Press releases are usually announcements, but once in a while companies use them them for other purposes, and then they become a bit of a puzzle.
A press release from yesterday announces:
ASCON Counts Real Cost of CAD Software Solution
...implying that somewhere an unreal cost is being counted. The company never names names, but the subhead gives us a hint:
What are we really paying for when buying low-cost CAD.
I suspect they are countering Alibre's temporary $99 offer, as well as the many offers of temporarily free software from Autodesk, SolidWorks, and the likes. Here is the list of objections ASCON came up, points that can be valid, depending on the specific package:
- Reduced functionality.
- Added cost from updates, maintenance, and training.
- Time and territory limitations, water marks, no commercial use permitted.
In contrast, ASCON says, their KOMPAS commercial 3D MCAD software is just e75 a month (works out to about US$1,200 a year, yet includes maintenance, support, and training.
The arguments in the press release are unfortunately generalizations, such as “small mistake in design of the product can turn out to be million USD losses at the stage of production or even worse sales.”
ASCON has been around for 20 years, and their software is used by about 40,000 customers. When I visit them next month in St Petersburg, perhaps I can get some background on the events that initiated this press release.
www.ascon.net
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