There is huge pressure on companies to be more competitive. Leon Lauritsen outlines the benefits of new product lifecycle management software.
Is this the environment you are working in and where you are expected to be fast and efficient? Some companies are trying to improve the situation. They continue overspending on legacy product data management/product lifecycle management (PDM/PLM) systems giving them limited results when there is an alternative.
In Europe, there has been, and still is, a huge pressure on companies to be more competitive if they want to survive.
A requirement for many companies has been improving revenue by bringing more products to market faster.
To assist them in that some companies have invested huge amounts of money in PDM/PLM systems to help them become more effective, but have achieved limited results compared to the investments made. Stop right now. There is an alternative.
Aras Innovator is the alternative and it is significantly different. There is no license cost. You can download and use Aras for free.
How is this sustainable, when for other systems companies have to spend hundreds of thousands of euros just to buy the licenses?
Due to the business model and capabilities of the Aras product there are large numbers of companies using it and Aras makes its money only on the companies who voluntarily signed for subscription (advanced support agreement) which with the volume of companies using Aras makes it a sound business model similar to Red Hat (NYSE: RHT).
But no-one chooses a solution just because it is cheaper. It might be a 'Mickey Mouse' system![Page Break]
Capabilities and speed
One of the very important innovations with Aras is the technical architecture of the solution. This has allowed for the downloaded system to have a rich functional breadth of solution.
Further, the configuration of the solution by users, is stated by customers who have tried other products, to be 30-50 per cent faster with Aras.
Capabilities range from Product Data & File Management (Mechanics, Electronics & Software), Engineering Change Management processes, Quality Management (Problems, Issue & Concerns Management), Corrective and preventative action processes, Project & Program Management, Requirements, FMEA, Control Plan, Supplier Collaboration and much more.
We often hear people say "This is the great thing". If you don't believe it then download Aras. Go to the Aras user community, go to YouTube, test it and prove it yourself without having to listen to software sales people.[Page Break]
But who is using it?
Companies of all sizes from all industries and interestingly many large companies who have already invested in big costly product lifecycle management systems before have either extended with Aras or simply replaced their solution.
A recommendation is to go the website and see examples of the companies using it, contact the companies yourself if you want their feedback. The Aras community is very open, just like Aras Innovator.
Enter √ at www.engineerlive.com/ede
Leon Lauritsen is with Minerva GB Ltd, part of the Minerva Group, Birmingham, UK. www.minerva-plm.com. Aras can be downloaded at www.aras.com
