Why Free Hydraulic Software Is Actually Costing You A Lot

When it comes to drawing a hydraulic design, there is a lot of value that a good software can add to help us be more efficient, accurate and deliver quicker to our customers. But how do you evaluate if the software will add value to your work and assess it’s true cost? Here are the steps to assess the true cost of your hydraulic software. 

Think about the cost of your time to test out a new hydraulic software. Is it easy to get started with the software and to check out if it will be useful in your work. Does the demo version allow you to truly test all the features. 

After you are satisfied with testing out the software, does acquiring it present roadblocks? Are there lengthy contracts, hidden fees, additional system requirements, or other software programs that you need to purchase in order to be able to use the software. 

Does the software have to be adapted to be used for your work? Are programming hours necessary to make customizations? If it is a third party that needs to be hired for this customization, is it easy to find experts that have experience with this software? All such costs should be assessed and taken into consideration.   

The only way your hydraulic software will add value is if you and your team are successful in using it. Does free software come with any kind of training? Are there training videos and clear documentation, and if necessary live training offered? 

As we have already seen, even free software comes with costs in the form of your time, hours of third party service (or internal resources) to customize it for you, and learning curve to adopt it. After all this, how can you be sure the company that created the software will stay in business and more specifically stay dedicated to maintaining the software. If the software is free, there is a big risk that the company’s business model is not solid enough to ensure that the software continues to work.

HydroSym Software by Paro

HydroSym Software for designing hydraulic schematics by Paro Software has been created specifically for those working with hydraulic systems. It is not free, but at a low cost (39 Euro per month) so let’s see how it checks out according to the selection criteria.

Evaluating HydroSym Software for designing hydraulic schematics starts with a one month free trial. This means you have complete access to all the features of the software and can use it for your work from day one to ensure it fits your needs. Requesting the trial and download of the software is a quick and painless process where you are not required to provide any credit card information and can simply get started with drawing your first schematic in minutes.  

After your trial period you can turn your trial into a paid subscription and continue to use the software. Flexible purchase possibilities are available either as a monthly subscription or software purchase. (Monthly subscription is 39Euro/month) HydroSym is also a completely standalone software solution that does not require any additional software programs.

HydroSym comes with access to Paro Library of over 40,000 hydraulic components and symbols. It is possible to easily upload your own company specific components to the library. The software is super intuitive and easy to use. Should you want to deeply customize the software but not want to do it yourself, you can outsource this process to the Paro team. HydroSym can also be integrated with your company’s ERP/PLM system and once again the team at Paro is highly experienced and can help with this. 

Paro Software strives for 100% customer satisfaction and we are completely dedicated to making our customers successful in using HydroSym software. (As well as our other software solutions, HydroMan and HydroCAM.) Even during the trial period it is possible to schedule a live video demo to go through how the software works as well as simply pick up a phone and call us with any questions. Of course there is also a getting started-guide and videos to guide you along should you enjoy flying solo. When you sign-up and would like to train your team, we can organize video training for the whole team, or live training at your location (training fees are accessed if we are traveling to you). Ongoing support is always free, just email or call as anytime! 

Paro Software has its roots in hydraulic engineering since 1974 being born from Paro Engineering. Since 1988 Paro Software has been developing software specifically dedicated to hydraulics, created by hydraulic engineers for hydraulic engineers. Hydraulic software is our core business and we are 100% dedicated to hydraulics and the success of our customers serving over 500 companies in more than 40 countries. We are dedicated to not only maintenance but continuous improvement and development of HydroSym for flawless hydraulic schematics, HydroMan for complete design of hydraulic manifolds, and HydroCAM for production of hydraulic manifolds. 

A free trial of HydroSym software for flawless hydraulic schematics. As you evaluate the right hydraulic software solution for your company, we stand by to help you test drive HydroSym and answer any questions you or your team may have. To experience the ease of our software please send us a trial request.