CAD Workstation - Industry Best
Practices For Cad Computers
Without prior knowledge and reasonable guidance quite often the importance of setting proper
budgets and change cycles for the any Cad workstation that is used in your business is often
overlooked. In a majority of cases the design office, drawing office or any users of computer aided design
programs are central to the profitability of a business, and equally salary costs typically reflect the
experience and importance of staff in these positions.
 Sadly however without a sound IT policy in place this fact is overlooked
and we have experienced many highly paid users having to struggle by using outdated Cad
workstations or mobile workstations (because it hasn't
broken yet) whilst elsewhere in the business staff running basic office programs have far better systems even
though they do not benefit from them.
This imbalance can cost a business with a single Cad user thousands each year and for multiple
users the effect is multiplied of course. The cost of running modern Cad applications on inappropriate or old
hardware costs industry billions each year globally simply from a lack of knowledge on the businesses or
buyers behalf .
So detailed below is a best practice IT policy that any business using computer aided design
software should adopt which will ensure that your are geeting the very best productivity levels from the Cad
software you have purchased, and from your staff that use these applications extensively each
day.
CAD Workstation
Budgets
Your company's design team or drawing office is probably at the heart of your business and
they will be the most demanding users as far as hardware is concerned. Treat their hardware needs
separate to the main desktop Pc's and define a separate more realistic budget for proper Cad workstations
for this department/user.
CAD Workstation Change Cycle
Typically in order to maximise the productive output of the user(s) to take advantage
of software updates (that you are paying for) and due the much harder demands placed on a
workstation Pc or mobile workstation plan to change your Cad workstations every
two years or three years at most budget permitting . Failure to do this will mean your business will
be bleeding money from a productivity standpoint.
These used workstations can then be passed down the line where they will
make excellent office machines. By adopting this strategy your most demanding users will always remain at
the peak of productivity and you'll achieve a better return on your hardware investment.
CAD Workstations Minimum System Requirements
Do Not under any circumstances look at minimum system requirements for your
Cad workstations! This is a big no no as essentially what you are saying by adopting this
approach is what is the slowest possible machine that this very expensive software will run
on?
This is a very detrimental and ultimately costly approach for your business, why? Your
software will only run at a fraction of it's potential, your operators will be unproductive today let
alone for the next 3 years and will become frustrated, and you could in fact end up having to buy another
cad workstation or mobile workstation far sooner than you planned if the next software upgrade has higher
minimum requirements which often happens.
Workstation Cost Differential
Based on the recommended hardware change cycle the difference in cost between a minimum spec
Cad workstation and a high performance one that will give the business maximum
productivity when split over 3 years is in reality minimal. Buying at or running minimum
spec hardware is an extremely false economy and will cost the business much more than it will
save.
So in summary before we move on to Cad workstations V Personal
computers, please see the above as sound business advice and industry best
practice and please consider it well before you set the budget for any Cad workstation or
mobile workstation going forward.
| 