Autodesk, Siemens Announce Software Interoperability Agreement

Autodesk Inc. (San Rafael, California) and Siemens have announced an interoperability agreement aimed at helping manufacturers decrease the costs associated with incompatibility among product development software applications and avoid potential data integrity problems. Through this agreement, Autodesk and Siemens PLM (Plano, Texas) will take steps to significantly improve the interoperability between their respective software offerings, streamlining data sharing and reducing costs in companies with multi-CAD environments. Under the terms of the agreement, both companies will share toolkit technology and exchange end-user software applications to build and market interoperable products.

“Interoperability is a major challenge for customers across the manufacturing industry, and Autodesk has been working diligently to create an increasingly open environment throughout our technology platforms,” says Lisa Campbell, vice president of manufacturing strategy and marketing at Autodesk. “We understand that our customers use a mix of products in their workflow and providing them with the flexibility they need to get their jobs done is our top priority.”

“Incompatibility among various CAD systems has been an ongoing issue that adversely affects manufacturers worldwide and can add to the cost of products from cars and airplanes to smartphones and golf clubs,” says Dr. Stefan Jockusch, vice president, strategy with Siemens PLM. “Siemens has been at the forefront in helping to resolve this incompatibility issue with a wide variety of open software offerings that significantly enhance interoperability. This partnership is another positive and important step in our drive to promote openness and interoperability and to help reduce costs for the global manufacturing industry by facilitating collaboration throughout their extended enterprises.”