2025.10.21：PTC Spark FY26, Energy & Confidence (Commentary)

Takeaways

• PTC’s Spark FY26 marked the company’s first in-person global sales and partner kickoff event since COVID, gathering over 1,300 attendees from 30 countries to review FY25 accomplishments and set the stage for FY26.
• The event focused on the “Deserve to Win” theme, motivating attendees and highlighting PTC’s strengths in lifecycle coverage, AI innovation, and its competitive edge across various industrial segments.
• PTC showcased its expanded solution portfolio, including Codebeamer and ServiceMax, which are helping the company attract new customers and accelerate digital transformation for clients.
• Industry-focused enablement and marketing efforts, led by key executives, are expected to improve market understanding, boost win and retention rates, and lower costs by delivering tailored solutions and messaging.
• PTC’s organizational change management initiative and leadership updates have infused new energy into PTC, positioning the company for accelerated growth and greater success in the coming years.

PTC’s financial year (FY) 2026 global sales and partner kick-off was held recently in Orlando, Florida—the first in-person global Spark event held since COVID. The over 1,300 attendees from 30 countries included PTC leaders, customer success managers, sales leads, support personnel, as well as 126 of PTC’s partners. They joined together to review and discuss PTC’s FY25 accomplishments, and look forward to its FY26 that began the first of October. The event provided PTC’s management the opportunity to stress the relevance of PTC’s solutions, review some of its current successes, and describe the main elements of PTC’s strategy to achieve continued, and perhaps accelerated, success. As an invited guest, CIMdata found the event to be informative, energetic, and refreshing—it definitely was not your usual engineering software event.^[1]

As described in many LinkedIn posts, the overall theme of the event was “Deserve to Win.” This theme was used to inspire and motivate the attendees, emphasizing PTC’s extensive technology capabilities and competitive position in lifecycle coverage (i.e., from requirements through service), areas of innovation like AI enablement, and to foster a sense of unity and purpose for FY26. From all accounts, the event kicked off the year in manner that should help achieve the company’s business targets. PTC staff and its partners left energized and confident in what they can achieve selling and delivering PTC’s solutions to its focused industrial segments—aerospace & defense, automotive, electronics & high-tech, energy & resources, industrial machinery, life sciences, and retail & consumer products.

The messages presented by the events’ master of ceremonies, Mr. Robert Dahdah, Executive Vice President, Chief Revenue Officer, were clear and well-articulated. PTC’s solutions are proven and allow PTC and its partners to enter into organizations that have never used its earlier to market solutions (e.g., Creo). With Codebeamer, ServiceMax, and other solutions recently incorporated into PTC’s overall offering, companies in multiple industries are now interested in PTC and how it can help enable their digital transformation journey. In CIMdata’s industrial consulting work, CIMdata has already seen how a “land and expand” strategy is working for PTC. Only a few competitors have the breadth of offering similar to PTC’s, with some of PTC’s solutions being relatively unmatched in their domain.

Mr. Neil Barua, President and CEO, addressed the audience to further describe PTC’s vision, as well as to discuss a few major wins in the automotive and other industries. These wins are impressive and demonstrate PTC’s solution offerings’ applicability to companies that had not previously considered PTC as a potential PLM partner (i.e., beyond perhaps mechanical CAD). It is good to see Mr. Barua, and his management team, taking the organization to the next level of maturity and growth. As with all major CIMdata Mindshare Leaders, PTC has embraced the incorporation of Artificial Intelligence (AI) into its solutions. They, like a few competitors, see AI and data being keys to success, and CIMdata agrees. It was clear from many of the presentations at the event, that PTC expects to accelerate its growth through full and more rapid SaaS enablement, “fueled by AI” and “Powered by Product Data.” All of which working together and further enabled by PTC’s full solution offering thereby enabling its “Intelligent Product Lifecycle” (IPL) framework—a framework designed to connect and optimize every phase of a product’s lifecycle. There is a lot of capability PTC can provide a customer. All of which should prove to be very beneficial for those companies that enable it properly.

Additionally, it should be stressed that PTC’s movement to industry-based solution enablement and marketing isn’t trivial. As noted by Ms. Catherine Kniker, Chief Marketing and Sustainability Officer, significant work has already been delivered, and much more industry-focused content is on its way. The messaging and supporting material will be critical to increase the market’s understanding and appreciation of PTC’s strategy, solutions, and ability to solve real-world problems. In turn, PTC’s win and client retention rates should increase, while its cost of sales should decrease driven by delivery of industry-focused solutions and messaging.

Another important element of this is being enabled by PTC’s organizational change management (OCM) initiative led by Mr. Viktor Sinzig, Director Global Customer Adoption and OCM Team Leader. Mr. Sinzig and his team have already made some significant inroads related to accelerating the PLM adoption rate and value received by a select set of customers. CIMdata applauds this critical initiative. While at Spark, CIMdata was able to present and listen into what PTC is doing in this area, and CIMdata is impressed with PTC’s passion, plans, and defined methodology that have been developed in support of OCM. In addition, it is important to note that a CIMdata authored eBook on this topic is planned to be released in the near future.

Finally, CIMdata wishes to share some thoughts related to Mr. Jon Stevenson’s, Executive Vice President and Chief Product Officer, general session presentation. Mr. Stevenson, who recently rejoined PTC after an approximately 24 year break, stressed PTC’s position and the adoption potential of its product offering. He spoke about PTC’s technology roadmap and the market possibilities related to mechanical CAD expansion and replacement. He also addressed major developments in Windchill, such as its new user interface, extension framework, and streamlined deployment capabilities. His presentation, along with preceding ones, were all well received.

PTC is clearly moving forward in a positive and proactive direction. Its management changes are positive and have brought yet another level of enthusiasm and energy to the company. There is a high likelihood that PTC has entered an inflection point that will take it to its next level of growth and success. Overall, CIMdata felt the energy and enthusiasm of Spark attendees, not only during the general and numerous technology and regional breakout sessions, but also in numerous one on one discussions with PTC personnel and partners. CIMdata looks forward to seeing what is ahead for PTC, its partners and global customer base.

^[1] Research for this commentary was partially supported by PTC.