CAD/CAM software is not needed by everyone. Only the specialized people can use it and it is used for special purposes only. Generally the manufacturing industry is the user of CAD/CAM products and the designers who design the products produced by these industries use CAD. When going for such software, the buyers often get attracted by the various new tools, objects, etc and in the process they lose their objective about what they need the software for.

You should also see that you do not need to change your existing set up for the software. The best software is that which fits into your existing set up without disturbing your production and business. This is especially true for the CAM software. The software must have the ability to match with your existing software and all the software that you may procure in the future. This means that your new CAD/CAM software should be able to handle all the incoming data and match the outgoing data with your existing software.

Next the question is how flexible is the software in relation to further development. Remember that this software is costly one. You do not intend to restrict your business just because you do not have the money to buy new products. So you should be able to incorporate new modules at negligible cost. Your software must grow with your business as and when necessary.

You should also be able to upgrade the software without any glitches and with minimum cost if not free. If you are not sure, then ask your vendor to get the terms regarding upgradation. Make sure that you get software where there are no hidden costs in the post purchase stage. The support should be very efficient and any bugs must be fixed at once.

Most of the times, the software is bought from the resellers. So the responsibility starts from here but often the resellers pass the buck to the developers and this causes delay and confusion. So you should get your software from a well known reseller who has the reputation of acting as a bridge between the developer and the customer. Since the software is costly, you can shop for financing or a lease. They may sound new to you but it is getting popular.

Chris Fletcher's page features more about new and used software financing and other finance topics. Visit him at: http://www.crestcapital.com/Catalog - - free instant quote & web calculator!