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JT Open Merging with DWF
reprinted by permission of Ralph Grabowski, editor
February 15, 2005
They proved us wrong. We had said, repeatedly, that no major
CAD vendor would ever adopt another's "open" viewing format.
Early Monday morning came word that UGS and Autodesk are
swapping technology to gang up on 3D XML from Dassault Systemes
(and, optionally, Microsoft).
The two competitors are joining each other's open viewer
program: UGS' JT Open Program and Autodesk's DWF Developer
Program.
The common press release is, unfortunately, filled with
vagueness and future tenses, the word "will" being all too
common. UGS _will_ add DWF import/export to its JT Open and PLM
XML formats, as well as all its PLM software (are Solid Edge and
NX considered PLM software?). Autodesk _will_ do the same for
its line of DWF software.
It's not clear to us whether the two companies are simply adding
import/export functions, or are going further and integrating
each others viewer formats. The operative phrase is, "...will
support the exchange of...". (Autodesk recently expanded DWF to
3D by integrating HSF from TechSoft America.)
Of interest is this sentence: 'UGS and Autodesk are committed to
ensuring that interoperability efforts, which will tap UGS' PLM
XML schema..." Does this mean that Autodesk will make use of
UGS' XML schema in its PLM software?
One analyst asked what this means for Solid Edge. Could it be,
he wondered, that "UGS competes at the high-end [with NX],
Autodesk gets the low end [with Inventor], and Dassault covers
both {with SolidWorks and CATIA]."
We asked for help on these questions; Autodesk did not respond,
but UGS' John Day provided some clarification:
"Autodesk and UGS are still competitors in the applications
space, and haven't ceded any parts of the market to one another
as a result of this alliance. UGS is making a commitment to
significantly enhance interoperability between DWF and JT. More
details will follow at the Autodesk One Team Conference in early
March."
It appears the press release is merely a positioning statement;
now, the two parties have to work out what it means.
Links:
About the Author
Ralph Grabowski is
an editor at upFront.eZine Publishing, Ltd. (previously known as
XYZ Publishing, Ltd.). Ralph is the author of 60 books and
several hundred articles for dozens magazines and newsletters
about CAD, graphics, and the Internet.
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