Dassault Systemes
Encyclopedia
Dassault Systèmes S.A. is a leading company specializing in 3D
3D modeling
In 3D computer graphics, 3D modeling is the process of developing a mathematical representation of any three-dimensional surface of object via specialized software. The product is called a 3D model...

 and PLM (Product Lifecycle Management
Product lifecycle management
In industry, product lifecycle management is the process of managing the entire lifecycle of a product from its conception, through design and manufacture, to service and disposal...

) software.

Dassault Systèmes develops and markets PLM application software and services that support industrial processes and provide a 3D vision of the entire lifecycle of products from conception to maintenance to recycling. Its customers include companies in aerospace, automotive, construction, consumer goods, consumer packaged goods, energy, high-tech, industrial equipment, life sciences, shipbuilding and services industries.

Dassault Systèmes share is listed on the Euronext Paris stock market
Euronext Paris
Euronext Paris is France's securities market, formerly known as the Paris Bourse, which merged with the Amsterdam, Lisbon and Brussels exchanges in September 2000 to form Euronext NV, which is the second largest exchange in Europe behind the UK's London Stock Exchange...

. 43.13% of the share is owned by Dassault Group
Dassault Group
Dassault Group, is a French group of companies led by Serge Dassault.Managing directors are Claude Dassault and Olivier Costa De Beauregard.- Subsidiaries :*Dassault Aviation;...

. The company is headquartered in Vélizy-Villacoublay
Vélizy-Villacoublay
Vélizy-Villacoublay is a commune in the Yvelines department in the Île-de-France in north-central France. It is located in the south-western suburbs of Paris from the center and east of Versailles...

, located in the south-western suburbs of Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...

, France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...

.

CAD/CAM Period

Dassault Systèmes was created in 1981 but really started in 1977 with 15 engineers of Avions Marcel Dassault who were in charge of helping the plane building process. While they were initially supposed to develop a 3D Computer-aided Design software (CATIA
CATIA
CATIA is a multi-platform CAD/CAM/CAE commercial software suite developed by the French company Dassault Systemes...

, then called CATI) to help designing planes only, the engineers brought it up to another level to provide help to other industry sectors.

At the end of 1980, the CATIA rumor reached the very top of the company and Marcel Dassault
Marcel Dassault
Marcel Dassault, born Marcel Bloch was a French aircraft industrialist.-Biography:Dassault was born in Paris. After graduating from the lycée Condorcet, Breguet School and Supaero, he invented a type of aircraft propeller used by the French army during World War I and founded the Société des...

, then aged 88, asked for a demonstration of the software capabilities. The company management understood the engineers’ vision and started to debate on how to leverage such an innovation. They quickly realized they could not afford to keep and develop this invention internally and decided to create a new company to explore the Computer-aided Design and Computer-aided Manufacturing market (CAD
Computer-aided design
Computer-aided design , also known as computer-aided design and drafting , is the use of computer technology for the process of design and design-documentation. Computer Aided Drafting describes the process of drafting with a computer...

/CAM).

Dassault Systèmes thus got started in 1981 with only one customer (Avions Marcel Dassault). They were only 25 engineers and didn’t know how to sell and market their product. As a result, since the Dassault Group was one of IBM major clients in France, they negotiated a deal so that IBM markets CATIA. It was a non-exclusive, 50/50 revenue share agreement where CATIA would be sold by IBM as an IBM product. This deal had been extremely successful for both companies and it is considered as “one of the fundamental drivers of the Dassault Systèmes success story”.

CATIA started getting noticed in other sectors than the initial plane manufacturing one mainly with the automotive sector (BMW, Mercedes and Honda). This was a step by step approach that was used to progressively address all the other industries such as consumer goods, machinery and shipbuilding. IBM also became a customer in the mid 1980’s and deployed CATIA in its engineering and manufacturing plants.

Over the years, Dassault Systèmes improved its software and expanded to the US, Japan and Germany. This rapid growth triggered a chain of products, acquisitions, and partnerships beyond the company's core 3D CAD/CAM software and led to what is known today as Dassault Systèmes.

PLM Period

By the end of the 20th century, CAD/CAM had become too restrictive to identify the Dassault Systèmes products. Then, in the early 2000’s, it was replaced by PLM
Product lifecycle management
In industry, product lifecycle management is the process of managing the entire lifecycle of a product from its conception, through design and manufacture, to service and disposal...

, the acronym for Product Lifecycle Management. New brand names were added to address the full PLM spectrum: DELMIA
DELMIA
DELMIA is the brand for digital manufacturing and simulation solutions from Dassault Systemes...

 to support the manufacturing plant, ENOVIA to support the collaboration internally and with the extended enterprise of customers, SIMULIA for Analysis and Simulation, SolidWorks
SolidWorks
SolidWorks is a 3D mechanical CAD program that runs on Microsoft Windows and is being developed by Dassault Systèmes SolidWorks Corp., a subsidiary of Dassault Systèmes, S. A. . SolidWorks is currently used by over 1.3 million engineers and designers at more than 130,000 companies worldwide...

 for 3D modeling and 3Dvia
3dvia
3DVIA is a brand of Dassault Systemes that was founded to extend their high-end 3D graphics capabilities to new markets including consumers. The company's stated goal is to democratize the use of 3D technology and establish it as the new media for consumer and professional users.The company has...

 for 3D visualization.

In 2007, along with the creation of the new brand 3DVIA, Dassault Systèmes started to get into online applications, what is now called PLM 2.0, as a reference to the Web 2.0
Web 2.0
The term Web 2.0 is associated with web applications that facilitate participatory information sharing, interoperability, user-centered design, and collaboration on the World Wide Web...

. The company took advantages of the Internet possibilities and introduced online PLM with its Version 6 platform. This strategy has been followed by many other acquisitions such as the 2011 Exalead
Exalead
Exalead is a software company that provides search platforms and search-based applications for consumer and business users. The company is headquartered in Paris, France, and is a subsidiary of Dassault Systèmes .- CloudView Platform :...

 purchase to dive deeper into Internet search technologies.

Key Dates

1981: Dassault Systèmes creation.

1992: Dassault Systèmes acquires CADAM, a 2-Dimensional CAD/CAM software from IBM
IBM
International Business Machines Corporation or IBM is an American multinational technology and consulting corporation headquartered in Armonk, New York, United States. IBM manufactures and sells computer hardware and software, and it offers infrastructure, hosting and consulting services in areas...

 and from it creates Dassault Systèmes Americas Corp.

1997: Dassault Systèmes acquires SolidWorks
SolidWorks
SolidWorks is a 3D mechanical CAD program that runs on Microsoft Windows and is being developed by Dassault Systèmes SolidWorks Corp., a subsidiary of Dassault Systèmes, S. A. . SolidWorks is currently used by over 1.3 million engineers and designers at more than 130,000 companies worldwide...

, developer of mechanical design solutions.

1998: Dassault Systèmes purchases IBM Product Data Management (PDM) assets and establishes Enovia Corp.

2000: the DELMIA
DELMIA
DELMIA is the brand for digital manufacturing and simulation solutions from Dassault Systemes...

 brand is launched in order to address the digital manufacturing domain following a series of three acquisitions, including (i) Deneb Robotics, a U.S. company specialized in robotic simulation, (ii) Safework, a Canadian company specialized in human modeling technology, and (iii) EAI-DELTA, a German company specialized in manufacturing process management software. In the same year, Dassault Systèmes also acquires Spatial Technology, a U.S. company developing and selling software components, including ACIS.

2005: Dassault Systèmes acquires Abaqus Inc.
Abaqus
Abaqus FEA is a suite of software applications for finite element analysis and computer-aided engineering, originally released in 1978...

  and from it creates the SIMULIA brand. On the same year it also acquires Virtools SA
Virtools
Virtools is a software developer and vendor, created in 1993 and owned by Dassault Systèmes since July 2005.-History:Virtools was a company founded 1993. They offered a development environment to create 3D real-time applications and related services, targeted at system integrators, game studios and...

.

2006: Dassault Systèmes acquires MatrixOne Inc. to create the next generation of its ENOVIA brand. On the same year, Dassault Systèmes also acquires Dynasim AB
Dymola
Dymola is a commercial modeling and simulation environment based on theopen Modelica modeling language. It is developed bythe Swedish company Dassault Systèmes AB, Lund...

, a Swedish company specializing in modeling and simulation software for embedded systems, in connection with the development of its CATIA Systems strategy.

2007: Dassault Systèmes launches the 3DVIA
3dvia
3DVIA is a brand of Dassault Systemes that was founded to extend their high-end 3D graphics capabilities to new markets including consumers. The company's stated goal is to democratize the use of 3D technology and establish it as the new media for consumer and professional users.The company has...

 brand. It also acquires Seemage, a leader in the creation of 3D interactive product documentation, and from it launches the 3DVIA Composer product line. Virtools
Virtools
Virtools is a software developer and vendor, created in 1993 and owned by Dassault Systèmes since July 2005.-History:Virtools was a company founded 1993. They offered a development environment to create 3D real-time applications and related services, targeted at system integrators, game studios and...

 is added to the 3DVIA brand
3dvia
3DVIA is a brand of Dassault Systemes that was founded to extend their high-end 3D graphics capabilities to new markets including consumers. The company's stated goal is to democratize the use of 3D technology and establish it as the new media for consumer and professional users.The company has...

 and becomes 3DVIA Virtools. On the same year, Dassault Systèmes also acquires ICEM Ltd, a UK company well known in the automotive industry for its styling, surface modeling and rendering software.

2010: Dassault Systèmes acquires Exalead Inc
Exalead
Exalead is a software company that provides search platforms and search-based applications for consumer and business users. The company is headquartered in Paris, France, and is a subsidiary of Dassault Systèmes .- CloudView Platform :...

. On the same year, it also acquires IBM
IBM
International Business Machines Corporation or IBM is an American multinational technology and consulting corporation headquartered in Armonk, New York, United States. IBM manufactures and sells computer hardware and software, and it offers infrastructure, hosting and consulting services in areas...

's sales and support force (all support contracts and around 700 employees) for PLM
PLM
PLM may refer to:*Chemins de fer de Paris à Lyon et à la Méditerranée , a French railway company*Pamantasan ng Lungsod ng Maynila , University of the City of Manila*Partido Liberal Mexicano, a pre-1910 Revolution Mexican political party...

 (Product Lifecycle Management) software business

2011: Dassault Systèmes acquires Intercim LLC and Enguinity PLM.

Products

CATIA
CATIA
CATIA is a multi-platform CAD/CAM/CAE commercial software suite developed by the French company Dassault Systemes...

 is Dassault Système's initial product(which stands for Computer Aided Three-dimensional Interactive Application). It is its PLM solution for 3D collaborative creation. CATIA addresses the product development process, from early product concept specification through product in service.

SolidWorks
SolidWorks
SolidWorks is a 3D mechanical CAD program that runs on Microsoft Windows and is being developed by Dassault Systèmes SolidWorks Corp., a subsidiary of Dassault Systèmes, S. A. . SolidWorks is currently used by over 1.3 million engineers and designers at more than 130,000 companies worldwide...

 products span 3D mechanical design software, simulation, product data management and design communication and collaboration. They are generally offered as a suite of products, scaled to the customer’s needs. Customers can choose to add other SolidWorks products providing additional simulation and PDM capabilities. They are used by companies in the machinery, medical, consumer, mold, tool and die, electrical and power sectors and by suppliers to the aerospace and automotive industries.

DELMIA
DELMIA
DELMIA is the brand for digital manufacturing and simulation solutions from Dassault Systemes...

 covers the Company’s PLM digital manufacturing software. It allows manufacturers to virtually define, plan, create, monitor and control all production processes, from the early process planning and assembly simulation to a complete definition of the production facility and equipment.

SIMULIA automates standard simulation processes, deploys them across organizations, distributes workloads across computing resources and manages the simulation results to improve collaborative decision making. It is designed to meet companies’ need for realistic product and process simulation software and to make realistic simulation more readily accessible through integrated and collaborative simulation applications.

ENOVIA provides the collaborative framework for the Company’s PLM software. It is an online environment that involves creators, collaborators and consumers in the product lifecycle.

3dvia
3dvia
3DVIA is a brand of Dassault Systemes that was founded to extend their high-end 3D graphics capabilities to new markets including consumers. The company's stated goal is to democratize the use of 3D technology and establish it as the new media for consumer and professional users.The company has...

’s objective is to bring 3D technology to new users, businesses and consumers. The Company’s 3DVIA portfolio includes, among other software: 3DLive, a suite of products designed to help individuals across the enterprise to search, navigate and collaborate in 3D in real-time over the Internet; 3DVIA Composer, which enables users to deliver assembly procedures, technical illustrations and marketing materials utilizing 3D images and other 3D data that remains consistent with product data. The Company also launched 3DVIA.com, a community Web site dedicated to 3D enthusiasts and digital content creators to showcase 3D interactive experiences.

Exalead
Exalead
Exalead is a software company that provides search platforms and search-based applications for consumer and business users. The company is headquartered in Paris, France, and is a subsidiary of Dassault Systèmes .- CloudView Platform :...

 is a global provider of information access software for the enterprise and the Web.

DraftSight
DraftSight
DraftSight is a free 2D CAD product for engineers, architects, designers, draftspeople, students and educators. The product was developed by Dassault Systèmes and lets users create, edit and view DWG and DXF files.DWG files contain the binary data for CAD design and it is the drawing format for...

 is a 2D CAD program that is free to individuals that is compatible with the .DWG format. It runs on Windows, Linux, and Mac OSX.

Passion for Innovation Programme

Passion for Innovation is a corporate patronage which aims at giving free access to Dassault Systèmes’ software to non-profit organizations and individuals.

The program started with a disabled employee who couldn’t drive a sports car because of his physical issue. He developed his own clutch idea but needed to test it virtually beforehand, driving with such a vital part of a car modified being very dangerous. He was granted a free access to CATIA and designed his idea which allowed him to eventually drive a sports car.

Such a story fomented the creation of Passion for Innovation and since then it helped on several projects such as Xplorair, Khufu or Ice Dream for example.

Dassault Systèmes Campus

Dassault Systèmes headquarters are in Vélizy-Villacoublay
Vélizy-Villacoublay
Vélizy-Villacoublay is a commune in the Yvelines department in the Île-de-France in north-central France. It is located in the south-western suburbs of Paris from the center and east of Versailles...

, located in the south-western suburbs of Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...

, France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...

. With most of its employees under 40, the actual number of buildings (4) and green areas (11.12 acres (45,001.1 m²)) within the complex, it is often referred as the Dassault Systèmes campus, an allusion to its look and feel.

Each building is named after one of the four main elements (water, earth, air and fire) and these represent 57,000 square meters of office space. They house what is called the “LIVES” (Lifelike Immersive Virtual Experience Space) which is a demo center equipped with virtual reality technologies.

Holdings

  • DELMIA
    DELMIA
    DELMIA is the brand for digital manufacturing and simulation solutions from Dassault Systemes...

     (100%)
  • SIMULIA (100%)
  • ENOVIA VPLM (100%)
  • ENOVIA SmarTeam (100%)
  • ENOVIA MatrixOne (100%)
  • Exalead
    Exalead
    Exalead is a software company that provides search platforms and search-based applications for consumer and business users. The company is headquartered in Paris, France, and is a subsidiary of Dassault Systèmes .- CloudView Platform :...

     (100%)
  • Spatial Corp
    Spatial Corp
    Spatial Corporation was founded in 1986, and had one main product: ACIS, the first commercially available 3D modeling kernel. Through subsequent years, Spatial added products to its portfolio that enabled ISVs mostly in the CAD/CAM industries, to build applications...

    oration (100%)
  • SolidWorks Corporation (100%)
  • Virtools
    Virtools
    Virtools is a software developer and vendor, created in 1993 and owned by Dassault Systèmes since July 2005.-History:Virtools was a company founded 1993. They offered a development environment to create 3D real-time applications and related services, targeted at system integrators, game studios and...

     (80%)
  • 3D PLM Software solutions (42%)
  • CATIA
    CATIA
    CATIA is a multi-platform CAD/CAM/CAE commercial software suite developed by the French company Dassault Systemes...

  • 3dvia
    3dvia
    3DVIA is a brand of Dassault Systemes that was founded to extend their high-end 3D graphics capabilities to new markets including consumers. The company's stated goal is to democratize the use of 3D technology and establish it as the new media for consumer and professional users.The company has...

  • ICEM Germany and UK (100%)
  • Dynasim
    Dymola
    Dymola is a commercial modeling and simulation environment based on theopen Modelica modeling language. It is developed bythe Swedish company Dassault Systèmes AB, Lund...

     (100%)


See Also

  • Dassault Group
    Dassault Group
    Dassault Group, is a French group of companies led by Serge Dassault.Managing directors are Claude Dassault and Olivier Costa De Beauregard.- Subsidiaries :*Dassault Aviation;...

  • CATIA
    CATIA
    CATIA is a multi-platform CAD/CAM/CAE commercial software suite developed by the French company Dassault Systemes...

  • SolidWorks
    SolidWorks
    SolidWorks is a 3D mechanical CAD program that runs on Microsoft Windows and is being developed by Dassault Systèmes SolidWorks Corp., a subsidiary of Dassault Systèmes, S. A. . SolidWorks is currently used by over 1.3 million engineers and designers at more than 130,000 companies worldwide...

  • DELMIA
    DELMIA
    DELMIA is the brand for digital manufacturing and simulation solutions from Dassault Systemes...

  • SIMULIA
  • ENOVIA
  • 3Dvia
    3dvia
    3DVIA is a brand of Dassault Systemes that was founded to extend their high-end 3D graphics capabilities to new markets including consumers. The company's stated goal is to democratize the use of 3D technology and establish it as the new media for consumer and professional users.The company has...

  • Exalead
    Exalead
    Exalead is a software company that provides search platforms and search-based applications for consumer and business users. The company is headquartered in Paris, France, and is a subsidiary of Dassault Systèmes .- CloudView Platform :...

  • CAD
    Computer-aided design
    Computer-aided design , also known as computer-aided design and drafting , is the use of computer technology for the process of design and design-documentation. Computer Aided Drafting describes the process of drafting with a computer...

    /CAM
    Computer-aided manufacturing
    Computer-aided manufacturing is the use of computer software to control machine tools and related machinery in the manufacturing of workpieces. This is not the only definition for CAM, but it is the most common; CAM may also refer to the use of a computer to assist in all operations of a...

  • PLM
    Product lifecycle management
    In industry, product lifecycle management is the process of managing the entire lifecycle of a product from its conception, through design and manufacture, to service and disposal...

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