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

Social PLM and Mobile Dribbling

Social PLM and Mobile Dribbling
Oleg
Oleg
6 May, 2014 | 2 min for reading

Once “social” was a hot topic for PLM developer and analysts. In my view, the hype went down. Ask PLM people about social applications and be prepared for very neutral response. I asked myself – why so? Social applications can improve the way people communicate and should bring value. Nevertheless, social revolution in PLM is kinda “postponed”. You might be interested – will social apps back, when and how?

My attention was caught by WSJ.D article – Data Point: Social Networking Is Moving on From the Desktop. These numbers made me think about potential benefits  between “social” and “mobile” in PLM.

social-network-mobile-social

Similar to social apps, the popularity of mobile PLM application is not skyrocketing too. Once excited about the ability to run “everything from iPad”, users got back to their desktops, CAD workstations, BOM Excels and browser applications.  Did PLM vendors miss the point of mobile? I asked about that two years ago here. The confusion between “mobile web” and “native app” is probably only part of the problem. When world is going to be even more distributed than today, the efficiency of mobile PLM applications and intuitiveness of how mobile app can present the data becomes absolutely critical. However, mobile app will be used only if it is easier and brings additional value. The best example is taking picture during the presentation and sharing it via Twitters and/or Facebook.

Now I want to get back to social PLM option. I just read about new feature – you can tweet to Amazon to put a specific article or item in your shopping cart. Navigate here to read more. There is nothing very special here. It is all about efficiency. Imagine you found something you want to buy at the time you browse your twitter stream in the morning. To stay in the same environment and put an article to the Amazon shopping cart is all about efficiency. So, here is my guess. Social PLM can reinvent itself via mobile option.

What is my conclusion? The efficient interaction is very important when out of the office and not connected to your well-organized desktop. So, specially designed “social PLM” function can be very demanded on mobile devices. However, the fine tuning of functionality and mobile experience is a key. Efficient user interaction combined together with valuable scenario. This is a key for mobile PLM and social PLM to be successful. Without these two elements, customers will keep walking from social and mobile links to desktop. Just my thoughts…

Best, Oleg

photo source – WSJ-D article

Recent Posts

Also on BeyondPLM

4 6
12 April, 2019

I continue sharing my thoughts and comments from SuiteWorld 2019 from last week in Las Vegas. PLM industry is full...

15 May, 2018

Among many topics I’m following, these two three letter acronyms are capable to ignite a discussion almost every single time....

5 April, 2011

I found an increased trend of conversation around the “post-PC” topic. I found the conversation fascinating. Are we going to...

1 October, 2012

I’m in UK these days. Everything is on the wrong side :)… So, I decided to start from an unusual...

17 September, 2009

I want to touch and discuss an issue of data protection. When thinking about Product Lifecycle Management and related disciplines,...

28 May, 2023

Earlier this week, I attended the PI DX 2023 conference in Atlanta. You can check my agenda walkthrough here. In...

24 June, 2021

CAD and PLM companies are on the run towards the cloud. Each company has its own journey, stories, strategies, and...

2 September, 2010

Summer is finally over. This is a good reason to stop talking about fancy social software and cool Apple’s features....

5 July, 2021

Data is at the center of digital transformation projects. Questions about how to organize the data in the most efficient...

Blogroll

To the top