As you may have heard, Altair® HyperWorks® is getting a significant update in the form of Altair HyperWorks 2023. Let me be the first to say that this is no run-of-the-mill update. I know that many of the software updates we see today – whether they be on our phones, computers, or other devices – are pretty uninteresting, bringing almost imperceptible changes to the tools we use. Altair has released minor updates like these, as has every software company. 

But like I said, this release is different. Altair HyperWorks 2023 is a landmark moment for Altair, one that represents a revolutionary step for Altair’s computational science offering. I believe it’s our “Armstrong step,” an update that will be a giant leap for Altair and our customers alike.

This is an exciting moment to be an Altair HyperWorks user. The updates’ scale and scope are mind-boggling and will transform the way our customers innovate. So, let’s break down what makes this release so important, and how it represents the next chapter in Altair’s long history of industry-leading solutions. 

The Past: Innovation is in Altair’s DNA

Altair has been on the cutting edge of computational science since our foundation nearly four decades ago, consistently setting and re-setting the bar for innovation in simulation, artificial intelligence (AI), high-performance computing (HPC), data analytics, and the convergence of these disciplines. To start, Altair® HyperMesh® – now a signature tool within the Altair HyperWorks platform – was one of Altair’s flagship innovations when it debuted in 1990. Before HyperMesh, finite element simulation was expensive, resource-intensive, and inaccessible except to the largest, most well-resourced enterprise customers. We at Altair knew we could create a better, more democratized solution – and we did, making it available on personal computers.

We were able to develop HyperMesh because at its core, Altair has always been driven and led by engineers with a long history of consulting expertise. We don’t just help our customers solve problems, we solve problems ourselves. As HyperMesh matured and we saw how people were using it, we developed other marquee tools that broadened and deepened what users could do within the Altair environment. This was the genesis of other great tools such as Altair® OptiStruct® (topology optimization), Altair® HyperView® (post-processing), Altair® Inspire™, Altair® SimLab®, Altair SimSolid®, and more – which continue to lead the market today.

The ability to develop and implement these solutions in a unified environment is a result of our experience and heritage. Our team has always been hands-on with the industry’s latest technologies, which is how we’re able to identify gaps and create solutions that go above and beyond. Altair has never been split between “business” people and “engineering” people; to this day, even our most senior leaders roll up their sleeves to solve engineering challenges for us and for our customers. In fact this week I was creating lattice geometries to help colleagues highlight a particularly tricky challenge that we can easily model in Inspire.

Of course, living by our motto – “Only Forward” – we didn’t stop there. After bolstering our simulation and AI solution offering, we enriched our portfolio even further by bringing cutting-edge HPC and data analytics capabilities with the addition of Altair® PBS Professional® in 2003 and Altair® RapidMiner® in 2022. These capabilities were the remaining pieces of the convergence trinity of simulation, HPC, and data analytics in a unified environment that we pioneered. 

At the same time, our technology isn’t our only defining feature. As engineers, we knew that cumbersome, inconvenient, and expensive business models can make even the greatest technology a burden too big to bear for an organization and its users. That’s why we developed the patented Altair Units licensing model – formerly known as HyperWorks Units – which remains the gold standard of enterprise software licensing models by providing organizations with unmatched freedom, flexibility, and value. 

With Altair Units, organizations and users can use tools and resources when, where, and how they want, all at a fraction of the cost of traditional licensing models. Best of all, they get a licensing model that adapts to their strategy and scales up or down whenever and however they need.

I’m obviously painting with broad strokes here – there were many more steps and developments that have led to this moment. But I feel that with an understanding of our past, it’s easier to understand why I believe Altair HyperWorks 2023 represents such a groundbreaking milestone in our history.

The Present: Altair HyperWorks 2023’s Game-Changing Enhancements

Now, let’s dial in on Altair HyperWorks 2023. In my eyes, this is the flagship release that embodies the merging of our simulation, data analytics, and HPC capabilities in the market’s best open-architecture platform. This is the collection of hundreds of expertly tailored improvements and upgrades that usher in a brand-new user experience, blazing-fast speeds, unmatched AI integration, seamless data analytics interoperability, and much more.

Workflows and the New User Experience

Altair HyperWorks 2023 is designed to give users the smoothest, most intuitive user experience on the market. The first thing users will notice is Altair HyperWorks 2023’s focus on workflows that cater to users’ habits, specialties, and strengths. Altair has invested heavily into providing seamless, unified environments and experiences. Now, users won’t have to jump between products throughout the design and simulation process. Instead, they can create and customize workflows that suit their needs and take their efficiency to new heights. 

Altair HyperWorks 2023 also emphasizes modularity and customization, even giving users access to Python APIs so they can personalize the platform to complement their needs. And from our end, this modular framework allows Altair to introduce new features in response to rapidly evolving customer and market demands and desires, setting a new standard for responsiveness and flexibility. And as always, integration with both Altair and third-party tools is quick and easy, no matter what discipline or industry users specialize in. Our tools can read and be read by external tools, making life easier for engineers and data scientists no matter what environments they may work in.

Blazing-Fast Speeds

In Altair HyperWorks 2023, users can expect a significant boost in graphics performance when working with large models, thanks to advancements in our adaptive, intelligent management of modeling entities. This technology enables seamless multitasking on massive assemblies while also allowing users to focus on intricate sub-assembly details. In short, users get to spend more time working and less time waiting.

Unmatched HPC Integration

HPC integration is always the great enabler. Leveraging the unmatched speeds and computational power of HPC environments, Altair HyperWorks 2023 takes simulation and design to unprecedented heights.  With it, users can easily launch large studies on-prem or on-cloud to conduct more detailed, complex simulations faster than ever before, paving the path for rapid iterations and optimized designs. This update not only facilitates the handling of larger datasets for insightful analytics, it also fosters global collaboration, ushering in a new era of groundbreaking product innovation. 

AI-Powered Simulation and Generative Design

No list of innovations would be complete without talking about AI. As expected, Altair HyperWorks 2023 brings AI to the next level. Within Altair HyperWorks 2023, new AI-augmented experiences guide users through design and simulation workflows, enabling rapid design evaluation through advanced neural networks. Moreover, users can also generate their own AI models and draw from pools of previously run models for instant performance assessments on design modifications. In HyperMesh, users can now utilize AI-powered features directly within the tool that help them find similar components or metrics from large assemblies or other models. This gives old data a new lease on life while helping engineers iterate more successfully. 

As I have always maintained, if it’s accessible and organized, all data has valuable insight. Now, organizations can use their historical data to inform today’s designs in the blink of an eye. Overall, Altair HyperWorks 2023 democratizes AI-powered simulation and generative design – opening doors to a new era of solutions and insights to all engineers, not just data or AI specialists.

Altair Simulation Cloud Suite (SCS)

Lastly, say goodbye to unorganized, bloated data that can’t be shared or managed. Altair’s Simulation Cloud Suite (SCS) serves as all users’ gateway to secure, centralized simulation process and data management. Since it’s seamlessly integrated with existing workflows and simulation ecosystems, like PLM and other simulation systems, teams can enhance collaboration, data organization, and drive quick, next-generation decision-making throughout the enterprise. Through a single portal, users can manage multi-disciplinary and multi-fidelity models, while data, simulations, results, and reports can be managed through search and traceability capabilities. Lastly, users can easily make informed decisions via comprehensive KPI evaluations. Think of SCS as your own extensive library, full of vast insight, always available for you to draw from at any time. 

The Future: A New Era of Convergence

There’s no better way to sum up everything Altair HyperWorks 2023 represents than from our CEO Jim Scapa’s most recent article heralding the launch. As he said, the updates to the Altair HyperWorks platform are part of “the most important and powerful software updates to our entire solution set in the past 10 years.” Those are no light words – and I agree wholeheartedly with his assessment. 

There are a lot of things about Altair HyperWorks 2023 that I’m excited and proud of. It’s the culmination of Altair’s long-held vision of open, seamless, unified, and democratized technological convergence – convergence that’s accessible to users of all skill levels and personas. But what I’m most proud of is that these enhancements don’t represent technology for technology’s sake. Really, the technology is merely serving the greater objective we have internally and for our customers: solving problems quickly, efficiently, accessibly, and at scale. The technology is about what people can do with it and how they can make it useful. 

This is the release that will put convergence front and center in the minds of all our users. It will help them make better decisions faster and easier than ever before. As I mentioned, we at Altair are problem solvers before anything else – I can confidently say that Altair HyperWorks 2023 is the market’s finest simulation and AI problem-solving platform. 

Join us in making this giant leap into the market’s next chapter of simulation and AI innovation, and welcome to a new era of Altair HyperWorks, brought to you by that same group of engineers and problem solvers that first introduced it all those years ago. I can’t wait to see what the future brings.

Be sure to register for the Altair HyperWorks 2023 webinar series. To learn more about Altair HyperWorks 2023, visit https://altair.com/hyperworks-2023.