8 Things to Expect From Your Dassault Systemes SIMULIA VAR Support

Companies purchasing a SIMULIA product, like Abaqus, as a tool to perform realistic simulation of complex mechanical engineering problems make a solid and financially significant investment. It’s fortunate, then, that Dassault Systemes offers high-quality technical support for its SIMULIA-brand Abaqus, Tosca, fe-safe and Isight products. Users can access CAE support in multiple ways:

• contact the support team through a variety of channels including phone, email, and computer database
• numerous documents are also available to consult online
• password-protected, 24/7 web-based support system

This support comes at no additional cost to all licensed users of SIMULIA software, including users who purchase and license their SIMULIA software through one of Dassault Systemes certified Solutions Partners. Solutions Partners have been approved, through a legal agreement with Dassault Systems, to resell and/or distribute SIMULIA software.

Whether the questions involved are complex or simple, the support available is comprehensive and expert – actual mechanical engineers who are experts users of SIMULIA software are directly available for consultation. These support engineers are physically located in the nearest of several North American geographic locations known as CSE’s: Centers of Simulation Excellence.

SIMULIA support representatives are quick to respond and answer questions in a timely manner, frequently on the spot. Some questions can require in-depth research – in which case, support personnel will document relevant information provided by the user and create an automated service ticket which will be updated online as staff address questions. Throughout the problem-solving process, SIMULIA may ask for additional information from the user which might be required to help resolve the issue, such as the log files from a failed run. Such requests for additional information will also be documented, and reminder emails will be sent, as needed, for additional information. At the end of the process when a service ticket is closed out, the customer will automatically be asked for feedback to determine satisfaction, and will have the opportunity to reopen the ticket if the issue is not satisfactorily resolved. Dassault Systemes SIMULIA is committed to the complete satisfaction of their customers and invested in continually refining and bettering their products, service and support.

In addition to the comprehensive support provided by SIMULIA, a company investing in software of this complexity and cost should expect an adept level of support from the VAR or Distributer that they purchase it from. What are reasonable expectations a company should have for service and support from its SIMULIA VAR or Distributor?

What to Expect from your SIMULIA VAR (Value Added Reseller):

1. Your VAR should be able to assist with the installation of the software. SIMULIA products have straightforward instructions for the installation process, however, if this is your first time, or if this is not something you are doing everyday, you will probably appreciate a little hand-holding during this process. A reputable VAR will offer the assistance necessary to get you up and running. This includes contact with an experienced engineer who will walk the installer through the process either remotely or on site, as required.
2. Help to debug your model
3. Offer a quick response time for your questions and concerns. When you contact CATI expect a reply within four business hours.
4. Your VAR should have expertise in CAE methodology development. Using SIMULIA products to do simulated testing for some types of analyses is complex, requiring a certain methodology to ensure realistic simulation results. This methodology may have multiple steps. A reputable VAR will instruct you on how to set up these types of methodologies, sharing its engineers’ knowledge of how to use this sophisticated software to run at its optimal level
5. Maintain expert users on staff, mechanical engineers with years of experience using Abaqus. These available engineers should have a full range of education with bachelor, master’s and doctorate degrees in mechanical engineering. Unfortunately, most VARs do not employ any users on staff, let alone expert users. A good VAR will have assisted in thousands of customers’ projects using the software in a variety of situations, solving a large range of problems, doing both structural and fluid analyses. Assess a VAR’s competence with product optimization and fatigue, FEA, and CFD analyses before you purchase an investment product like SIMULIA from them.
6. Provide an introductory demonstration using the customer’s geometry specific for their product – either online or live.
7. Offer industry-specific examples of past analyses. Does your VAR have project experience in your industry?
8. Employ a sales staff with a comprehensive knowledge of the product and the product’s capabilities and accessories. Is your VAR experienced enough to properly advise a company on what would be the best installation for them to accomplish their goals? SIMULIA has numerous sub-products which can be combined in numerous ways to help clients achieve peak performance. An experienced VAR will be able to suggest the proper configuration for a company’s present and future needs.

Select your VAR with care; choosing the right VAR can make certain you will be getting the most value for your purchase. Any business purchasing SIMULIA software should feel confident that the support required to use it will be there should the need arise. CATI commits itself to excellence in engineering CAE support and would be pleased to work with your business to acquire and install the right software for its engineering needs.