SANTA ANA, Calif. -- MSC.Software Corp. (NYSE:MNS) , the leading global provider of simulation software, services and systems, today announced the expansion of the MSC.visualNastran V5i family with gateways to the ANSYS and ABAQUS finite element analysis codes. The new gateway products are based upon the Dassault Systemes V5 Component Application Architecture (CAA) and have been developed in close partnership with Dassault Systemes (Nasdaq: DASTY; Euronext Paris #13065, DSY.PA). They give CATIA V5 users integrated, scaleable access to corporate simulation resources and increase the opportunities to reduce design and testing costs throughout the product lifecycle. "MSC.Software is committed to helping customers become more efficient and one way we can do that is to give them better tools to access corporate resources," said Frank Perna, chairman and chief executive officer of MSC.Software. "The MSC.Software team has, first and foremost, expertise in engineering. By providing gateways to ANSYS and ABAQUS, we are responding to our customers needs as they use the core MSC.Software virtual product development tools alongside software from other industry participants." The MSC.visualNastran V5i product family currently includes MSC.visualNastran Generative products, which embed simulation directly into the CATIA V5 CAD environment, and MSC.visualNastran Gateway products, which provide smooth, bi-directional access to corporate simulation resources. Closely supporting the CATIA V5 portfolio, the current gateways provide direct access to MSC.Nastran, MSC.Marc, ANSYS, and ABAQUS, as well as in-house proprietary systems using the STEP AP209 standard. The MSC.Gateway for ANSYS and for ABAQUS enables CATIA users to export the "run ready" ANSYS and ABAQUS input files as well as import and visualize the results of the ANSYS and ABAQUS executions without leaving their familiar CATIA V5 analysis environment. By integrating gateways to corporate simulation resources within CATIA V5, MSC.Software can provide companies and their design teams with the scalable resources needed to improve reliability and repeatability in their design process.