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

PLM Simplification, Alfresco and AutoCAD Integration

PLM Simplification, Alfresco and AutoCAD Integration
Oleg
Oleg
31 May, 2011 | 2 min for reading

One of the trends I am following constantly on my blog is the simplification. PLM is very complex and still way too expensive. However, I can see multiple evidence of changes that happen around us. Open source and IT consumerization are two interesting strategies. Normally, I’m not reading press releases. In modern social Web 2.0 environment, press releases are like dinosaurs. Even so, the following press release, made me stop for scrolling down my browser – Formtek Announces Enhanced Engineering Data Management Solution for Alfresco®, Including New EDM Connector for AutoCAD®.

Alfresco and SharePoint alternative

I’m following Alfresco for a couple of years now. In a nutshell, you can hear about Alfresco as an open source alternative for SharePoint. Dig a bit into Alfresco website – you will find the evidence of Web 2.0 DNA. The following interview with Alfresco CEO John Powel explains about what problems in content management Alfresco is pretending to solve – content complexity, solution cost, deployment complexity.

AutoCAD and Alfresco Content Management

AutoCAD content is widely available everywhere. You can hardly find a company that has no AutoCAD drawing. Therefore, to expand the content management solution to AutoCAD content is an interesting move. Microsoft and SharePoint made few steps to develop better connectivity to AutoCAD. Autodesk Vault has some modules and functionality to publish the content to SharePoint. However, publishing is complicated. It is so 95…. I’m going to learn more about Alfresco AutoCAD interface on June 8. Navigate to the following link to watch the webinar.

Formtek will demonstrate its new EDM Connector for AutoCAD®. The Formtek EDM Connector for AutoCAD provides access to Alfresco repository functionality – including browse, open, check-in, check-out, and view/edit metadata functionality – directly from within the AutoCAD application. The Connector also maintains the integrity of AutoCAD referenced drawings (XREFS), as well as other types of referenced files (DGN, PDF, raster, etc.), by automatically associating them to the current AutoCAD drawing within the Alfresco repository.

What is my conclusion? In my view, open source platforms can provide an alternative to existing data management systems. However, the integration is still a problem that needs to be solved. “To CAD or not to CAD” – this is a typical dilemma in engineering data management. Last month on ACE 2011, Aras, presented the integration strategy, which included CAD systems as well. The evidence of content management platform integration with AutoCAD is another example. Just my thoughts…

Best, Oleg
Freebie unlike most of the press releases.

Recent Posts

Also on BeyondPLM

4 6
29 May, 2009

Do you remember how a 5-inch floppy disk looks? And how to use it? It doesn’t seem like so long...

18 October, 2012

Open Source Software (OSS) is a wonderful thing. For the last decade, open source changed the world of software development....

19 July, 2016

Until now we had enough said about “cloud”. While PLM vendors are still disputing what is a true and false...

17 October, 2019

Cloud is here. Most industries are not questioning cloud technologies, applications and business models. But, in manufacturing and PLM, the...

19 December, 2011

Companies are looking for differentiation in the way they are making business. PLM companies are not different. Dassault, PTC, Siemens...

27 May, 2021

Unless you lived under a rock for the last year, you should know about the Siemens and SAP partnership. I...

8 April, 2023

In today’s fast-paced business world, it is important for companies to keep up with the latest technology and tools to...

28 November, 2012

Last year I blogged about Google’s cloud and CAD/PLM readiness. Navigate to the following link to refresh your memories. The...

15 March, 2025

The future of PLM isn’t just about managing data—it’s about making data work for people. I’m excited to be speaking...

Blogroll

To the top