A blog by Oleg Shilovitsky
Information & Comments about Engineering and Manufacturing Software

Large Monolithic PLM Implementations Are a Thing of the Past

Large Monolithic PLM Implementations Are a Thing of the Past
olegshilovitsky
olegshilovitsky
20 December, 2009 | 2 min for reading

Continue my last week post about how to make next PLM implementation simpler, I decided to put some ideas towards how the next PLM implementations will look like.

PLM vendors are making huge efforts to simplify PLM deployment and make implementation simpler. Despite that, in my view, typical PLM implementation is still combined from three typical steps: a significant planning effort, deployment of software and additional customization and adaptation services. These steps make implementation expensive. Talking with PLM specialists and consultants you will learn the most important PLM activities are related to good planning upfront, methodologies and clarification of what organization need and how to math organizational needs to capabilities of the system. Gaps are covered by services.  It looks like a deadly connected circle. How we can break it?

I think many of PLM vendors and implementers made a misinterpretation of out-of-the box terms. What is currently proposed in PLM “out-of-the-box” package is an effort to create “standard PLM”. What you can hear around is additional activities how possible to create typical industry implementations, OEM/supplier oriented typical implementation, etc.

In my view, this is a dead-end in PLM evolution. Such efforts will be endless similar to multiple standard activities in product development. The main reason for that is because manufacturing these days need to be more agile, lean and dynamic to sustain in their business and making profit. When such fundamental for their product development system like PLM becomes “typical”, you cannot expect them to be dynamic, lean and efficient at the same time.

What is a possible solution? I think software vendors need to learn again lessons from 15-20 years back. In beginning of 90th, few companies were doing PDM. Such projects were considered as luxury, needed by big organizations only. PDM budgets started at six digits numbers and requires major involvement of software vendor, custom software builds and long project implementation time line. However, in the middle and end of 90th we had chance to see a strong trend towards flexible data models, inexpensive Windows based systems and as a result lower entry barrier for PDM implementation.

My conclusion today. Vendors need to leave magic-out-of-the-box marketing efforts and depart to the new station where we’ll able to find new engineering solution for old problem. Future systems will be adaptive, will not require a significant effort to deploy and implement.

Just my thoughts. YMMV…
Best, Oleg

Recent Posts

Also on BeyondPLM

4 6
26 July, 2015

TechCrunch article Software for the full stack era speaks about brutal reality existing business software platforms are going through. From the...

20 April, 2019

Continue to share my reflections after COFES today, I want to touch CAD/PLM mergers and acquisitions (M&A). COFES is a...

25 January, 2020

PLM is often called a journey. Once started, the PLM solution is evolving and changing. The paradigm of a journey...

13 June, 2019

I’m attending PTC LiveWorx at Boston Convention center. Yesterday, during the keynote, PTC CEO Jim Heppelmann presented current strategic update...

6 April, 2010

I found an invitation to AUGI Drops service from AUGI in my email this morning. You can see more information...

13 November, 2013

Our life is getting more complex everyday. The time when we’ve been localized by our personal computer and document files...

16 November, 2015

More than 10 years ago, I had a conversation with one of telecom manufacturing companies in Europe. I asked –...

19 November, 2009

I think 3D Warehouse becomes a hot topic. Number of 3D Content is growing. Yesterday I had chance to try...

21 April, 2012

The discussion around the cloud is heating up. At the time, the competition gets stronger, the debate around the cloud...

Blogroll

To the top