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

Microsoft cloud business is growing. How PLM vendors can follow?

Microsoft cloud business is growing. How PLM vendors can follow?
Oleg
Oleg
24 July, 2017 | 3 min for reading

Few days ago, I was sharing my thoughts about Microsoft Azure Stack and hybrid could. Check this link. Are there cloud PLM solutions available from Azure cloud? Not many, according my observations (If you know about one, let me now). Based on CIMdata research, cloud PLM adoption was much slower than vendors were anticipating. Value proposition and clear differentiation are partially to be blamed. Also, the fact PLM vendors are lacking good solution for midsize manufacturing companies is an additional challenge for cloud PLM business.

Meantime, Microsoft cloud business is growing. Early today, my attention was caught by the following article – Microsoft’s Q4 earnings surpassed expectations thanks to the cloud. It includes productivity apps such as Office365 (with commercial revenues growth 44% YTY). But, even more interesting Intelligent cloud, which houses Azure, increased 11% to reach $7.4 billion, and accounted for 30% of total revenue.

Here is an interesting passage:

Microsoft Azure’s hybrid cloud approach and wide reach likely set it apart from other cloud service providers. Enterprises can use Microsoft’s public cloud while also running some applications in their own data centers — Microsoft says 80% of companies they talk to prefer a hybrid cloud approach, according to TechCrunch. Microsoft also has an enormous footprint in the enterprise as the company leverages its customer base by getting as many clients as possible to use at least some of Azure’s services.

The cloud segment will become increasingly important as the digital ecosystem moves away from being device-centric and toward cloud-oriented solutions. This shift will be more pronounced in the years ahead, as businesses and consumers seek greater mobility, and the IoT brings more devices into the digital fray. Microsoft is already taking advantage of this by launching Azure IoT Edge, a new service that enables businesses deploying the IoT to use all of the capabilities of the Azure IoT cloud. By moving further into a space that’s set to grow in the coming years, Microsoft could attract even more clients that otherwise couldn’t have deployed IoT solutions.

It seems like Microsoft is catching up on cloud business. Microsoft might be loosing some positions in consumer services and apps, but it is strong in business relations and B2B product offering. The numbers above speak for themselves.Office365 and Azure cloud are changing the trajectory of cloud adoption and my hunch many of these businesses are manufacturing companies.

What is my conclusion? I think, PLM vendors are missing cloud opportunity. However, to user this opportunity won’t be a simple task for PLM vendors with heavy focus on high end enterprise and old fashion PLM platform architectures.The new wave of public and hybrid cloud solutions will emerge for under-served segment of manufacturing companies. It will leverage new solution architecture, cloud scale and reach as well as new business models. It is time for PLM business to move forward. Just my thoughts…

Best, Oleg

Want to learn more about PLM? Check out my new PLM Book website.

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. My opinion can be unintentionally biased.

 

 

Recent Posts

Also on BeyondPLM

4 6
21 September, 2016

The demand for real-time collaboration is getting stronger. The idea to “get your team on the same page” was translated...

1 December, 2016

IoT is coming everywhere these days. The interest in technologies enabling to deliver connectivity between customers, products and product development...

10 May, 2012

Big. Bold. Boom! The one and the only SolidSmack is writing about PLM. Do you remember first SolidSmack mission statement?...

7 May, 2011

A week ago, I came back from ACE 2011 (Aras Community Event 2011), which took place in Detroit, MI. Let...

22 December, 2008

I was looking at the evolution of PLM (Product Lifecycle Management) and BIM (Building Information Modeling) and found interesting parallels...

16 March, 2018

I’m going to Develop3D Live. This one day event is organized by Develop3D magazine and will take place in Warwick,...

17 October, 2013

All roads lead to Rome. Sometimes, I have a feeling whatever discussion happens in CAD, engineering and manufacturing world, it...

2 October, 2022

PTC press release says Onshape Arena Connection enables product data to be shared between Onshape and Arena with the click...

5 March, 2023

In an ever-evolving digital landscape, data has become a powerful currency for driving businesses forward. Data is transforming today’s manufacturing...

Blogroll

To the top