There must be a better way to keep track of expensive electronic or mechanical engineering software licenses and associated resources. Engineering software is very expensive and is essential for development and on-time project completion.
So why is there so little management attention, or control systems in place for these assets?
Today’s manufacturing firm can spend millions of dollars on software tools for electrical and mechanical engineering. Designs are becoming so large and so complex that it is virtually impossible to develop these products without engineering software tools.
Moreover, demand for shorter product time-to-market drives accelerated R&D techniques, and demand for higher quality drives precision R&D techniques. Engineering application software is mandatory, and the tools are not cheap! It is not uncommon to pay $50,000 for one license.
Gartner estimates manufacturing companies spend 1-1.5% of Annual revenues on product development software. This amount may be even higher for some electronics companies who depend on very expensive applications for design, synthesis, verification, physical layout, etc.
Manufacturing companies spend a lot on CAD/CAE, 2D/3D drawing, FEA, CFD, and similar software. Even though mechanical application design software may cost less per seat, there are typically many more engineers.
The net is that electrical and mechanical companies spend about the same—a lot of money of engineering software!! The VP of Engineering is typically the person with budget responsibility, but there are usually others in the company also interested in these assets: CIO, Finance, IT, etc.
Is it time to start looking for cost savings across your organisation?
We are confident savings can be found within the Engineering Software contracts. If you are an Engineering leader, ITAM or SAM professional, contact TeamEDA today to discover how to identify and negotiate large savings.