Interoperability Toolkits: Safeguarding the “Rare Earths” of the Engineering Software Industry
In the engineering software world, interoperability toolkits are the unseen infrastructure that keeps data flowing across design, simulation, construction, and manufacturing platforms. Like rare earth elements in electronics, they are critical enablers, quietly powering the workflows that modern industries depend on—but rarely noticed until they become inaccessible.
Interoperability toolkits serve as digital translators. They enable file exchange, data visualization, and workflow integration between proprietary formats and systems. Formats like DWG, RVT, CATIA, and SLDPRT are not just file types—they are containers of design intent, engineering logic, and decades of IP. Just as rare earth elements are embedded in smartphones, wind turbines, and defense systems, these toolkits are embedded into every layer of the engineering tech stack. Without them, cross-platform collaboration slows, innovation stalls, and product ecosystems fracture.
The Fragile Backbone of the Digital Engineering Ecosystem
Despite their strategic importance, interoperability toolkits are developed by only a handful of software companies worldwide. This limited vendor landscape is not the result of oversight, but rather a reflection of the market’s unique constraints and high technical barriers.
First, the market for interoperability toolkits is relatively small. Unlike consumer or enterprise SaaS categories with millions of potential users, the audience for interoperability toolkits consists primarily of CAD and engineering software developers, less than 3000 companies globally, with a commercial market estimated at just $100 million to $200 million per year—a modest figure by tech industry standards.
Second, the barrier to entry in this space is exceptionally high. Engineering file formats—especially for 3D modeling, parametric design, assemblies, and metadata—are complex, poorly documented, and constantly evolving. Even reading and rendering data from proprietary formats requires years of complex engineering, domain expertise, and extensive regression testing to ensure fidelity and performance. Supporting the full depth of these formats—assemblies, PMI, configurations, constraints, and semantic data—multiplies the challenge.
These factors also explain why open-source initiatives have largely failed to gain traction in this space. While open-source has flourished in web, data, and infrastructure tooling, it has struggled with the highly specialized and resource-intensive demands of CAD interoperability. There are few contributors with the necessary expertise, and even fewer willing to commit the time required to develop industrial-grade, production-ready toolkits. As a result, open-source projects in this area tend to remain incomplete, underfunded, or narrowly scoped.
He Who Controls Access to Data…
Who should control the interoperability toolkits that provide access to critical engineering design data?
Not the major CAD vendors. Companies have long been wary of relying on competitors for critical infrastructure. They recognize that interoperability, when controlled by a competing firm, becomes a point of strategic vulnerability, not a platform for collaboration.
For similar reasons, not venture capital firms. While venture capital has played an important role in advancing software innovation, VC firms are inherently structured for short-term, high-multiple returns—not for long-term technology stewardship.
And for those who might think this market is too small, or that the VC firms aren’t planning to enter this space: it’s not, and they’re already here. Even as you read this article, smart and motivated people are working diligently to analyze, acquire and monetize this critical market.
The entry of venture capital into the interoperability toolkit market poses a significant risk to the entire ecosystem—especially to the small, independent vendors that have faithfully supported the industry for decades. Many of these companies, built by dedicated founders with deep technical expertise, have operated with stability and integrity for 20 to 30 years, serving as trusted partners to software vendors across sectors. But as founders retire or seek succession options, these businesses become prime acquisition targets for private equity and venture-backed consolidators. Once acquired, priorities often shift from long-term service to short-term profitability, introducing instability in pricing, access, and development direction. This shift endangers the very continuity and neutrality that has allowed the interoperability layer to quietly but critically support thousands of engineering applications worldwide.
The Promise—and Limitations—of Open Standards
Open standards such as IFC (for building and infrastructure data) and STEP (for mechanical and manufacturing data) play a vital role in promoting transparent and vendor-neutral data exchange. These standards are essential for enabling multi-platform collaboration, regulatory compliance, and digital preservation of engineering data.
ODA has been a long-time supporter and implementer of both IFC and STEP (and many other open standards), and we believe their continued adoption is critical to a healthy ecosystem.
However, open standards are not sufficient on their own because a significant portion of engineering data is still stored in proprietary formats and will continue to be for decades. Most production workflows today—across architecture, manufacturing, civil engineering, and more—rely heavily proprietary data formats.
The industry’s ability to preserve and work with legacy data, integrate across proprietary systems, and support evolving vendor formats requires robust interoperability toolkits—not just open standards. And that’s where the risk lies. If access to these proprietary formats is controlled by for-profit entities with opaque pricing or strategic conflicts, the entire software supply chain is vulnerable.
Stewardship over Ownership
This is where Open Design Alliance (ODA) plays a uniquely important role.
As a non-profit technology consortium, ODA has no owners and is not beholden to investors or shareholders. We do not prioritize profits over access. Our singular mission is to provide reliable, open, and cost-effective interoperability toolkits, built for long-term sustainability.
Key principles of our model include:
- Open Governance: Member-controlled board of directors ensures alignment with long-term industry goals. ODA cannot be sold or acquired.
- Transparent Licensing Fees: Fair, fixed-cost pricing, published on opendesign.com/pricing. 90% of revenue goes back into development.
- Source Code Availability: Ensuring transparency and independence.
- No Competitive Conflicts: ODA does not sell end-user software, only toolkits.
- Full-Time Professional Team: An experienced team of 120 engineers.
- Lifetime Stewardship: ODA has been serving the industry for over 25 years and will be here for the next 25 and beyond.
What’s at Stake
The stakes for interoperability have never been higher. As engineering software continues to evolve—with growing reliance on AI, cloud collaboration, and long-lifecycle data management—unfettered access to design data is no longer optional, it’s foundational.
ODA’s mission is to safeguard this access—not through ownership or exclusivity, but through transparent, neutral stewardship. By delivering industrial-grade interoperability toolkits under a member-driven model, ODA ensures that no single entity can exploit this critical infrastructure for competitive or financial gain.
To learn more about our mission or technologies, please visit opendesign.com.