PLM Prompt: Should PLM think about Google Apps?

Given that Excel is the mostly widely used PLM tool (for BOM management), I think Google App’s is a worthy successor. For companies that don’t want to, or can’t afford, a full PLM tool Using Google APps is a great way to take the spreadsheet model and extend it to work teams and beyond company boundaries. Also, I think Google offers the ability to “open source” widgets and extensions, which might allow for a real open source development of light-weight PLM. I think the down-side is that Google hasn’t yet earned the credibility of enterprise users and hasn’t proven they can really manage data security and integrity (they have had some failures in this regard). If they stick to it, they have enough capital and smart people to overcome these barriers.

on a personal level, I’ve already completely moved over to google apps. ya know what else? people I know that are not so computer/excel/word processor savvy are finding it easier to use. think about that one.

Really though, what’s beyond this for PLM? We’ll begin to migrate to online apps. new businesses will find it more cost effective. how about web-based ERP systems that integrate with G apps? Cost reduction and analysis apps for stimulating business growth? There’s lots more potential that just using the cloud for storage of BOM’s. Let grab that data, mix it with engineering and production and see what happens.

I’m also amazed that people are still using fax. Although a totally different sector, I see this in tourism. Some French hotels will still have you FAX them your confirmation. Perhaps this is a question of naturally letting the dinosaurs go extinct. I’d expect there will be co-existence for some time and that with time the Cloud will be THE way. ‘Would love to get your input on “cloud concerns” in this 2-question poll. Interesting to see what others think too:
http://perspectives.3ds.com/2009/05/15/cloud-watching/

Lars, thanks for joining conversation. I think Kate provided best answer. Dinosaurs will co-exist some time… Just need to disconnect from them. Otherwise we know what happened to them dinosaurs ;)… Thanks for your comments and welcome to plmtwine discussion!. Oleg.

Pretty interesting to read about “apps on tap” again, marketed this time via the new buzzword called “Cloud” Computing. Coming from the “old World”, as Mr bush once called it, visionary companies might see the real power here again but most german manufacturers for example won’t touch this thing for years. But I wonder, what the motivation was last time they did not jump on the bandwagon from Microsoft or other big players. Microsoft told me an interesting story about they still see a 5 to 10 years of a combined Local Installed Software interacting with Cloud Computing in the background for resource intensive actions like data analysis, etc. Let’s see where we end up this time 🙂 Jeroen

Oleg,

I think technologies have long tails (see vacuum tubes). Having consulted with some traditional providers and customers, there is a segment of the market that will be a long time off in transitioning, and some that may “never” (see companies with ITAR requirements). Therefore, I think major vendors need to embrace the reality of the hybrid (some cloud/some on premise) and think about how to get the best of both worlds. I think this is the realistic long term path.

I agree that the majority of applications will head toward cloud over some time horizon (I would say more like 10+ years). I’m not sure that cost is the only driver for selection — reliability, security, and quality of solution will matter much more for some markets and will keep them right on the ground and out of the clouds.