Architosh News Reports
  Architosh Staff ([email protected])
 
 

 

Special Mac REPORT: Diehl Graphsoft explains merger with Nemetschek

10 March 2000

An Architosh Exclusive Report on the number one Macintosh CAD vendor's recent merger.

Part 1 : Why the Merger?

Part 2: Who is Nemetschek AG?

Part 3: Will Diehl Graphsoft Change?

Part 4: Will it Affect the Macintosh CAD Market?


Part 3: Will Diehl Graphsoft Change?

For many the only question on their mind is will Diehl Graphsoft change? What will happen to VectorWorks in light of ALLPLAN's market position, globally? What might happen to Diehl Graphsoft's Macintosh software products, in light of Nemetschek's Windows orientation?

All of these are really good questions, especially to Architosh readers. And without further ado, let me allow Richard Diehl to answer them for you.

Will Diehl Graphsoft change ...?

"In a word, 'Yes!' But not in ways our dedicated users will readily notice. Although the physical changes will be small, Nemetschek AG brings an attitude of aggressive growth that will bring a new spirit to Diehl Graphsoft. This merger acknowledges the success of our operations and encourages us to continue what we've been doing, but with a greater level of competitive aggressiveness."

For many of you, the stability of Diehl Graphsoft and VectorWorks is of primary concern. In the CAD software industry there have been mergers that have seen one company and its products disappear as a result. What makes this merger different from others in recent history is the fact that Diehl Graphsoft and Nemetschek are both highly stable, successful enterprises. This merger does not represent a scenario of one company saving another from failure, but of two growing companies benefiting from their individual successes and resultant synergy's of consolidation. There will be few, if any, noticeable external changes to the company."

One of the most interesting things Richard says in the quote above is that this new spirit encourages greater "competitive aggressiveness". This sounds good to VectorWorks users. I am sure this entails making the product even stronger, while keeping it in the midrange CAD product price range. What I hope this doesn't mean -- and this has happened before when other cross-platform CAD companies made similar statements -- is that to be more competitive means to solidify or attempt to solidify all code development efforts on one platform. This was the case of Bentley Systems a few years ago.

However, there are a number of assurances that this will not be the case. As Richard Diehl himself states,

"Acknowledging the consistent success of our operations, one of Nemetschek's primary concerns is the retention of Diehl Graphsoft's management -- both in terms of personnel and management theory. To that end, I have signed a five-year employment agreement with Nemetschek to continue as CEO of Diehl Graphsoft. Also, under the terms of the merger agreement, I was appointed to the five-member Managing Board of Nemetschek AG once the deal is finalized. These factors serve as strong endorsements of Nemetschek's stated and demonstrated desire to grant the company wide latitude and a large degree of autonomy in its product development and marketing strategies." --- Richard Diehl, CEO

Perhaps the biggest assurance that this will not be the case is that 50% or better of VectorWorks' user-base is on the Macintosh platform and that the company is the number one Macintosh CAD software developer (and one of its longest developers). Even further, the company itself -- including Richard Diehl -- are very enthusiastic about the Macintosh platform; and their relationship with Apple these days is very healthy.

And yet, there is more to this and its influence on the Mac CAD AEC market. Read on!

 

> Next Part


The Apple Store now sells a selection of leading, third-party Macintosh software!

The Ultimate Macintosh CAD machine: Power Mac G4/500, custom configured. starts at $2,199

Essential for your design or engineering business, FileMaker Pro 5 handles all your data business needs. $249

click on our screen grab to go there now!


logo

 

Help support Architosh by shopping at our Associate Apple Store. Thanks!

 

Feedback Back to Architosh News

 
 
| Pro Mac | CADD | Applications | News | Bookstore | Forum | Main |
| Mac OS X | PowerPC | Architects | Opinion |

 

 

 

 

 

 

Contact Us
Copyrighted 1998 BritasMedia Publications. All Rights Reserved.
Architosh is a Trademark of the BritasMedia company
A BritasMedia Designed Web Site
For advertising on this site click here.

Help support Architosh by shopping at amazon.com Thanks!

 Search:

Enter keywords...

Amazon.com logo

 


Click Here!