why do CAD companies feel compelled to show us technologies without any indication of any of the above - they seem to think we should be tantalised by the wonderful prospect of what is coming.....and accept that it will all be good without giving us the information we need to decide for ourselves.

    I am a beta and alpha tester for several software businesses - large and small - but this is something I agree to do in the hope that I can get what I want into the software - or - to be frank, to give me a commercial advantage knowing what is around the corner. As a result I know the score with this stuff, but what about a guy running a business out in the countryside, who has just forked out £15k for 3 seats of SolidWorks, and can only get a 1MB connection?

    There are unknowns and there are things that should be known at the time they are shown. All this stuff falls into the latter category. This is just plain bad marketing IMHO. SolidWorks needs to move very quickly now and supply hard data as to what all this actually means. If the technology is so well developed then let's have ALL the VARs run preview days, or let's have a few taster sessions when we can all contribute to a design online.
  • I do not disagree. I beleive they were show tech for tech sake. This is a very DS thing to do and I also imagine they really do not yet know the business parameters so it is impossible for them to talk to this at this point. IMHO no one should be concerned about what they just purchased. The new cloud based version of SW will not distroy the workstation version and I would bet that you will be able to pick which way you want to use your license. Just my guess of course. Kevin it would be great to get you as a tester for Vuuch. We have allowed people to use what we are doing from day one. The objective is to work closely with users so that the solution is tuned to what people want versus something that is cool and not useful.

    Think Facebook for files. the idea is that when you Vuuch enable/discover a file a WEB page is developed that represents the file. The page is of course private to those involved with the file. Everything going on with the file (in this case we will say a SolidWorks part) is available on the WEB page (http://vuuch.com/media/part_page.png) as well it is available in Outlook (http://vuuch.com/media/outlook.png) and Solidworks (http://vuuch.com/media/sw.png). Now everything about a part file is tracked and embedded in SolidWorks. All of your email discussions, tasks, issues and notes are related to the part they are about. It takes one click to create the page. Once this is done everything is tracked and you have realtime awareness based available part by part.
  • casey
    I run Solidworks across three computers, all synced through Dropbox and can share certain folders in realtime with clients and can access it all through my iphone. Its great! Can't see the need to run SW virtually though, unless they have some superfast hardware and its cheap. They would have to overcome latency issues for it be responsive. Sounds no different than if I virtualized my desktop on my laptop w/ logmein when I'm traveling.
  • What they demonstrated on the Mac and Touchscreen were the server-side programs. The netbook was virtualized. I think the idea behind this is the same you're realizing with your dropbox set-up. easy, instant access to your programs and data. They'll see some stiff competition in this area I'm sure, with places like dropbox, already having the file side of if all down. Looks like you'll be familiar with whatever happens though!
  • Dave Ault
    I liked the Space Claim video of the Twitter collecting machine and look forward to the one on the cloud.
  • Also, discussing on Facebook with Martyn Day...
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