“This younger, more skilled, and more mobile workforce is demanding tools that work the way they do,” Maher says. “One of the biggest, most profound shifts we’re seeing is that the data is traveling with workers to the field, the shop floor, the construction site, etc. That’s long been an ambition — now it’s a reality.”
In keeping with the new technology advances, Maher believes CAD will continue to evolve with lightweight, more easy-to-use, less expensive tools. She cites PTC’s efforts around the Creo line of apps tailored for specific tasks and specific roles as a harbinger of how CAD tools will continue to evolve. “People are looking at their CAD systems for more efficiencies,” she says. “They’re looking for better ways to create data and more ways to use the data. Most important, CAD customers are visual people and they want to interact with visual data, including 3D, simulations, and point cloud data.”
