Data management and collaboration are not new topics. I think, the majority of industry experts agree that proper data management can improve collaboration and people performance. However, not much happened beyond this statement for the last decade. The deployment of data-management systems remains complicated, and the majority of end users see data management as a devil that needs to be addressed by IT and/or upper management.
Google Apps and Document management collaboration
I’ve been reading Forbes article Google Apps by numbers by Gil Zimmermann of CloudLock sharing some interesting number of anonymous survey CloudLock made of their mid-market and enterprise clients. The following passage caught my attention:
The Exponential Growth of the Cloud. The projected average growth in Docs/Sites year-over-year is 10X for mid-market companies and 4X for enterprises.These growth rates indicate that the average mid-market company will have 35,000 more Docs/Sites in 2013 than they had in 2012; enterprises will have close to 750,000. Much has been made about companies’ reluctance to embrace the cloud. However, this data shows that once businesses make the decision to go to the cloud they jump in with both feet.
It made me think about the potential of cloud based document management to simplify the adoption of data-management tools by making it seamless and less complicated.
PDM and Cloud
I can see some initial movement in the process of cloud system introduction to the market. Autodesk 360, AutoCAD WS, SolidWorks n!Fuze are examples of how CAD/PLM vendors are trying to mimic Google Apps. I see these examples as something very positive. I’m looking forward to the Siemens PLM announcement of a new version of SolidEdge Insight XT and the possibility of Insight XT to work with SharePoint on the cloud.
What is my conclusion? I think, we are coming to the point when next disruption can happen in PDM space. For the last 10 years, most of CAD/PLM vendors were focused on how to improve the bundle of CAD/PDM. However, cloud can give some new tools and capability to improve PDM. My hunch that releasing users from data-management pain and complexity by leveraging cloud apps can be interesting opportunity. Just my thoughts…
Best, Oleg
