Dassault Systèmes (DS), the 3DEXPERIENCE Company, provides organizations and individuals with virtual universes to imagine sustainable innovation. In a recent visit to the company’s premises in Paris, Capital Business met with the company’s executives and witnessed some real 3D projects demos that Dassault Systèmes has been working on for years now.

Dassault Systèmes at a glance

With more than 190,000 enterprise customers across 140 countries, Dassault Systèmes is at the core of the innovation business combining science, technology and art for a sustainable society. The company is considered as one of the most innovative and sustainable companies in the world. DS provides a range of product development software applications, delivered on the 3D experience platform. Just to name a few, the portfolio of applications includes CATIA, the world’s engineering and design leading software for product 3D CAD design excellence which addresses all manufacturing organizations. It also includes SOLIDWORKS, which leads the global 3D computer-aided design (CAD) industry with easy-to-use 3D software that trains and supports the world's engineering and design teams.

Applying the 3D experience allows DS to meet the consumer’s needs across different industries. Elaborating more on that, Philippe Forestier, EVP Global Affairs & Communities, Dassault Systèmes said, “Now that we are at the age of experience, consumers make decisions. Therefore, we have to prove them that we can provide them with the right experiences. For example, when one wants to buy a car, they look for safety and comfort. Thus, we came up with the 3D experience, which allows consumers to experience the real features of a car. TV commercials for cars are usually virtual. For this reason, we have acquired a company responsible of doing advertisements for cars prior to designing the vehicle, in a way that allows us to review and experience the automobile.”

“We can’t do more of the same thing. The world of tomorrow cannot be the extension of today,” says Bernard Charles, President and CEO Dassault Systèmes. Therefore, DS believes that innovation is necessary, and the 3D experience is highly required to help people create and live their own experiences. Moreover, since the world is becoming digital and in order to keep pace of the technological development, this platform comes to revolutionize and change the way people are working. With the 3D experience platform, DS customers can create “social enterprises”, which involve their customers in the innovation process. With its online architecture, the 3D experience environment helps businesses to test and evaluate the eventual experience they will deliver to their customers.

Pointing to Dassault Systèmes’s expansion and diversification strategies, Philippe Forestier stated that the company is making one acquisition per month in order to grow its portfolio of solutions and has now 3,500 partners. “We primarily look at the key challenges of the humanity. Those challenges range from providing better life as well as improving global health, providing energy and resources for the humanity and guaranteeing a better education system in the world. Our mission is to help stakeholders across different sectors do their job in a better way through our simulation technologies.”

In line with these expansion plans, DS has been present in the Middle East since 2009 and is always looking to grow further in this region. Among a number of organizations, the Khalifa University of Science, Technology and Research (KUSTAR) signed a Memorandum of Understanding with DS to develop cutting-edge education and research activities using Product Lifecycle Management (PLM) solution. In addition, CERT has collaborated with DS to develop advanced 3D digital design and manufacturing expertise.

Moreover, in his presentation, “CAPEX and OPEX optimization in the enery industry in the Middle East”, Philippe Audrain, Business Consultant Director, Energy Process and Utilities, DS affirmed that the services DS provides to the energy sector allow companies to optimize their investments and minimize the cost of their operations. He also mentioned that in order to make the wind a viable energy source in the future, DS minimizes cost, risk and environmental impact as well as maximizes energy capture. “We just need the tools to make it possible. By working together more efficiently, projects can be completed on budget and on schedule more easily, with minimum impact on consumers and the environment.”

Through the 3Dexpericnce, DS solutions help customers plan their new plant. “We specify the plant, design it, test it and build the digital plant referential. Our solutions allow us to see the full plant in 3D and visualize how it works even before it exits. These solutions help our customers win tenders and new projects,” he noted.

Our visit ended at the DS virtual reality center where Mehdi Tayoubi, Vice President, Global Experimental Strategy, DS and Nicolas Serikoff, Experimental Strategy Manager, DS took us back in time with some presentations and live demonstrations of many projects including Paris 3D Saga. This digital model of Paris took us in a tour to relive the main historical moments in the city of lights and explore the construction of many monuments including the Eifel Tour.

On the sidelines of this visit, we caught up with Olivier Leteurtre, Managing Director, DS Middle East who gave us an overview of their presence in the region and the UAE in particular.

Why did you decide to open a branch in the UAE?

We decided to open an office in the UAE in order to cover different countries in the Middle East. This country is the perfect place to be as all key players in the software industry are operating in the Middle East through their offices in Dubai.

Who are your main customers in the UAE and in which industries do they operate?

Our customers in the Middle East are mainly in the aerospace and defense sector like Mubadala Aerospace as well as the oil and gas industry such as ARAMCO, Qatar Petroleum and RasGas. We also collaborate with universities including KUSTAR and College of the North Atlantic.

Could you please tell us about your activities in the Emirates?

We are trying to help the UAE diversify its economy and reduce dependence on oil and gas by focusing on different sectors such as aerospace, in which the government of Abu Dhabi is greatly investing.

Additionally, in line with the emiratisation, we are helping the UAE government by collaborating with universities in order to help create the future of new local engineers.

Moreover, we are contributing to the establishment of a digital environment in the country by being at the cutting edge of technology and enhancing people’s work experience.

How are you helping businesses make better and more accurate decisions?

Through our solutions, companies can simulate their projects, what they are building and manufacturing. This helps them prevent risks and execute in a better way. It also allows them to make decisions that are more accurate since things are made virtually before being done in the real world.

What is your growth rate in the region compared to your competitors?

We are ahead of our competitors worldwide and the only company that provides 3DExperience and PLM in the Middle East.

What is the percentage of growth in 3D awareness and in the demand of your solutions among businesses here?

Industries like construction and aerospace are facing today the same challenges that the transportation industries faced ten years ago. Companies and individuals are not fully aware yet of the importance of 3D and PLM and what these solutions could bring. Therefore, the main challenge that we face is about educating the market, and we are investing a lot of time and effort in order to educate decision makers in different companies.

How do you plan to grow and strengthen your business in the Middle East in the coming years?

The Middle East is a strategic region for us and we will keep on investing in this part of the world as we are expecting a lot from this region. We believe there are many ties between DS and the evolution of the economy in this region.

The first one comes from the diversification of economies in different countries like the UAE, Qatar and KSA. DS has made a great breakthrough, which led to a diversification in the industries we are addressing. We developed our operations from three main sectors, aerospace and defense, transportation and mobility and industrial equipment to twelve different industries.

Our solutions can help companies in the oil and gas or the nuclear energy sectors or even the EPCs (Engineering, procurement and construction) companies to grow and increase their profitability.

We believe that through our diversification and the diversification of the economy, DS can be a key player and grow in this region.

**By Jenny Kassis