Is SharePoint the Next PLM?
In today's article at CADCAMNet about SharePoint as a PLM trojan horse (paid subscription or free trial required to view article), CCN editors comment that proprietary PLM vendors could be soon regarded as dinosaurs.
"...at a conservative estimate of 85 million users, with a proven application that enables standardized file sharing, collaboration, revision control, and workflow process control, SharePoint has become a product of choice for millions of companies worldwide wanting to centralize their data—and then share it out. Manufacturers are no different. Chances are good that their globally distributed teams are using SharePoint for some part of their operations. It makes sense to have their PLM operations on SharePoint, too." writes publisher, Rachael Dalton-Taggart.
While this statement may infuriate traditional (big iron) PLM vendors, many of them have already created PLM applications that support SharePoint operations. Same goes for the AEC/BIM vendors too.
Microsoft, however, is very keen to emphasize its strategy - that of providing the key technology backbones on which developers can create specific applications.
Comments Simon Floyd, Worldwide Industry Strategist for PLM at Microsoft, “Our partners are very important to the success of SharePoint. Where we provide the common platform for document management, search, workflow, etc., they provide their deep domain expertise to deliver industry relevancy. This not only provides businesses with PLM-specific functionality and the ability to share that data across departments and roles, it also enables their IT organization to achieve economies of scale and benefit from the convenience of a common system.”
How many readers use SharePoint already, even for other, more mundane business functions? In my mind, if I could work PLM on top of an existing SharePoint installation, I would do it in a micro-second. But there must be barriers. What are they?
Comments welcome.
"...at a conservative estimate of 85 million users, with a proven application that enables standardized file sharing, collaboration, revision control, and workflow process control, SharePoint has become a product of choice for millions of companies worldwide wanting to centralize their data—and then share it out. Manufacturers are no different. Chances are good that their globally distributed teams are using SharePoint for some part of their operations. It makes sense to have their PLM operations on SharePoint, too." writes publisher, Rachael Dalton-Taggart.
While this statement may infuriate traditional (big iron) PLM vendors, many of them have already created PLM applications that support SharePoint operations. Same goes for the AEC/BIM vendors too.
Microsoft, however, is very keen to emphasize its strategy - that of providing the key technology backbones on which developers can create specific applications.
Comments Simon Floyd, Worldwide Industry Strategist for PLM at Microsoft, “Our partners are very important to the success of SharePoint. Where we provide the common platform for document management, search, workflow, etc., they provide their deep domain expertise to deliver industry relevancy. This not only provides businesses with PLM-specific functionality and the ability to share that data across departments and roles, it also enables their IT organization to achieve economies of scale and benefit from the convenience of a common system.”
How many readers use SharePoint already, even for other, more mundane business functions? In my mind, if I could work PLM on top of an existing SharePoint installation, I would do it in a micro-second. But there must be barriers. What are they?
Comments welcome.
http://www.google.co.uk/url?sa=t&ct=res&cd=1&url=http%3A%2F%2F3dvision.com% 2Fwordpress%2Findex.php%2F2007%2F11%2F19%2Fcan-windows-sharepoint-be-used-as-your-solidworks -pdm%2F&ei=zJcpSP-hIZb00ATy88G2Cw&usg=AFQjCNGfEspKxBXxDY9hhOfrY0tcxWlHsQ&sig2 =DyakGNDuTQPamA6HDm7I3w
I for one would be more than interested in a solution and am actively looking.
Duncan Gallimore (Comment this)