It's the Economy, Stupid!

 

 

"A penny saved is a penny earned" - Benjamin Franklin

 

“It’s the Economy, STUPID!” was a phrase widely used during Bill Clinton's successful 1992 presidential campaign. In order to keep the campaign on message, the Clintons hung a sign with this phrase in their Little Rock campaign headquarters. The economy had recently undergone a recession and “It’s the Economy, Stupid” became a filter for everything that the Clinton campaign said and did.

 

This phrase is gaining political and cultural currency once again, as the US economy appears to be slipping into a deep recession and Americans are about to go to the polls to elect a President. In fact, I believe that “It’s the Economy, STUPID” is fast becoming the watch phrase by which businesses and consumers alike are filtering their financial and purchasing decisions.

 

Frugality is Fact

Two months ago I wrote about how Frugality was suddenly becoming fashionable. Well folk’s, it’s not just fashionable anymore, it is FACT and that hard, cold reality is proven daily by the drumbeat of bad economic news.

 

Frankly, people are scared. Their 401K’s are down 40-50% and they face vanishing jobs, shrinking paychecks and nest eggs, and slumping home values.  Sales at the nation's retailers fell with a thud in September, dropping by 1.2 percent, the most in three years. Uncertainty about the economy -- and their own financial fortunes -- probably will force consumers and businesses alike to hunker down further, spelling more problems for the already troubled economy.

 

According to a recent Fortune Magazine article, even Google is going frugal “Gone are the search giant’s free-spending ways… The prospect of a severe economic slowdown has forced Google to act fiscally responsible.” Suddenly, businesses and consumers have gotten religious about the impact of the economy on themselves. No longer is it just something that is affecting other people.

 

CAD Software through the Economic Filter

If you are in the manufacturing or design business and not planning on going out of business or retiring, then CAD software is an absolute necessity. CAD software is a critical tool of your trade; you can no more stop using CAD software than a photographer can stop using a camera. CAD software is a productivity tool; you should actually increase your use of it in an economic downturn.

 

If you are still using AutoCAD and haven’t switched from 2D to 3D, then now is the time. Switching to 3D is probably the single most important thing you can do to increase your productivity. Increased productivity in design and manufacturing is the equivalent of a revenue increase, since you get more work done using fewer resources and less time.  You will be able to bid on more jobs or just reduce your overhead.

 

Several months ago Alibre asked customers who formerly used AutoCAD to answer a series of questions regarding the impact of switching to Alibre Design on their productivity. The results of the AutoCAD to Alibre Design Transition Survey included:

·         Most people were long time AutoCAD users, with 90% using it more than 4 years

·         Most people saved 1.5 hours per day per engineer using 3D CAD versus AutoCAD

·         Most people saw an average cost savings over the life of a project of 19% using Alibre Design versus AutoCAD

·         The vast majority of designers (84%) who made the switch are happy they did

·         The vast majority of designers (86%) consider Alibre to be much better than Autodesk in taking care of the customer

 

So by simply switching from AutoCAD 2D to Alibre Design 3D you can save almost 20% of the time and money that you spend on design projects everyday and put that 20% saving in your pocket or invest it in expanding your business. At least that’s what all the people who made the switch tell us.

 

Which 3D CAD product is the Best for Mechanical Design?

SolidWorks, Solid Edge, Inventor, Pro/E, CATIA, and NX (Unigraphics) all claim to be technically superior mechanical design programs. Like Alibre Design, they offer feature-based parametric design and have their own version of direct editing (non-history based).

 

SolidWorks is generally recognized as the most popular mechanical CAD program. But is it really technically superior to the others? And more significantly, is technical superiority a critical issue in choosing CAD software today? All of these products, including Alibre Design, can create almost any product design that an engineer can conceive of.

 

So what makes a product the “Best”? Most people would come to pick the best by asking themselves several questions. Does it get the job done? Can I do what I need to do efficiently? Can I give it to all the people that need it? Will it destroy my budget? For me personally, it is the passion, the desire, and the commitment of the company and its developers to create a higher and higher caliber product. This is an attribute that Alibre shares with these other companies.

 

Of course, it is true that you can be at least 20% more productive than AutoCAD 2D using any modern 3D CAD system, be it SolidWorks, Inventor, Solid Edge, Pro/E, CATIA, NX or Alibre Design. However, Alibre Design is the only one that saves you thousands to reinvest in your business, or just put in the bank. Alibre Design costs less than 20% of the cost of SolidWorks or Inventor, so rather than spending $4,000 to $5,000 per seat for 3D CAD software, you can spend $1,000 for Alibre Design. At $1,000, Alibre Design even costs less than AutoCAD LT.

 

Want to compare the costs of using Alibre Design to these other products? Then download our Total Cost of Ownership Calculator to calculate your savings, including the often substantial extra costs of maintenance and training. If you are considering buying multiple seats your savings grow exponentially.

 

In addition, Alibre offers an interest free monthly payment plan that enables customers to purchase Alibre Design for less than $85 per month over a 12 month period (total cost $1,000). Compare this to SolidWorks recent “Interest Free” offer of $199 per month for 36 months (total cost $7,164).

 

Save Money Even if you Buy Our Competitors Software

In this economy, it would be criminal to pay more for CAD software than is truly required.

 

So how can Alibre reduce the price you pay for SolidWorks, Inventor, Solid Edge, Pro/E, CATIA, and NX? Take a serious look at Alibre Design as a low cost alternative to the other much more expensive products. Download our 30 Day Trial, (or view a Gallery of real world designs) put Alibre Design to the test, and ask us for a quote. Prove to yourself whether Alibre Design can do the job or not. If it can, then you should buy Alibre. If Alibre Design cannot meet your requirements, just take our quote to the competitors CAD sales person and tell them that you are considering switching to Alibre Design. I guarantee you they will cut their prices to keep you from buying Alibre.

 

Comments

[Chris H]

'It's NOT the economy, stupid', it's the
1. credit-based economic system (Ron Paul & Peter Schiff will get you started)
2. composite government slave-state investments (www.cafr1.com)
and
3. stupid, lazy American 'men' who have no idea what it takes to run a nation for longevity.
Cheers ... Chris H