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

Should PLM develop its own process tools?

Should PLM develop its own process tools?
olegshilovitsky
olegshilovitsky
20 February, 2009 | 1 min for reading

There is no discussion – PLM is very oriented towards processes. In order to be able to coordinate multiple organizational activities around product lifecycles it seems like process tools is  a “must to have” component in PLM tool box. But is it really true?

In today’s world, process tools are becoming available as part of many non-PLM products. Starting as workflow automation, process tools were developed and/or acquired by platform vendors (IBM, Microsoft and others). Large ERP vendors also provided process tools as part of their packages. In addition to these big behemoths, many BPMS (Business Process Management Suites) are focusing on process definition, execution and improvement. In addition, some standards initiatives around BPMN and BPEL are also focusing on process management and tools.

So where does PLM play into this game? I see two possible options: (1) PLM providers will focus on the development of process management tools; (2) PLM providers will allow the integration of PLM information and IP  (Intellectual Property) into existing process tools provided by platforms. I believe that option #1 will be very helpful in integrating PLM systems into the enterprise software already available within the vast zoo of software within the organization, option#2 can simplify deployment and and keep the implementation of PLM simple.

From a customer’s standpoint,  I see great significance to maintaining single organizational process. Therefore, a promising alternative is to align the PLM process implementation with the growing adoption of standards like BPMN /BPEL. This allows customer to run multiple tools around the same process…

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P7K53XR6A1c&feature=related]

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nFlKuPRpHoM&feature=related]

 

Recent Posts

Also on BeyondPLM

4 6
19 August, 2021

Bad habits die hard. When you become accustomed to something, it is hard to break out. And the longer you...

12 April, 2019

I continue sharing my thoughts and comments from SuiteWorld 2019 from last week in Las Vegas. PLM industry is full...

12 January, 2009

 Last month, I started a series of “PLM Glue Technologies” posts which I would like to continue. I titled my...

9 May, 2011

I’m continuing to think about Amazon cloud failure. As you may have noticed, the “cloud” is a frequent topic on...

18 December, 2008

In my previous posts I already touched on “cloud services” aspects of product delivery and operation. There are multiple examples...

6 July, 2025

The long July 4th weekend in the US is the perfect time to catch up on some strategic reading. AI...

10 October, 2018

PLM project isn’t a piece of cake for many organization. Some people say PLM is never ending project. It is...

13 April, 2010

The number of companies and products that are trying to jump into the social tools bandwagon is growing. At the...

5 April, 2017

In the past “monolithic” thing has a strong association with a power. Wikipedia article – List of largest monoliths brings...

Blogroll

To the top