CIMdata 2011 PLM Vendor Forum

“PLM —Back to the Future”

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According to leading economists, “The Great Recession” is behind us, but many sectors of the world economy are still feeling the pain. Despite the slow emergence from this darkness, there is some light at the end of the tunnel. As often happens, PLM seems to be a leading indicator, with growth returning to the PLM market somewhat faster than in other domains. But are we really back to business as usual? That is one of several reasons for this year’s theme - “Back to the Future.”

Many companies survived the recession through cost cutting, but this can only improve financial performance so much. Some of those cuts went very deep, resulting in the loss of some of the company’s most valuable intellectual capital. This makes PLM even more important, as it acts as the “warehouse” for intellectual capital that companies cannot afford to empty out in the name of cost savings (like they did in reducing inventories of physical goods) and it can be an engine for top line growth. How can these companies’ best get BACK to profitable growth? We believe that PLM is a central part of the answer because it helps companies more quickly bring the right product to the right market.

This is equally true for the PLM solution suppliers, many of whom also cut costs and people to maintain profitability. Customer relationships and product and selling knowledge walked out the door with many of those cuts. What is the PLM-equivalent on that side of the equation? Some solution suppliers used their own tools to manage the sales and implementation cycle, supplemented by CRM, to keep that valuable knowledge in-house. How are you changing your tools and processes to respond?
Emerging changes in PLM software delivery and use provide us with our strongest “Back to the Future” link. Cloud and Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) take some of us back to timesharing and client/server delivery paradigms of the past. Other markets are seeing Cloud and SaaS models become predominant, like CRM with Salesforce.com. In PLM, the outlook seems to be “partly cloudy,” with different players taking radically different approaches. But this “new” model has implications for users and solution suppliers alike. For users, what are the cost and performance impacts? How secure is my data? Is the Internet up to the challenge? What about integrating off-premise and on-premise software? For solution suppliers, how does a switch to Cloud or SaaS affect their business model and go to market strategy? Their pricing and packaging models? What is the impact on the business models of their channel partners? Even more radical is open source, of which there are only a few PLM practitioners so far. But their increasing success raises questions for users and channel partners alike. Open source solutions are very easy to “buy,” pushing initial decision-making down to anyone with a will, a server, and an Internet connection.

Another “Back” is vitality and broad-based innovation in the mechanical CAD market. While many have positioned CAD as a commodity for some time, the last few years have seen some potentially major announcements. For example, a number of solution suppliers have announced and begun to deliver significantly new modeling technologies. Suddenly CAD seems to have its sexiness back, but will users follow?

As for the “Future” side of the equation, CIMdata underwent its own changes in 2010. One might now refer to us as “CIMdata 3.0.” We’ll use this opportunity to update attendees on changes at CIMdata, our offerings, and plans for 2011 and beyond. This includes one of the focus areas discussed in last year’s Vendor Forum, compliance. Last year we talked about the growing importance of compliance in the PLM space. This year, we’ll update you on our response, CIMdata’s PLMisGreen initiative. We are also looking to expand geographic and segment coverage. For example, last year we partnered to deliver CIMdata numbers for China. Going forward, we are looking at the other BRIC countries. We also believe there is an opportunity to expand coverage of simulation and analysis to meet market needs.

CIMdata’s 2011 PLM Vendor Forum will provide insights on the current economic climate and trends, and their effect on PLM solution suppliers. We will discuss the issues highlighted above and changes in how CIMdata is transforming to better serve its clients. As always, CIMdata’s perspective on the state and trends of the current and future PLM market will be presented in detail, as well we will provide our first public exposure to CIMdata’s analysis of 2010’s PLM market results - including our extensive analysis and forecasts regarding market growth across PLM domains, industries, and regions, and the performance (revenue and market share analysis) of leading PLM solution suppliers. Over the last several years, CIMdata has greatly expanded coverage of a number of PLM domains, including tools, simulation and analysis, and digital manufacturing, making these sessions more valuable to a broader range of solution suppliers. CIMdata views these sessions as an opportunity to learn more about solution supplier requirements to optimize such coverage expansion to meet PLM Community needs.

Participants in CIMdata’s PLM Vendor Forum should expect to gain a solid understanding of the current PLM market situation, the dynamics impacting it, and expectations for its continued evolution. Attendees will have the opportunity to gain further insights into opportunities and approaches they can use to navigate the PLM market environment in the year to come. This session also provides an opportunity to network with other professionals in the PLM Community, including competitors, collaborators, and potential partners.

CIMdata 2011 PLM Vendor Forum Dates & Locations

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North America
Thursday, March 31, 2011
Kensington Court
610 Hilton Boulevard, Ann Arbor, MI 48108, USA

Europe
Tuesday, April 12, 2011
Millennium Hotel and Resort
Plieninger Strasse 100, 70567 Stuttgart, GERMANY

Tokyo
Information | Agenda
Wednesday, May 11, 2011 (new date)
Myojin Kaikan
Sotokanda 2-16-2, Chiyoda-Ku, Tokyo, JAPAN