I’m in Detroit today to attend Aras PLM user conference – ACE 2012. I’ve heard in the halls before conference that the theme of the conference – “Aras is different”. Few months before, Aras blogged about the same topic here. You can learn about the conference agenda by navigating to the following link. I wanted to give my top three points why I think Aras is different than the majority of PLM vendors on the market.
#1 Aras Innovator upfront cost is FREE
Yes, it is true. Aras Innovator can be downloaded from Aras Website and you can use it absolutely for free. So did I. Not all modules of Aras PLM are free. Some of them, coming from community need to be purchased (eg. CAD integrations and some others).
#2 Aras is CAD agnostic
Aras is not affiliated with any CAD and CAD vendor. After majority of PDM/PLM vendors were acquired during the decade of 2000s, Aras remains one of not many vendors featuring full PLM portfolio.
#3 Aras is Enterprise Open Source
Nobody else is doing so. Actually, I believe Aras invented this term – Enterprise Open Source. However, it is not a traditional OSS you may think about. Aras combine free license with significant investment in building of Aras community of developers. Under a specific license, Aras can provide you full source code of Aras Innovator.
What is my conclusion? I’m looking forward to learn more about Aras today and tomorrow. Last year, Aras did very bold claims about how Aras Innovator can replace Enovia, TeamCenter and Windchill. The jury is still out. So, I’m going downstairs just in few minutes to listen to Peter Schroer keynote and learn more.
Best, Oleg
