Lately when speaking with SW competitors and users we get the impression that SolidWorks’ foray into cloud computing was a big negative.

This differs greatly from what I thought I heard at SolidWorks World 2010. What was said was that the cloud represents a perfect opportunity for product collaboration, not a change in where the application runs – at least not yet. BUT, for long running and complex calculations cloud computing could help. These should arrive early.

SolidWorks points to ENOVIA V6 for cloud support. BTW, ENOVIA V6 is also a possible upgrade path for those who invested in SmarTeam. Users with existing SmarTeam installations should definitely look at all the alternatives, including open source.

I have called SolidWorks asking them to clarify their current cloudy cloud position and will report back as soon as they respond.