COFES 2018 – Decentralized PLM, Blockchain and Graph DB roundtables 

I will be heading to COFES 2018 next week. Almost traditional gathering of CAD friends in warm Scottsdale Arizona. During my first years of COFES, I was coming to Scottsdale from Israel and didn’t appreciate much nice weather in Scottsdale Plaza Resort. However, when you’re coming from snowy Boston, the difference is significant.

If you missed my previous blog about COFES 2018, you can catch up here – What stands between Technology and People where I covered my favorite analysts sessions I’m looking forward to attend.

Today, I want to take a shot and share my favorite roundtable discussions. I picked 3 roundtables that are very much on top of my personal radar for the last few years. So, my favorites are – 1/ Decentralized PLM; 2/ Pragmatic blockchain; and 3/ Graph databases. Below you can find short summary and teaser. I also share articles I wrote related to the topic of the discussion.

Decentralized PLM

You can hardly find manufacturing companies doing everything in a single place. The time of Ford Dearborn plant is gone. Today, even smallest manufacturing startup will be employing people in 3 different locations with several contractors and suppliers. This is very “larger context” is coming and it is very much resonating with roundtable discussion announced below.

Is decentralization is the next step in maturity of PLM systems? Few of us work in a world where we have complete control – we live and work in a world of intersecting domains. PLM may be an excellent tool today for control and management of MY firms intellectual assets, but those assets live in a larger context. Can moving from large central system to distributed decentralization be the solution to connecting data and orchestration processes between OEMs, contractors and suppliers? What would we need to consider if we moved down that road? How do we manage security, trust, governance, and veracity? How would this change how we protect our IP?

BOM and Global Manufacturing options

Plug-n-produce and manufacturing networks

Push button engineering and product data networks

Amazon bomb, product lifecycle management and manufacturing networks

Pragmatic Blockchain 

Blockchain stories are hot. Sometimes even too hot. There are lot of controversy and debates. Main question for me is to find a model for distributed ownership and control. For very long time, PLM model was to trust a single admin. Will it continue? I don’t know.

Blockchain is a mechanism for enforced veracity. Enforced veracity can be used to build trust. The domain of COFES is design and engineering and construction and manufacturing. For our world, where will the application of enhanced veracity (i.e. Blockchain) make the most difference? How might that additional veracity change the nature of our business relationships? Where is veracity not enough? Much of the future of engineering software will be dependent upon on how we collect, analyze and transact data. How should we leverage this mechanism? Where are the risks? Who bears the costs and where do the benefits accrue? 

Blockchain technologies and distributed manufacturing ledger

Which PLM will climb to discover blockchain opportunity

Future digital PLM will adopt blockchain and eliminate world PLM super admin role

Graph Databases: The Next Big Thing

Graphs are beautiful and fascinating. You can think that all successful businesses of 21st century were built on top of network effect.

So, Graph database has a lot of potential.  Graph databases are not new, but they’re also not pervasive. Yet. What are they? Why should I care? What are the implications for Graph databases in design and engineering? How do I get started?

Will graph db provide a perfect model for PLM?

OpenBOM and advantages of global BOM graph

What is my conclusion? I love these topics and I’m excited about coming COFES 2018. It will be tough decision to choose 2 out of 3 discussions I shared above. Please keep eyes on my tweets- I will be live sharing from COFES next week.

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.