Dynetics A Leidos Company
Saved ~ $150 000 on SOLIDWORKS MCAD Well over 2800% ROI
OpenLM prides itself on delivering rapid wins for customers and such wins are practically guaranteed. Their existing rigid and inefficient licensing setup combined with our experience to overcome it ensures success. However, though this was indeed the case with Dynetics, the $150k licensing savings they recuperated was only one small part of a much bigger win—the actual sum was (as they put it) ‘obscene’.
“The obscene ROI is possible due to being able to visually see the actual software usage and track denials, and not just rely on users reporting that they cannot obtain a license or trying to justify standalone seats – which is what the majority of our users had before we started tracking licenses.”
Since we became an OpenLM customer, we have added ~20 seats of SOLIDWORKS MCAD to our network licensing
About Dynetics
Founded in Alabama in 1974, Dynetics’ goal was to be a company of world-class defense experts. Not only were Dynetics early adopters and developers of modern engineering tools, but they also heavily invested in software development and simulations and helped pioneer the efficacy of Virtual Quality Management (VQM). Today, they provide a cost-effective range of highly specialized technical services, including software, hardware, and other solutions to the defense and space industries.
Their solid work ethic plus wholeheartedly embracing the 4 E’s of excellence, ethics, enjoyment, and enrichment has created an award-winning team. Indeed, having earned the prestigious James S. Cogswell Outstanding Industrial Security Achievement Award* on several occasions, Dynetics proud legacy, achievements, and teamwork speak for themselves.
Today we have a chat with Brian McElyea, a Dynetics CAD/PDM administrator and principal mechanical engineer for almost 4-years. A certified SolidWorks user and administrator for well over a decade, Brian is an engineer by trade and works in Dynetics’ Space Systems division. Combined, his engineering/software credentials, knowledge, and understanding are impeccable, and he has experienced Dynetics’ licensing problems both first hand and continuously.
“Our Space Systems division manages a wide variety of programs. Each requiring technical software that will integrate within our systems with ease.”
“…we primarily use OpenLM for monitoring computer aided design and engineering (CAD/CAE) software, including ANSYS, Dassault’s 3DEXPERIENCE V6 and SOLIDWORKS products, IBM’s DOORS suite, etc.”
A need for change
Despite tracking and managing licensing being complex, time-consuming, and problematic, it is critical that Dynetics licensing requirements were met. Unfortunately, “What we had wasn’t working, and we needed to change this.”
“We had to rely on users reporting licenses correctly, and this was a big problem. Whether it was because they could not obtain a license or because we had to try to justify standalone seats: this is what the majority of our users had done before…”
All these either tie up licenses unnecessarily and lead to the organization incurring unjustifiable and unavoidable licensing costs. Though they have developed their own extensive software, they also relied on other commercial software vendors, as needed, especially within their Space Systems division.
“We looked at the various license management solutions that the individual providers offered but the costs were prohibitive.”
“Following this, we then looked at creating our own solution. Given our experiences of creating our own software, a simple solution that would read the log files from the various license servers seemed like a viable option.”
Is that how you discovered OpenLM?
“Yes. In preliminary inquiries to our software vendors regarding our own solution, I was pointed to OpenLM by our SOLIDWORKS Value-Added Reseller (VAR), TriMech Solutions.”
Why did you choose OpenLM?
“Trimech’s recommendation, for one. After further investigations, we decided to select OpenLM to manage our suite of other software programs because of:
● ease of use
● cost-effectiveness
● the wide-range support of multiple CAD/CAE solutions.”
How do you use OpenLM and what is the best part for you?
“We use the heat map reporting of license usage as the most frequently referenced report for day-to-day management. This makes it very easy to capture and provide easy-to-read justification for adding additional licenses when needed. Additionally, denial reporting is consistently used across our programs.”
Have you encountered any problems with OpenLM?
“Rarely. But on the occasion that we have needed to call upon OpenLM Support, we have always found support to be both helpful and responsive.”
Author’s note: though we have edited the original interview notes for brevity and readability, meaning remains unchanged. This case study 100% reflects OpenLM’s conversation with Brian—that is important to understand. However, to maintain accuracy and openness, and to not skew any results, we have left this concluding part unedited and in its original form. That way, you yourself can determine authenticity and draw your own conclusions as to Dynetics’ results.
Tell us more about Dynetics’ success
“I really don’t know where to start on calculating the ROI. Our initial investment into OpenLM was $5100, but we have since added vendor daemons, additional modules, and users. Since we became an OpenLM customer, we have added ~20 seats of SOLIDWORKS MCAD to our network licensing, which is the original product that we wanted to track. I estimate that we would at LEAST have 30 additional seats if we had not been tracking license usage and denials. So, using those numbers, I estimate that we have saved ~$150,000 on SOLIDWORKS MCAD software costs alone. Just doing the math with those numbers, we are well over 2800% ROI… does that even make sense? And this does not take into effect all of the other SOLIDWORKS and other vendor software packages that we are now tracking. I think this is a VERY CONSERVATIVE number.”
An ROI of over 2800% is Staggering
Prior to concluding the interview, Brian was happy to let us know that Dynetics are pleased with OpenLM and have already recommended us to other CAD administrators. The OpenLM team was delighted to hear that.
*The James S. Cogswell Outstanding Industrial Security Achievement Award recognizes the importance of true partnership between industry and government and ensures the protection of classified information, materials, and programs. Bestowed by the Defense Counterintelligence and Security Agency (DCSA), only the top 1% of cleared industry organizations qualify and there is no higher honor).
