Free trials are an excellent way to explore new software and get hands-on experience with new technology. Starting a free trial of new software can be exciting and overwhelming at the same time. You get a hands-on look at how the technology could transform your work, but understanding the long-term value can be more challenging. The ability to demonstrate value to your business is an important part of the decision-making process. It will enable you to provide metrics to key stakeholders approving the budget and increase the likelihood of buy-in from other areas of the business. Additionally, there are other factors to consider when calculating ROI, such as how the new technology will fit with your existing systems, whether it can be scaled to work with the growing needs of your business, and how other people will use it.

Business value
Design automation software is designed to improve business processes and streamline workflows. To estimate ROI for this type of software, start by listing all of the workflow areas where the software could be implemented. Every business has its unique workflows and taking time to identify these areas will help to maximize the value of the software implementation.
Key metrics to measure when reviewing design automation software include design generation time, design generation cost, degree of accuracy, average time to design, and design hours per month when using the new software. To measure this effectively, you will also need to apply some assumptions about how your sales volumes will increase as a result of faster design and quote turnaround times.
To calculate the return on investment for DriveWorks Solo try our ROI calculator. Use it to calculate a return on investment for DriveWorks Solo based on automating one of your own products.
Tech fit
To realize the full value of the new software, you might want to integrate it with other business systems you already use. Start by understanding how well the new technology integrates with your current stack. Ease of integration should be a key consideration and can determine the overall benefit of the software you’re trialing. Ensuring compatibility will help you avoid unnecessary complexity and additional costs associated with major overhauls or integration challenges.
The open architecture of DriveWorks technology makes it easy to connect directly with other business systems, without the need for any 3rd party involvement. These integrations enhance the functionality of your software solution enabling it to push and pull data to and from systems such as CRM, ERP, CAD, and e-commerce platforms.


People
Involving other people in your software trial is another good way of helping to determine potential ROI. Encouraging participation and feedback from colleagues involved in different parts of your workflow enables you to see the full impact of the software. Engaging other teams and stakeholders at the trial stage will help with the approval and adoption of the new technology, and also provide insights for future training and onboarding requirements.
Scalability
To understand the future ROI of new software, you need to know its scalability. Can it accommodate the growth and change of your business requirements, without compromising performance, reliability, or maintainability? For manufacturers of custom products, where configurations are increasingly complex, this is a key factor to consider.
Regardless of where businesses are on their digital transformation journey, DriveWorks offers scalable simple to complex solutions, enabling them to unlock new levels of efficiency, productivity, and innovation. From simple automation tasks to complex configurations, DriveWorks technology enables companies to adapt to changing business needs.

Calculate your ROI for DriveWorks Solo
DriveWorks Solo is the ideal solution to transform how you design, configure, and sell custom products. Using DriveWorks Solo, design engineers automate repetitive SOLIDWORKS® tasks, freeing up more time to work on new product design. Automating and streamlining the process of designing, configuring, and selling products drives sales and improves business efficiency.
Calculate a return on investment for DriveWorks Solo based on automating one of your own products and see how quickly you could benefit from using DriveWorks.
Start your free trial today, with no credit card required
Make the most of a DriveWorks Solo 30-day free trial by setting clear goals, testing key features on real projects, and making the most of a whole host of free training material. Use the time to evaluate its impact on your workflows and ensure it meets your needs. You can also set up a meeting with a technical expert from the DriveWorks team to help you get off to the best start.