Sw 2006 users upgrade to newer version

Hi, everyone

I know that this subject is probably already exhausted.
But I would like your opinion on subject.

- Our first version (still the one that we use) of Solidworks is 2006.

- After upgrading to last SP and buying all the necessary equipment to make
it work smoothly (graphic card, more memory ecc.) we got, a more and less
stable environment for this application

- We have started (and stll building) our own database of hardware, and
reusable parts/assemblies (lot of time and sweat was spent to get to the
right choice for handling with toolbox...)

- So, now we have an appplication that really works for us, let us say (7
seats, all engineers are in a situation to work on all projects).

Nevertheless, we have continued to pay, and recently we got the new 2008,
sitting on a shelf.


Can anybody explain me the pro and contra of upgrading to new version?

What are your experiences, if found yourself in same/similar situation?

How stable is the most recent SP for 2007?

How stable is the most recent SP for 2008?

Thanks for your answers,

Oz

 

Some pros: you get new and/or improved functionality, you get a new user
interface, you get more attention when you talk to your VAR with problems.
Some cons: the new functionality may not work all that well, you may not
like the new user interface, things that used to work will be broken, you
have to convert your old parts, assemblies and drawings and some of them
will break.

We upgrade only if we think we really need something in the new version. We
usually wait until one or two service packs have been released and the buzz
on this newsgroup seems to be positive. We invariably find that we have to
fix some parts or assemblies.

We don't seem to see a lot more problems than we had on 2006. But we may not
use it the way that you do.

We haven't used it enough to know.

Jerry Steiger

 

I am still on SWx 2005 SP 5.0 This is working fine for us. I have
used 2006 at a previous job, and I miss some of the functionality, but
we have good management systems in place, and effective work arounds.
We don't subscribe, and after a year here, we've only needed technical
support once - when upgrading hardware. We only have 3 engineers, and
no PDM system, but we do have a really good internal CAD standard.

Like you Jerry, I would only consider upgrading to a later service
pack. I might consider the last sp in 2006 or 2007. However, there
isn't really any added functionality that we require. There is the
expense in retraining on a new version, and lost productivity to
consider also.

If our customers required it, then that would be the most compelling
factor.

I guess with an engineering staff of 7 (or more if your hot seating)
the expense in downtime and lost productivity would be considerable.
Once you start down the upgrade path it is near impossible to turn
back, everyone will have to upgrade together, so I guess you'll find
it hard to get much work done for at least a week. How much are the
wages for you engineering dept. for a week? This will certainly be a
large part of the expense in uprading.

However, things may run smoothly, and upgrading will be a dream come
true.

Hope this helps with a little perspective.

Cheers Dom.