Part one of a Q&A with Matt Klassen, Director of Product and Solutions Marketing at PTC.
This interview is part of an ongoing series we conduct with embedded software solution providers to share views on their company, products, and state of the market.
VDC’s Embedded Software team was fortunate to catch up with Mr. Klassen shortly after the 2013 PTC Live Global, PTC’s annual event for engineers, IT and service professionals to network, hear corporate updates, learn, and listen to interesting customer presentations.
VDC: PTC has been supporting the embedded industry since 1985. Can you briefly introduce the company to our readers?
Klassen: PTC started as a CAD software provider and revolutionized that market with Pro/ENGINEER, the industry's first successful rule-based constraint (sometimes called "parametric" or "variational") 3D CADmodeling system. In the late 90’s, PTC acquired Windchill Technology Inc. and launched the first internet based PLM solution which has grown into a half billion dollar business. In 2011 PTC acquired MKS, a leading provider of ALM solutions, to address the engineering challenges as products transform into smart, software intensive systems.
VDC: For anyone who may have missed the event, what were some of the highlights of the 2013 PTC Live Global?
Klassen: There were a lot of highlights at this year’s conference, but as usual, our customers really took center stage. The keynotes on both Monday and Tuesday featured several marquis customers that underscored Jim Heppelmann’s talk on the forces that are transforming the way products are designed, manufactured and serviced. Forces like digitization, globalization, compliance, personalization, software intensive products, connectivity, and servitization are all at work in the market and manufacturers that embrace these by transforming their process and tool landscape, will be positioned to lead the market. PTC is positioned to partner with these companies to provide guidance and technology to do just that.
VDC: What challenges do engineers face today in designing and developing embedded devices and how are embedded software suppliers responding?
Klassen: Engineers face a whole host of challenges today including:
- Reusing software development artifacts across product variants
- Cross engineering discipline collaboration
- Taking advantage of Agile methods in highly complex and regulated environments
- Managing the high velocity of software driven change and implications across discliplines
Traditional ALM vendors are not addressing these challenges very effectively. Traditional PLM vendors are trying to address these challenges but their hardware oriented solutions are ill-equipped. PTC has a unique opportunity to address these challenges with an integrated ALM and PLM set of solutions.
Please check back on Tuesday 6/25 for part 2 of this discussion with Matt Klassen, Director of Product and Solutions Marketing at PTC
Matt
Klassen
is passionate about helping customers improve the way they build software
intensive products and has been helping organizations excel with software for
20 years. In his role as Director of ALM
Solutions Marketing, Mr. Klassen is responsible for leading the effort to define,
market, and sell PTC software and systems engineering management solutions built
on PTC Integrity. With many years working
with customers on their complex software systems, Matt has the in knowledge to
understand customer challenges across the software development lifecycle in
many industries including medical devices, automotive, aerospace, and high tech
electronics. Matt has been a featured
speaker at many conferences and events.
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