The new Simulation Software Competitive Assessment by global tech market advisory firm ABI Research provides an in-depth and unbiased examination of the solutions offered by eleven simulation software suppliers, while at the same time delivers market insights based on certain chosen technological criteria including modelling capability, data ingestion, and decision support. These three criteria and their sub-elements were identified as the most vital for the evolution of simulation software to support manufacturers’ operations.
The companies evaluated and ranked are:
Market Leaders: Siemens, Dassault Systèmes, Altair, and Hexagon
Mainstream: Autodesk, Ansys, CreateAsoft, AnyLogic,
Followers: Famic Technologies, FlexSim, SIMUL8
Siemens came out on top in the competitor ranking and was closely followed by Dassault Systèmes, with both firms scoring well across all criteria. Rounding out the top four spots are Altair and Hexagon. Both offer a comprehensive set analytical tools to help product designers and those tasked with optimizing the production line. The likes of Autodesk, Ansys, AnyLogic and CreateASoft are not far behind, utilizing their expertise in product and process design in their simulation solutions. Others are taking a more consultative approach (FlexSim) and others providing a proposition that fits the needs of first-time users of simulation software (Simul8 and Famic Technologies).
“All in all, the research shows a very competitive marketplace with suppliers offering solutions that were unimaginable a decade ago,” says Michael Larner, Industrial and Manufacturing Principal Analyst at ABI Research.
A total of twelve criteria were chosen for the purposes of this analysis and segmented across innovation and implementation clusters. These include how comprehensive the solution is for modelling products and manufacturing processes, the sophistication of the analysis that users can perform to validate changes in circumstances, how customers access and utilize the software, whether the solution caters for both novice and experienced users, and the extent that the simulation software helps manufacturers to create a digital thread of their operations and digital twins of the products or production processes. In addition, the report evaluates suppliers’ ability to scale their solutions across regions and ensure users are getting the maximum benefit from their investment.
“Performing simulations is no longer the sole responsibility of simulation engineers. Suppliers need to design solutions that cater to experts while, at the same time, ensuring the learning curve for those less skilled is not too steep,” Larner concludes.
These findings are from the Industrial Simulation Software competitor ranking report.
