The following message on twitter from Jonathan Scott of Razorleaf made me think about the future of vertical integration in Engineering Software.
In my view, this is the old, but very interesting topic. I want to refer few of my previous posts that discussed this or related topics: 3DLive, HD3D and Demand for CAD/PDM immersivity and Future CAD/PLM and Assembly Version Management.
Data Management and CAD
I can see an increased demand for better data management functionality in CAD systems. The integration of data management applications increased over the past 2-3 years. Vendors started to think about PDM functionality like revision management and vaulting as a standard function in CAD applications. Dassault V6 took this process even future and introduced CATIA V6 bundled with ENOVIA server.
Multi-CAD, Multi-PDM, Multi-PLM
So, where we are going? To diversify or to consolidate? CAD vendors will follow demand of customers for better vertical integrations. Problems in integrations of CAD systems and other vendors PDM/PLM systems are the most critical. It will push customers to buy vertical PLM suites. However, it will not solve a problem, since it will require consolidation of CAD platforms. However, this is another story – you can catch the conversation here – CAD Strategies: Unified or Diversified.
What is my conclusion? The integration problem between elements of PLM portfolios, including CAD remains one of the biggest factors slowing PLM implementations and making them very sensitive for version changes and upgrades. Bundle of data management in CAD environment can simplify integration, but can make a customer’s decision more complicated. Just my thoughts…
Best, Oleg
