I’m coming from the first in-person PLM conference that happened yesterday in Ann Arbor, MI. It was a great place to get recent updates about the PLM industry and finally meet people in person to discuss where the PLM industry is heading. I will write more about them tomorrow as I will need to digest more of this. Today, I want to touch on the most important single news – an agreement between mindshare PLM vendors to develop a “super PLM cloud”.
Mindshare PLM Vendors
According to CIMdata, mindshare PLM vendors are the companies that are leading the market vision, development, and market share. The screenshot below shows you the list of vendors listed by CIMdata. Note, the list also includes Aras Corp.
Why Super PLM Cloud?
Manufacturing companies are always looking for ways to improve communication and collaboration among their suppliers and partners. The latest news was shared at a CIMdata event in Ann Arbor, MI related to the future development of the PLM market. It may help to achieve that goal. Several leading PLM vendors have agreed to develop a super PLM cloud, which will offer a single point of access to each company’s products and resources.
PLM vendors have agreed to develop a global “super PLM cloud” that will provide a single, unified platform for managing product data across multiple industries. The new platform is expected to improve collaboration between manufacturers and suppliers, as well as reduce the time and cost of bringing new products to market. It remains to be seen, however, whether the proposed platform will live up to its promise. Meanwhile, companies considering PLM should carefully evaluate their needs and choose a vendor that can meet them.
What comes next?
Although details of the super PLM cloud development are not clear yet, it is obvious that the recent development of cloud-native PLM platforms provided by all mindshare PLM vendors raised the question of unification of the effort in the development of a single PLM platform that can be shared by industrial companies. Specific announcements will be made by vendors about how 3D EXPERIENCE, Autodesk Forge, Oracle Cloud, PTC Atlas, SAP Hana, and Siemens Teamcenter X will be combined together in a single ‘super PLM’ cloud.
What is my conclusion?
Communication between multiple companies is a big problem in the modern manufacturing world. How to solve this problem was a question that was discussed by industry pundits and vendors for decades. Luckily, the recent technological breakthrough allowed vendors to come to an agreement about a future “super PLM cloud” that will solve communication and interoperability problems.
Best, Oleg
PS. Liked the idea? Well… it is April 1st. As of today, it was my professional joke, but there’s a grain of truth in every joke. Enjoy your day!
Disclaimer: I’m co-founder and CEO of OpenBOM developing a digital cloud-native PLM platform that manages product data and connects manufacturers, construction companies, and their supply chain networks. My opinion can be unintentionally biased.