The results for the last opinion poll are:

NOTE: The results of these polls are anecdotal, not scientific.
If you have a suggestion for a poll you'd like to see contact us at info@cimdata.com.

Analysis
In another sign that PLM is moving from the engineering department to the board room, more than 55% of the those responding to CIMdata’s latest opinion poll indicated that the most important criteria in their company’s PLM evaluation and selection process were the ability to address their process and business requirements. Coming in a second with approximately 18% were technology features and functions. In CIMdata’s experience this illustrates that more and more companies understand PLM’s business enabling characteristics and as a result fewer companies see these solutions as just an extension of a computer-aided design (CAD) system.

Additionally, less than five percent (5%) indicated that the products and solution suppliers they currently work were an important criteria in their company’s new PLM evaluation and selection process. This would appear to indicate that an incumbent  PLM solution supplier doesn’t have a significant edge in new competitive situations. This may reflect a willingness to change, dissatisfaction with the incumbent, or a potential underestimation of the effort/cost that could be required to migrate from a long-time established environment.

Finally, it is important to note that just less than twelve percent (12%) indicated that the future vision and direction of the supplier played an important role. In CIMdata’s opinion this is somewhat disappointing and it may indicate that either today’s solution suppliers are doing a poor job communicating their vision and direction and its value to their customers or that industrial companies are too focused on today’s  (short term) requirements – a situation that can have long term negative consequences for a company.