self-hosted
Evaluating PLM platforms beyond their core functionalities
PLM has grown from a CAD data repository for engineering to an enterprise platform that enables multidiscipline collaboration, automates workflows, and delivers accurate product data across the enterprise. That’s why, for discrete manufacturers, a strong PLM foundation is key to digital transformation.
But a successful PLM program isn’t measured by just its functionality, but by the value derived from the functionality it delivers. While functionality plays a big part in that equation, there are many not-so-obvious aspects of the PLM system that can accelerate value, such as ease of implementation, scalability, and security.
How quickly and effectively can PLM capabilities be implemented and value realized, both internally (engineering, purchasing, manufacturing, and service) and externally (strategic suppliers, design partners, contract manufacturers, regulators, and customers).
Ease of Implementation
Windchill+ accelerates PLM adoption by significantly reducing system configuration complexity with best practices baked into its highly tailorable configurations, an optimized deployment architecture, and on-demand access to every module of Windchill.
What do we mean?
Ease of implementation accelerates ROI and frees up resources to tackle the next strategic initiative and catch up to (or define the next generation of) industry best practices.
What’s the significance?
Configuring an enterprise PLM system can be challenging and has ample opportunities for error, resulting in unplanned system updates, inadvertent security vulnerabilities, unexpected infrastructure expenses, and other deployment delays.
What’s getting in the way?
value accelerator:
self-hosted
How easy it is to upgrade to newer versions of the software as more functionality, quality-of-life, security, and other improvements become available.
What do we mean?
Each upgrade offers new features or refines current capabilities, making the solution more valuable. These improvements also make jobs easier so users can have a greater impact in other areas – not to mention a more enjoyable user experience.
What’s the significance?
Upgrading traditional on-premises or even cloud-hosted PLM software demands a large time and resource investment to migrate customizations and assure quality. They often require site reviews, compatibility checks, planning, staging, testing, execution, training, and more. As a result, many companies do not upgrade when they should, potentially missing out on necessary capabilities and allowing their software to fall out of support.
What’s getting in the way?
value accelerator:
With Windchill+, upgrades and updates are released on a predictable 18 month cadence. With PTC’s well-defined processes, minimal effort is required from customer resources.
upgradability
How different software versions and their applications are supported to ensure interoperability, which is especially pertinent to the tightly coupled relationship between CAD and PLM.
What do we mean?
For PLM, compatibility amongst engineering tools is imperative given the multi-discipline development of most products. Managing software versions adds another level of risk to any project, potentially delaying the advantages gained from new feature releases.
What’s the significance?
Compatibility becomes problematic for PLM customers when they upgrade a solution which relies on compatibility with one or more other systems. New versions of software might not meet previous compatibility requirements, leading to failures in functionalities. Limited backwards-compatibility may require customers to upgrade multiple systems at once. A project scope that started with one upgrade can quickly snowball. Consequently, companies may opt to delay upgrades instead or elect to lose certain functionalities.
What’s getting in the way?
value accelerator:
On top of extensive compatibility with the PTC product ecosystem, Windchill+ delivers a prescriptive upgrade schedule that accounts for compatibility across all PTC SaaS offerings. Windchill+ customers don’t have to worry about upgrades breaking their workflows and they can safely adopt innovations from PTC as soon as they are available.
Product Compatibility
How smoothly PLM integrations allow for the flow of product data with outside databases, third-party applications, and other enterprise software, and how they connect various domains, departments, and businesses.
What do we mean?
Powerful and easy-to-implement connections throughout an enterprise makes for improved collaboration amongst all stakeholders, automated business processes, complete digital product definitions, and an unbroken digital thread.
What’s the significance?
For one, the amount of PLM integrations necessary for best-in-class product development (not to mention a digital thread across an entire product lifecycle) can be extensive. Integrations are fragile, especially when they’re not implemented according to standards. They are also subject to risk when software versions become outdated and are no longer supported. On top of that, some software vendors strategically limit their integration capabilities to coerce customers into their proprietary ecosystem.
What’s getting in the way?
value accelerator:
Windchill+ offers secure interoperability across heterogeneous systems and applications with standards-based integration and data flow (OSLC, REST, STEP, etc.). A commitment to open standards reduces the risk of unexpected third-party costs and challenges and ensures Windchill+ is flexible enough to fit into unique software ecosystems. Perhaps most importantly, this means customers aren’t restricted to a single brand and can use best-in-class software across their enterprise without creating information silos. Lastly, because it is not versioned in the traditional sense, Windchill+ and its integrations will always be supported.
Robust Interfaces and Integrations
How responsive and stable the entire PLM implementation (e.g., full stack) operates under high workloads, how easily it grows and shrinks its use of resources to meet demands, and the availability of infrastructure to ensure continuous operation and growth.
What do we mean?
To achieve a desirable ROI, a PLM implementation must perform as expected and scale to meet demands. This can mean scaling the number of users for capabilities that are already implemented or scaling to expand new capabilities into other areas of the business.
What’s the significance?
The lion’s share of performance challenges falls to the IT team by way of hardware optimizations, monitoring and debugging issues, iterating on continuous improvement efforts, and ensuring consistency across PLM environments. They also have to address scalability issues by accommodating spikes in demand, replacing worn out equipment and networking new hardware, and installing the latest software.
What’s getting in the way?
value accelerator:
Windchill+ is managed by the engineering experts who created the software and leverages best-in-class cloud infrastructure. But Windchill+ takes it to the next level with more agility and responsiveness to market changes than traditional, on-premises or cloud-hosted PLM solutions, thus alleviating the strain on IT departments. For a typical private-cloud PLM user, optimizing software is a secondary business goal at best. But for PTC, optimizing performance for Windchill+ customers is embedded in the offering, enabling users to achieve unmatched performance and limitless scalability.
Performance, Scalability, & Stability
How strong your defenses are against malicious attacks, be they directed towards hardware, sensitive data, service disruptions, etc.
What do we mean?
Protecting IP is a board-level priority for every company. Loss of data, business disruptions, and damaged reputations from cyber-attacks represent an existential risk.
What’s the significance?
Cybersecurity often comes down to balancing risk tolerance and resources. Many manufacturers must rely on their own expertise to remain vigilant against security threats and depend on costly response teams to maintain best-in-class security. Legacy software from third party vendors require consistent and time-sensitive patching to avoid potent security breaches. Private-cloud PLM users are also on the hook for patching and updating their own solutions, often leaving vulnerabilities unresolved for too long. Not to mention the time spent on installing patches and waiting on manual patches create additional risk.
What’s getting in the way?
value accelerator:
When it comes to protecting IT infrastructure and IP assets, Windchill+ provides integrated, full-stack IP protection. Security is part of its design, with updates and patches done at scale across all customers. PTC presents world-class security measures, including certifications, compliance, audits, penetration testing, and environment scanning – all included with a Windchill+ subscription.
Cybersecurity
How a company manages the mandatory resources and risks for maintaining a PLM solution.
What do we mean?
PLM is strategic enterprise software – and the foundation of the digital thread. Users in every discipline and function of the company depend on uninterrupted access and the latest capabilities. But like any enterprise application, users require support, and the application demands skilled resources to maintain.
What’s the significance?
The increasing complexity of enterprise software ecosystems strains IT resources and requires deep expertise. In addition to those costs, there’s the unseen expense of keeping up with technology partners whenever they make a change.
What’s getting in the way?
value accelerator:
Windchill+ customers experience a best-in-class software development lifecycle (SDLC) through PTC’s dedicated teams across support, operations, and R&D. PTC is responsible for the full stack, accountable as your single partner ensuring a best-in-class SDLC.
IT Risk and Support Costs
At a minimum, it’s important to invest in a PLM solution that can meet the functional needs of your operation. But to maximize the competitive advantages of PLM, these value accelerators are game-changers. When compared to alternative PLM deployment options, Windchill+ can beat competitors on functionality while capitalizing on faster adoption and maturation.
reset
How your PLM system is deployed– whether on premises, self- or privately-hosted in the cloud, or SaaS – determines the efficacy of these factors as well as their impact on enterprise adoption and time to value.
When compared to self-deployed and privately hosted alternatives, Windchill+, a SaaS PLM solution, turns underlying PLM considerations into value accelerators:
PLM Solutions:
Find out how Windchill+ can accelerate your PLM adoption and value realization.
Core PLM functionalities (such as multidiscipline collaboration, automated workflows, and enterprise-wide delivery of accurate product data) are part of both self-hosted and SaaS deployments.
What do we mean?
core capabilities
Windchill+ Comes Out on Top
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