Recently, there was a good article on the CAD community web sites titled “Textron and Other Fortune 500 Companies Move to Aras Enterprise Open Source PLM Software” that outlined how major global companies are switching to Aras. It includes some of their reasons for picking Aras over other major PLM systems and how they have achieved results in cross-functional, worldwide enterprise PLM deployments.

Here’s a repost of the article with links to the original articles CAD community web sites (i.e. CATIA, PRO/E, Siemens PLM Software, SolidWorks, Inventor)...

Textron and Other Fortune 500 Companies Move to Aras Enterprise Open Source PLM Software
June 21, 2010 by Tom Gill is the founder of TAG Consulting

What do the world’s leading companies know that you don’t?

Last week it was announced that leading aerospace and defense contractor Textron has selected Aras for enterprise product lifecycle management. Textron’s move follows that of other global businesses such as Lear Corporation and Xerox. What do these market-leading companies, all members of the Fortune 500 and Forbes Global 2000, know that you don’t? Open source PLM software isn’t just for small companies.

Superior Technology

For more than 50 years Textron has been creating state-of-the-art weaponry, surveillance and protection systems for defense, aerospace and homeland security communities. While CIO Tony DeGregario appreciates the value of Aras’s open source model, he knew there was more to Aras than free software. “The enterprise open source approach and elimination of PLM license fees initially got our attention, however, what really drove our selection of Aras was the comprehensive PLM functionality and advanced technology,” said DeGregario.

Aras is a modern PLM solution suite engineered like no other. The Aras enterprise application framework is an advanced model-based service-oriented architecture (model-based SOA) delivering highly scalable, flexible and secure applications that deploy quickly and adapt easily to evolving business needs without complex programming. Aras addresses the entire product lifecycle with out-of-the-box solutions for a wide range of strategic business initiatives, including global product development, new product introduction, configuration & change management, design anywhere/build anywhere, advanced product quality planning, regulatory compliance and others. All the Aras solutions are Web-based and inherently integrated for a simple, consistent user experience.

Textron selected Aras PLM suite to help master their biggest product development challenges. The A&D giant is integrating Aras with SAP to drive strategic cross functional processes such as its stage-gate program, project management and risk mitigation, as well as other traditional PLM functions including CAD file management, and configuration and change management.

As DeGregario explains, “Textron Defense Systems is committed to developing winning solutions to the most complicated engineering challenges and we believe Aras’s approach to enterprise-wide PLM will help us deliver on that commitment.”

Global Reach

More than 80% of automobiles worldwide built today contain one or more components from Lear Corporation. As a leading automotive supplier with 90 years of experience and expertise behind it, Lear is all about automation, integration and continuous improvement. Two years ago, when Lear began evaluating PLM solutions, they were put off by the significant initial PLM license expenses and the cost to expand the system over time to reach all of their users around the world. Then they discovered Aras.

Aras helps control costs with freedom from PLM licensing. Unlike PLM vendors who use named license scheme and charge additional fees for each person to access each module, Aras provides complete access for unlimited users with no PLM license costs. Aras eliminates big up-front PLM license expenses, as well as concerns about licensing for the thousands of people that only log on periodically. This was a huge benefit for Lear, who has employees based in 35 countries.

“Our scope is not small,” explained Reynaldo Reyes, Director of Engineering Tools and Processes for Lear’s Electrical Power Management Systems. “We’ll have more than 1,000 users on the system globally and we wanted to make sure everyone could work in our environment without constraints. If there’s a guy in Argentina who only does one thing, I want him to have access. If you break a workflow by taking it offline, that’s it – it’s broken. Other PLM systems never seem to reach everyone in the workflow because sooner or later the license costs become prohibitive. We knew we wouldn’t have that problem with Aras.”

Immediate Value

Xerox is a $22 billion company synonymous with innovation. The company’s 130,000 employees serve a diverse client-base in more than 160 countries. In 2007 Xerox Office Products implemented the Aras PLM software solution and never looked back. Xerox chose Aras for its modern cloud architecture, no-cost-of-entry and ability to show ROI right away. “Aras is different than other PLM products,” said Jared Sund, Manager of Engineering Support, who uses a Big Bang Theory analogy to describe typical PLM products. “Under the PLM Big Bang Theory, you remove everything and then you start building a foundation. 12 or 36 months later you start moving forward. With Aras we started adding value to the business right away.”
 
Aras’s unique combination of proven Internet technologies, common platforms and open industry standards enable global enterprises to drive continuous improvement and achieve previously unattainable levels of business process innovation. With Aras, businesses can significantly reduce the time, cost and effort necessary to customize and deploy enterprise PLM applications; adapt them to changing business conditions; and easily integrate them with existing legacy systems resulting in dramatic reductions in cycle times, considerable improvements in agility and significantly lower total cost of ownership.

“In the past technology was a hurdle,” said Sund. “The tool couldn’t do it, you were bound by Finance, there weren’t enough resources or you had to wait 6 months to get started. It shouldn’t be that way. Technology should not be hindrance; it should help us move forward. Aras been has been a whole difference experience. Aras gives us the flexibility to keep up with the business and put everyone on the same playing field without trying to fence them in.”

Proven Results

Multinational enterprises compete by striving for excellence in everything they do and aligning their businesses with partners who do the same. These global leaders recognize the full value of Aras LM solution suite – from business model to software architecture, Aras is the world’s most advanced PLM solution.

Aras provides comprehensive PLM functionality that exceeds that of the legacy PLM providers and its innovative architecture makes it far more scalable and extensible than other PLM systems. What does that mean for global businesses? A PLM solution that works from day one, integrates with existing technology investments, and provides a secure, flexible platform for future growth. Factor in a cost savings that averages 68% or more when compared to conventional PLM licensing schemes and productivity gains realized when companies with 10,000+ users make PLM accessible to everyone in the product lifecycle, no matter how remote or infrequent, and one can quickly see that Aras is more than great technology, it’s also good business.

Tom Gill is the founder of TAG Consulting. Contact Tom at http://www.tagconsultingllc.com

What's your take? Will your company be forever stuck looking in the rear view mirror at “PLM from the Past”? Or will your CIO wake up, look ahead and realize the benefits of PLM’s Future? (i.e. Open Source PLM and Aras)