PLM360 and Fusion Lifecycle Trajectories

It has been only four years since Autodesk formally joined “PLM club” by introducing Autodesk PLM360. You can get my old articles about it – Autodesk enters PLM, My first take on PLM360 system and tech. Last year I shared my thoughts about what happened with PLM360 for the last three years.

The initial “formula” of PLM360 was to get a system that focusing on process management loosely connected to design data. It was mostly about managing organizational processes and event project lifecycle management.

Earlier this year, I identified some signs of changes in PLM360 strategy. You can spot it in Tech-Clarity article – Autodesk PLM360 strategy for 2016 and beyond.

I don’t like to get into the “holy war” of naming software suites, so for this post you’ll find me speaking about “PLM” as the data and process management components (PLM 360) and “Product Innovation Platform” as the broader context including design and analysis tools.

This Product Innovation Platform Approach is delivered via their Forge Platform, which integrates design data with APIs that are intended to be used by both internal and partner applications. Fusion 360, Autodesk’s cloud-based design solution providing online CAD, CAM, and CAE capabilities, plays a pivotal role in the Product Innovation Platform.

My attention was caught by the blog and announcement of Autodesk to rename PLM360 into Fusion Lifecycle. Navigate here to read more. It speaks about future transformation of Autodesk PLM strategy. The following passage can give you very high level strategy statement.

As an integrated solution, Fusion unites the entire development process into a single platform using the data collected and leveraging the always-connected ecosystem of the cloud. Fusion 360, Fusion Lifecycle and Fusion Connect together comprise a unified product innovation platform for the new ways products are designed, made and used.

I found the following link with some practical Q&A on what happens with PLM360, subscription, tenants and other issues here:

While the individual products will become more tightly integrated over time, currently these three products will continue to be available for separate subscriptions to give customers flexibility. You do not need to change the way you currently work with the product. There have been no changes to how you access your PLM tenant.

What is my conclusion? The trajectory of Fusion Lifecycle is to be even more connected to Fusion360 than today. Within the time, Fusion Lifecycle will become a part of immersive Fusion Platform environment. It is an absolutely positive news for customers looking for vertical integration around Fusion360 design and manufacturing platform. It will be interesting to see how Fusion Lifecycle will maintain the immersive status in Fusion platform and will keep developing product lifecycle management experience and capabilities. It is also not clear from the announcement what is the role of A360 in the future of Fusion platform. I’m planning to attend Forge DevCon in San Francisco next month. Look forward to learn more. Just my thoughts…

Best, Oleg

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Disclaimer: I’m co-founder and CEO of openBoM developing cloud based bill of materials and inventory management tool for manufacturing companies, hardware startups and supply chain.