On January 2nd, Telelogic made an announcement of the availability of a free modeling environment based on the Object Management Group´s (OMG) UML 2.1 standard.
Telelogic’s release of the free Modeler product is a bold move, and VDC expects the announcement to have a significant impact on the UML tools market going forward. The new product will allow Telelogic the opportunity to promote the value of UML to non-users in new market segments as well as to better address developers currently employing UML for more basic functions and those considering a more gradual, low risk adoption of a model-based development approach. VDC believes that the release is an appropriate market response considering the current competitive dynamics in the embedded UML space.
While a segment of embedded projects require the use of sophisticated UML environments, in VDC’s view, many developers are still using UML tools for basic modeling and drawing capabilities. There is substantial demand for lower priced UML tools, and VDC believes a significant portion of development teams using UML tools have purchased lower cost solutions such as Microsoft Visio, Sparx Systems Enterprise Architect, Gentleware Poseidon, and others to model their applications. Many vendors of low cost UML tools have rapidly improved their solutions, and VDC expects these vendors to continue to offer more advanced capabilities over time.
Another significant factor is that the majority of embedded developers are not using any UML tools to develop their applications. The opportunity to design applications using Telelogic Modeler at no cost to the user should serve to promote the use of UML, ultimately helping more companies to realize the benefits of using a model-based development approach. By creating greater awareness and adoption of UML in new markets, the release has the potential to benefit not only Telelogic, but all vendors within the UML market.
Telelogic Modeler will certainly be attractive to a segment of the embedded UML market that currently demands less from its UML tools, and to those that have considered experimenting with the use of UML, but are not willing to take significant risk in doing so. The availability of a no-cost, low-risk tool from a leading vendor like Telelogic should have a positive impact on UML adoption. Telelogic Modeler will also give Telelogic the opportunity to build valuable relationships with new accounts that will be important as these companies’ UML tools requirements mature and they look to migrate to more advanced tools.
