Marilyn Guisbond さんのグループアクティビティ

Seaspan Shipyards Sets Sail for Streamlined PLM Seas

Marilyn Guisbond — Thu, 09 May 2024 10:08:00 GMT

Seaspan Shipyards, located on the Pacific Northwest Coast of Canada, provides a complete range of shipyard services to build, repair, and maintain naval, research, and commercial vessels. Its shipyard operations include Vancouver Shipyards, Vancouver Drydock, and Victoria Shipyards. The company recently celebrated the thirtieth anniversary of its Victoria Shipyard and is considered an economic driver for the region. It has a solid reputation and is a trusted partner to government and commercial fleets in Canada and around the globe.

To meet new demands, Seaspan undertook a major effort to build out and modernize its shipbuilding facility. It was through that process that, according to Chris Phillips, director of Digital Shipyards at Seaspan, “We recognized that product lifecycle management was an incredibly important piece of the puzzle that we needed in order to be successful in the National Shipbuilding Strategy, and that’s what prompted us to go through an evaluation process—moving forward with Aras in the latter half of 2013.”

When Aras was first deployed in 2013, Seaspan focused on document management—converting massive amounts of physical documents to digital formats. By 2018, Seaspan saw a major change in its approach to product lifecycle management (PLM). Not only did the number of users increase, but their focus shifted from document-centric to product data-centric. As a result, they recognized it was time to leverage its PLM ecosystem in a more controlled manner.

Seaspan’s challenges

Seaspan realized that they had 5 significant challenges they wanted to address:

Need for a “single source of truth” for managing data
The ability to manage multiple project phases at one time
Managing change across the life of a given project
Managing collaboration among geographically dispersed teams
Creating an ecosystem with accurate project data to avoid late changes, delays, and increased costs

As part of an initiative, the government named Seaspan Canada’s West Coast Center of Excellence for shipbuilding. To become a world-class maritime organization and support this expansion, Seaspan upgraded its three facilities: Vancouver Shipyards for construction and Vancouver Drydock and Victoria Shipyards for maintenance. Recognizing the need for an improved product lifecycle management (PLM) strategy amid constant shipbuilding changes, Seaspan aimed to replace outdated spreadsheets with a modern PLM platform to handle scale and swiftly changing priorities effectively.

Outcomes that exceed expectations

Seaspan looked for a vendor that could support a “two-pronged vision” of an upgraded PLM strategy. The team realized a disconnected approach wouldn’t be sustainable as their data storage and processes became increasingly complex. The company began a search for a PLM platform that was easy to use and adaptable to their organization’s specific needs.

“We were seeking a robust document management repository, which would allow us to manage essential design documentation, such as data sheets and design specifications. Seaspan leadership recognized that we needed to leverage our PLM ecosystem in a more controlled manner to become the world-class shipyard that we aspire to be.”

Seaspan’s solution was to deploy Aras Innovator^® to create a unified data source to ensure effective change management.

Cruising into the future with Aras Innovator

Seaspan chose Aras Innovator as their go-to source for all product info, making everything clear and easy to track. Plus, with Aras, handling changes became simpler, even with the massive scale of shipbuilding in mind.

Seaspan's next step is to link their 2D and 3D design software with Aras. This will let them manage configurations and see how changes affect things directly in Aras. This means they can pull important data straight from the 3D models, making it easier for them to manage their ships.

To learn more about Seaspan and how they deployed Aras Innovator to address their challenges, read the complete case study.

Aras Sponsors CIMdata 2024 PLM Road Map & PDT NA Conference

Marilyn Guisbond — Tue, 23 Apr 2024 10:19:00 GMT

Aras Customers Generate Value with Digital Thread

We are excited to announce that Aras will be a platinum sponsor at CIMdata’s 2024 PLM Road Map & PDT North America Conference. CIMdata calls the event a “must-attend” for product lifecycle management (PLM) professionals, and the agenda promises a collaborative environment in which PLM enthusiasts will share experiences and initiatives while engaging with like-minded colleagues.

The event agenda includes sessions on the “strategic positioning of digital threads and digital twins within a product lifecycle digitalization program, how AI builds upon and enables product lifecycle digitalization, developing people skills for today and the future, and more. Aras experts Bruce Bookbinder, Joe Moorman, and Malcolm Panthaki will be available to chat with attendees at the PLM Collaboration Café during registration, breaks, and throughout the day.

We’re proud that two companies from different industries who are members of the Aras community, SAIC and McDermott, will present at the event and share their own perspectives on their value drivers for digitalizing the product lifecycle.

Digital engineering on day one

The United States Department of Defense (DoD) recently published “DoD Instruction 5000.97,” making digital engineering a required capability, replacing document-based engineering with model-based techniques. As a result, engineers and program teams can access a common, authoritative source of truth throughout the engineering lifecycle phases via an integrated digital thread.

To bring the promise of digital engineering to life, the SAIC Engineering Innovation Factory created ReadyOne – its rapidly deployable digital engineering ecosystem. Last month, we announced a strategic partnership with SAIC to establish a consistent digital thread to improve collaboration and efficiency in the Defense industry. Aras Innovator^® is the digital thread backbone for ReadyOne.

According to Aras CEO Roque Martin, “The combination of our digital thread backbone with SAIC’s digital engineering know-how and years of experience make it easy for customers to meet even the most stringent requirements of the defense sector while still improving efficiency and cost.”

On the first day of the event, David Ewing, director of Digital Engineering at SAIC, will present on “Achieving Digital Engineering Value on Day One.” David will discuss how digitalization is only the beginning of product lifecycle transformation. He’ll share why in this turbulent global economic and political environment, a key requirement of digital engineering’s value is speed – how fast organizations can deploy the ecosystem to realize value quickly.

“AVEVA’s robust industry asset lifecycle management solutions, built on the Aras platform, will enable McDermott to design and better manage their customers’ asset lifecycle data by leveraging a fully connected digital thread of the asset’s engineering and operations information.”

Roque Martin, Aras CEO

PLM capabilities manage the design and lifecycle of major assets

On day two of the event, Jeff Stroh, senior director of Digital & Information Systems Management, McDermott, will take the stage to discuss “Adapting PLM to the World of Major Infrastructure Projects.” PLM is a well-established tool in several industrial sectors, but it's a developing area for the world of major energy infrastructure projects. As the world undertakes an energy transition, the major infrastructure engineering and construction companies must also rethink how we plan, execute, and deliver increasingly complex infrastructure projects. Jeff will share how McDermott is approaching this challenge by rethinking processes and tools.

“The integration of these two toolsets (AVEVA and Aras) presents a strong digital-centric execution solution bringing together proven EPC tools with the robust digital transformation possibilities of the low-code Aras platform to digitalize industry processes that have been document-centric for too long. We’re excited to see the potential value out of this lighthouse program.”

Vaseem Khan, SVP Global Operations, McDermott

If you haven’t registered, it’s not too late! Interested in scheduling time with one of our Aras experts at the event? Email Aynsley Jeansonne with details and requested timing.

Aras Makes a Strong Commitment to Women's Leadership

Marilyn Guisbond — Fri, 08 Mar 2024 10:35:00 GMT

Women's History Month and International Women's Day (IWD) are powerful reminders of women's impact on society and the ongoing struggle for gender equality. These celebrations recognize the courage, resilience, and brilliance of women throughout history who have broken barriers, shattered stereotypes, and made significant contributions to their communities and the world. March is Women's History Month in the US, and we at Aras are excited to honor women globally.

Celebrated each year on March 8, the IWD 2024 theme, "Inspire Inclusion," challenges us to tackle gender bias, increase opportunities for women, and build a more equitable global society. Women's History Month and IWD encourage us to reflect on the current state of gender equity and renew our commitment to a more inclusive workplace. Each year, a pose is selected to represent the theme, and everyone is encouraged to take photos in the pose and share them socially to grow the base of informed supporters.

At Aras, we are committed to working together to create a diverse and highly engaged workforce. Our Business Resource Groups (BRGs) are in their third year, providing opportunities for Aras employees to learn more about the benefits of inclusivity in the workplace, to look inward, and to address their own unconscious biases.

This year, we will celebrate on March 13 to accommodate our international workforce, which includes countries that have recognized IWD as a national holiday with a day off. Our celebration will include a speaker, Astrid Deutschmann, a diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) and IT consultant. Astrid has a strong background in STEM (she was a Program Manager at Ericsson for 18 years) and will share her unique perspective on the current state of women in leadership globally, as well as her take on some of the data from the McKinsey/Lean In 2023 Women in the Workplace study.

This year's event promises to be the best yet, with an introduction by our CMO, Josh Epstein, an unwavering supporter and ally of the Aras Women in Leadership team. This is an incredible opportunity for those within Aras to connect with like-minded colleagues, gain valuable insights, and build meaningful relationships that can help advance your career at Aras and beyond.

"Inclusion is not a strategy to help people fit into the systems and structures which exist in our societies. It is about transforming those systems and structures to make it better for everyone. Inclusion is about creating a better world for everyone."

– Diane Richler

Spotlight on the Future 2024: Industry Survey Reflects Accelerating Transformation

Marilyn Guisbond — Tue, 05 Mar 2024 10:19:00 GMT

Did you know that 80% of companies across the US, Japan, and Europe are feeling the effects of the political, economic, and environmental pressures facing the world today? Even with those stats, there is good news. Industrial manufacturers are taking steps to address current business, product, and industry complexities by pursuing increased digitalization and modernization of IT. According to the global industry study "Spotlight on the Future 2024," conducted by Aras, three out of four companies are better equipped to handle challenges today than just twelve months ago. The study surveyed 835 executive-level experts across the US, Europe, and Japan.

In a company comparison, more than one in two companies say they have driven digitalization (56%) or modernized IT (55%) over the past two years. In addition, the expansion of the company's own R&D activities (36%), a stronger focus on sustainability (36%), and the optimization of the supply chain (36%) are among the other actions companies have advanced within the past two years to secure their future.

Survey highlights

Proactive companies don't sit back. They look ahead. This attitude significantly strengthens the market position of these companies. Three-quarters of the companies surveyed consider themselves better able to cope with diverse challenges today than they did 12 months ago.
-Jens Rollenmüller, Managing Director, Aras Germany

Overall, companies were able to make gains in improved quality (40%) and flexibility (38%). However, innovative strength (37%), improved focus on customer success (36%), and faster time-to-market (36%) are also strong indicators of a company's increased competitiveness.

Cloud-based software is the new normal…Survey respondents were asked about their position on or use of cloud-based software, concluding that "cloud-based software takes over." When asked if they consider themselves a "SaaS-based company," 36% strongly agreed, with 45% somewhat agreeing. Again, the trend line here is clear, "the days of on-premise applications seem to be over. SaaS is cheaper, more scalable, and more secure. Plus, companies don't have to worry about maintaining and updating their software."

Sustainability is a must-have… Companies were asked if making progress on being more sustainable is key to their organization's economic success. 87% strongly or somewhat agreed (45% and 42%, respectively), with only 13% disagreeing. The survey concluded that "stakeholder pressure on companies to become more sustainable is high. However, management has already recognized that sustainability is an important contributor to business success. This is consistent across countries."

AI will transform products and services…The trends around how AI will impact PLM strategies are more complex. Companies were less consistent across the board. When asked about the impact of AI on their organizations, the UK came in at 92%, followed by France and Italy, and was lowest in Germany (67%) and Japan (54%). "The use of artificial intelligence is unleashing new potential in companies. Particularly in the U.K., France, and Italy, the benefits — also in combination with PLM — are being recognized."

PLM takes center stage… When asked, "Does your company work with PLM software?" the survey results were precise, with 76% saying yes. "A high proportion of respondents already use a PLM system. However, the depth of PLM integration and the extent to which the system is used to add value to various processes is critical."

This survey shows that companies want to seize the opportunity and realize the potential of digital transformation. They see new technologies as a lever to unlock undiscovered potential and take the entire organization to a new, sustainable level. This is evident in the survey results for new digital business models or artificial intelligence, where expectations for revenue growth are high. In a nutshell, digitalization is an opportunity to be seized.
-Roque Martin, CEO, Aras

Interested in knowing more about the survey results? The "Spotlight on the Future 2024" survey is available here and contains many more fascinating and useful takeaways. We encourage you to check out the survey and let us know how it reflects your organization's initiatives.

NuScale is Powering the Future with Aras

Marilyn Guisbond — Thu, 08 Feb 2024 12:02:00 GMT

NuScale's mission is to improve the quality of life for people worldwide by providing scalable advanced nuclear technology for producing electricity, heat, and clean water.

NuScale Power is also developing a new modular light water reactor to supply reliable, abundant, carbon-free nuclear energy. Their groundbreaking SMR design features a fully fabricated NuScale Power Module^TM capable of generating 60 MW of electricity using a safer, smaller, scalable version of pressurized water reactor technology.

NuScale’s Challenges

While the NuScale SMR design is vastly simpler and safer, the design must still satisfy the same requirements of traditional plants. For example, a U.S.-based nuclear power plant must meet over 60k safety, regulatory, and quality requirements.

Yet, plant information presented challenges: legacy plant information is document-based, there is no clear link to the requirements, design requirements come in many forms, and design changes come at various times from multiple sources. A closer look at the current process, with an eye toward overall improvement, resulted in the following conclusion:

The company's desired outcomes for the project included:

Managing all design requirements
Managing design changes
Managing engineering design changes
Automating all engineering work tasks
CAD Management
BOM Management
Simulation Management
Maintenance Management

NuScale’s PLM Journey Leads to Aras

Neil Olivier, NuScale's Director of Corporate Services, joined the company in 2015 and found that there were multiple databases controlling information surrounding various engineering processes. Olivier discovered that they had different systems controlling various aspects of their design control process, all managed by PDF paper-based processes with pointers between the systems. NuScale had Teamcenter^® in place for document control, but it was not used for configuration management, leading to cumbersome processes for managing the design's configuration. This reliance on document-based systems for complex projects like a nuclear plant is typical and historically made linking information to the physical design a significant challenge.

NuScale began a search for a PLM solution that would better meet their needs than the disjointed systems in use. According to Neil, "When performing our selection for a fully functional PLM platform, it was apparent that Aras was the most cost-effective, flexible, and resilient solution for NuScale."

Powering the Future With Aras

As it turns out, a study was already underway to explore a PLM solution at NuScale. One of the study's recommendations was to eliminate the existing document control system and implement a PLM solution that would house all the data and allow for the establishment of a digital thread. A subsequent visit to a CIMdata conference gave him the opportunity to speak with a presenter from Microsoft who had detailed his company's experience doing a "rip and replace" of Teamcenter. Upon further inquiry, Neil discovered that the replacement PLM solution was Aras Innovator^®.

Read the full case study for more information on this exciting collaboration.

Unlocking Innovation at ACE 2024: PLM and the Digital Thread

Marilyn Guisbond — Wed, 31 Jan 2024 13:00:00 GMT

It’s that time of year! We’re just about five weeks away from ACE 2024, which is taking place in Fort Worth, Texas. This year’s theme is Unlocking Innovation. ACE is the premier Aras community event in 2024 and a chance for us to share our vision for the year and hear from you directly. Join us and hundreds of other experts worldwide March 4-7 to explore the latest in PLM and Digital Thread innovation. Meet like-minded peers and learn how their organizations have transformed their products and processes with Aras.

ACE 2024 spans four days, including both pre-and post-event days, that offer several unique, hands-on training opportunities. Choose from a variety of training classes centered around all things Aras Innovator® hosted by our training team, attend CIMdata’s Digital Transformation Masterclass, join IpX’s training session focused on shaping industry innovation with effective change and process excellence, or learn all about tools required for end-to-end innovation processes during training classes hosted by XPLM.

Take advantage of numerous technical discussions where you’ll meet directly with members of our Product Management team to share your feedback and really influence topics we are considering for future product development. Or drop by the Ask Aras demo room for a quick demonstration and discussion of Aras Innovator and its applications.

The main event kicks off Tuesday, March 5, with Our CEO Roque Martin. He will offer his perspective on why organizations need to think differently about how they leverage modern digital technology in an increasingly dynamic world.

CTO Rob McAveney will follow up with his session, Threading Our Way Into Industry 5.0, before joining the first of three panel discussions we’ll be hosting over the course of the event. The panel, Data in Context: Leveraging the Modern Digital Thread, will explore how the Digital Thread serves as a foundational paradigm for streamlining collaboration, data flow, and decision-making across the product lifecycle. Gain insights into managing PLM-related business processes in entirely new ways.

There will be several customer presentations and training sessions you won’t want to miss that afternoon, including A Day in the Thread presented by Cresta Bateman and David Ewing of SAIC. They’ll provide a summary view of SAIC’s digital thread implementation (based on Aras Innovator) as the foundation for their digital engineering offering: ReadyOne.

On Wednesday, March 6, best-selling author and entrepreneur Dr. Jackie Frieberg, will open the day as our keynote speaker. She’ll share strategies on how organizations like yours can move in bold new directions by enabling everyone to learn, ideate, and innovate. She’ll challenge you to see beyond the blur of work-as-usual, lead others to question the unquestionable, and disrupt the status quo.

Our CMO, Josh Epstein, will host the second panel session of the event focused around how managing and operationalizing Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) goals is supported by an effective digital thread strategy.

We’ll wrap up the morning with our third and final panel of the event featuring digital engineering pioneers from Aras’ board of directors as they look ahead to the future of engineering. Learn how management styles, teams, and skillsets evolve alongside technology as organizations navigate modern challenges.

The afternoons of both main event days are filled with customer presentations by members of the Aras community, including DENSO, Ocado, SAIC, SRC, SICK, and Svante (just to name a few) and even more hands-on training opportunities. Don’t miss out on a crowd-favorite session on the final day – Aras in the Round – where you’ll have the unique opportunity to attend an open, unscripted, and unfiltered Q&A session with our CEO and CTO. Take a look at our full agenda for additional details.

We’d like to thank all our sponsors for their support on this year’s event – check out the full list here! Growing your business is about getting in front of the right people at the right time, and that’s exactly what ACE delivers – meet, network, and collaborate with decision-makers and users from companies, industries, and locations you want to reach. Interested in sponsoring the event? Please contact Susan Wood at swood@aras.com.

ACE 2024 will be held at the Worthington Renaissance, located in the heart of Fort Worth and within walking distance of restaurants and entertainment. Special hotel rates are available up until three days prior to the event.

We look forward to seeing you there!

Future-Proof Your Digital Transformation: 7 Predictions That Will Shape the PLM Landscape in 2024

Marilyn Guisbond — Wed, 17 Jan 2024 12:03:00 GMT

As we enter 2024, the world of product development and manufacturing continues to be shaped by a rapidly evolving technological landscape. Product Lifecycle Management (PLM) has been at the forefront of this transformation, enabling companies to improve their product development processes and increase efficiency. As we look ahead to the next few years, emerging technologies like artificial intelligence, visual collaboration tools that provide data in context, and the continuing adoption of cloud-PLM and the Digital Thread will proliferate. These will continue to revolutionize the way we approach PLM. In this blog, we'll take a closer look at some of the most significant technology trends shaping the future of PLM.

Prediction #1: Products will need passports

The EU’s new Digital Product Passport will provide information about products’ environmental sustainability. This information will be easily accessible by scanning a data carrier, including attributes such as durability and reparability, recycled content, or the availability of spare parts of a product. It should help consumers and businesses make informed choices when purchasing products, facilitate repairs and recycling, and improve transparency about products’ environmental lifecycle impacts. The product passport should also help public authorities to better perform checks and controls.

Prediction #2: Digital Thread vision becomes Threads reality

Digital Threads will continue to proliferate but primarily as multiple partial threads initiated and owned by distinct parts of the organization because the crucial role of a Digital Thread is the ability to generate a Digital Twin for a particular, narrow purpose. That Digital Twin may be a 3D assembly, but it may also be a dynamic status or an interactive dashboard. For example, these non-3D Digital Twins monitor or understand product delivery risk in a specific market. They will be created by aggregating all product elements and contributing factors impacting them, such as geopolitical developments, weather conditions, cataclysmic events (e.g., volcano eruptions), etc. This approach will challenge the current thinking around a single all-encompassing Digital Thread capable of defining any Digital Twin, in any context, for any purpose.

Prediction #3: Product and process complexity pushes PLM out of data centers

In 2024, companies will continue to drive their Digital Thread strategy, pushing PLM systems to implement complex functionality using the wealth of newly available, connected data. AI, Digital Twins, immersive technologies (AR and VR), and other new strategies will increase global collaboration, system integrations, and security requirements, creating significant challenges for operational personnel to adapt to system environments quickly.

As the complexity of just about every area of the product development process increases, so does the size and complexity of managing the environment in which the system operates. PLM calls for high volumes of restricted data, often residing across multiple applications for complex processes serving users worldwide. Altering architecture to support the complicated and growing environment requires highly skilled resources with deep knowledge of the system infrastructure and how it best works with the specific PLM solution to support the demanding requirements. With these resources' high cost and limited availability, companies will continue to offload these IT functions to PLM solution specialists typically found through SaaS deployments.

Prediction #4: AI will play a leading role in regulatory compliance

Identifying the right set of regulatory compliance requirements when designing software-defined products will be done with the reliance on AI and LLMs built from all requirements sources anywhere throughout the world. PLM platforms will manage the process and the results as part of the product’s Digital Thread.

As the product functionality becomes more software-driven, there is a mounting problem of properly identifying the right regulatory compliance requirements from various sources, including stacks of documents (e.g., PDFs) and various data repositories (e.g., DOORS or Jama). This differs from design-specific requirements from the stakeholders, system models, and general design space exploration. Without the ability to identify the exact set of product-related and country-specific Regulatory Compliance requirements, manufacturers increase the risk of either overdesign (too many requirements selected), failure to get approved (missed requirements), or life-threatening accidents. Since the sources of these requirements are so vast and the requirements themselves keep changing all the time, it is critical for the manufacturers to show that they worked with the right set of requirements during their compliance verification and audits.

Prediction #5: PLM platforms will be increasingly embraced as a collaboration platform of choice

The ever-increasing system and functional complexities of products necessitate enterprise-wide collaboration. The collaboration must span engineering domains (system, simulation, mechanical, electronic, electrical, and software) and teams like documentation, compliance, manufacturing, suppliers, maintenance, and others. This is needed to understand complexities, optimize implementation details, reduce risks, increase quality, reduce cost and time, and more. PLM platforms will become critical for collaboration by enabling management of the design intent (the Why), all data that represents the product (the What beyond physical BOM), and all processes used to define, design, test, manufacture, and maintain the product (the How). Since collaboration happens at all stages of the product lifecycle, the information must address the initial informal approach (no need to track everything) to a much more formal one (where everything needs to be tracked).

Prediction #6: AI’s potential to deliver value to PLM and digital engineering will depend on the Digital Thread

There is no doubt that artificial intelligence (AI) holds transformative potential for PLM and digital engineering. But AI runs on data. And if engineering data remains siloed, as it is within many organizations, even the most powerful AI tools will yield limited value. The key to unlocking this potential is to create an engineering and product data infrastructure that establishes context and traceability, for both structured and unstructured data. The digital thread concept refers to an approach to managing data relationships that connects disparate systems and workflows into a cohesive digital ecosystem. With its ability to process and analyze vast amounts of data, AI will integrate seamlessly into the digital thread to support decision-making across sectors. For instance, in manufacturing, AI could predict maintenance needs, optimize supply chains, and even drive product innovation by analyzing customer feedback and market trends. In healthcare, AI-integrated digital threads could lead to more personalized patient care and faster medical breakthroughs by aggregating and interpreting complex medical data. Check out this recent discussion on the topic with Fraunhofer and AI Marketplace.

Prediction #7: Data governance requirements will evolve faster than ever

The proliferation of AI and analytics has created an insatiable demand for data. Regulatory bodies have reacted by introducing new requirements for compliance. Meanwhile, the world noticed that the outputs of generative AI are not always accurate. The implications are clear: companies must understand the sources of their data, have a responsibility to ensure its quality, and must control how it is used downstream. Traceability will be more important than ever - new business insights are useless if derived from inaccurate or noncompliant data.

Thanks to the resident Aras experts who contributed to this blog: Bruce Bookbinder, Pawel Chądzyński, Josh Epstein, Rob McAveney, and Patrick Willemsen.

Have your own predictions you’d like to share? Let us know in the comments below or via LinkedIn.

Aras CTO Speaks: Rob McAveney on Aras DevOps

Marilyn Guisbond — Thu, 07 Dec 2023 15:50:00 GMT

Welcome to the second post in our CTO video blog series, in which Rob McAveney, chief technology officer at Aras, shares information and insights on new technologies and trends, hot topics like AI and sustainability, Aras' new initiatives and solutions, and where he sees the PLM industry and Aras today and heading into the future.

Today’s topic is Aras DevOps; Microsoft defines DevOps as:

A compound of development (Dev) and operations (Ops), DevOps is the union of people, process, and technology to continually provide value to customers.

Watch this short video to learn why Rob says DevOps can be “your best friend” on your digital initiatives and how it supports digital transformation in general and the development of a digital thread in particular.

www.youtube.com/watch

We hope you enjoyed Rob’s latest vlog! We invite you to follow this monthly series in which Rob shares the Aras point of view on topics ranging from making the business case for PLM SaaS to current “hot topics” that are top of mind for many of us.

Do you have a question or suggestion for future topics? Let us know by submitting a comment on the blog, our LinkedIn post, or emailing our blog editor.

Aras CTO Speaks: Rob McAveney on Aras Enterprise

Marilyn Guisbond — Wed, 04 Oct 2023 20:20:00 GMT

Welcome to our CTO video blog series, in which Rob McAveney, chief technology officer at Aras, shares information and insights on new technologies and trends, hot topics like AI and sustainability, Aras' new initiatives and solutions, and where he sees the PLM industry and Aras today and heading into the future.

Today's topic is Aras Enterprise, our cloud-based SaaS offering managed and operated by Aras experts. Rob shares his view of what sets Aras Enterprise apart from seemingly similar offerings and why he considers Aras Enterprise a unique and compelling offering in today's PLM market.

www.youtube.com/watch

We hope you enjoyed Rob’s first vlog! We invite you to follow this monthly series in which Rob shares the Aras point of view on topics ranging from making the business case for PLM SaaS to current “hot topics” that are top of mind for many of us.

Do you have a question or suggestion for future topics? Let us know by submitting a comment on the blog, on our LinkedIn post, or by emailing our blog editor.

Aras Strengthens Ties with Strategic Partners Ansys and AVEVA at ACE 2023

Marilyn Guisbond — Fri, 21 Apr 2023 21:08:00 GMT

The countdown to ACE 2023 has begun! Aras will host the first in-person Aras Community Event (ACE) in North America in three years in just a few weeks in Orlando, Florida, May 2-3. We are excited to be back and look forward to three days of training, keynotes, customer presentations, and demonstrations.

Our first day begins with an Aras Community Update from our CEO, Roque Martin, after which he will MC a session on Aras Strategic Partnerships – Delivering Incremental Value and Reach with Mark Hindsbo of Ansys and Rick Standish of AVEVA. At Aras, we recognize the importance of strategic partnerships with other software vendors (original equipment manufacturers or OEMs). Our strategic OEM partners leverage the Aras platform, bringing its key underlying technologies to a wider audience.

Aras partnerships provide myriad benefits to customers

The most exciting outcome of our partnership with Ansys has been the creation of Ansys Minerva, an SPDM (Simulation Process and Data Management) solution based on the Aras Innovator® platform. Ansys Minerva provides a comprehensive engineering simulation and data management solution and has been well-received by customers in many industries. They provide the ability to accelerate design processes, reduce costs, and improve overall efficiency by managing customers’ simulation processes and data, enabling them to do more in less time.

Ansys Minerva's success shows Aras Innovator’s power and the importance of strong OEM partnerships that bring innovative products to market faster. Ansys leveraged Aras technology and combined it with their domain expertise to rapidly create Ansys Minerva to meet the market’s unique needs. By working closely with partners like Ansys, we can leverage their domain expertise and insights and combine them with our technology to create products that meet the market's unique needs.

The strategic OEM partnership with AVEVA was inked at the end of 2021. Their Asset Lifecycle Management (ALM) Program is, with the help of a team from Aras, rapidly adding various PLM-like capabilities to existing applications and asset information management platforms. AVEVA applications such as AVEVA™Unified Engineering, AVEVA™ Asset Information Management (AIM), and AVEVA™ Information Standards Management (ISM) are being integrated with the Aras platform – you can see an early demonstration of this at ACE.

The ALM suite of applications and capabilities will add deliverables management, change management, configuration management, requirements management, BoM control and project management to the AVEVA offerings, making the leap from asset information management to asset lifecycle management.

At ACE, you can learn more about the ALM vision and roadmap, and how you can participate in the Lighthouse and Early Access Programs to leverage these advanced ALM capabilities before the formal release of the products in 2024. You will also be able to speak with key AVEVA and Aras ALM team members over your choice of brew – we hope to see you there!

You don’t want to miss this

Per Aras CEO Roque Martin, “We see the AVEVA and ANSYS partnerships as game-changers for simulation and engineering processes that provide traceability, connectivity, and reuse across the product lifecycle. Our cloud-native PLM technology opens the door to data-centric collaboration in products from design through reuse and end-of-life, both on-prem and in the cloud. Aras supports AVEVA’s agile approach to industry solutions and ANSYS’ open ecosystem approach to simulation management to help accelerate our joint customers’ digital transformation processes.”

We are excited to continue working with Ansys, AVEVA, and other partners to reinvent software for engineering and manufacturing, empowering our joint customers with the flexibility to overcome tomorrow’s changes rapidly.

Time is running short. Register now to learn more about how these partnerships can help you better achieve your product innovation goals!

Aras Named a PLM Leader by Independent Research Firm

Marilyn Guisbond — Tue, 04 Apr 2023 14:05:00 GMT

Aras is pleased to announce that it has been named a leader in The Forrester Wave^TM: Product Lifecycle Management for Discrete Manufacturers, Q1 2023 evaluation. Aras appeared as a leader based on its current offering, strategy, and market presence. According to Forrester, “Aras appeals to manufacturers with a strong interest in exploiting a low-code platform for their own specific approach to managing the digital thread, from as-designed to as manufactured and as maintained.”

Aras received the highest possible scores in the following criteria:

Ideation: The vendor provides advanced capabilities to manage requirements from capture to validation, including Voice of Customer data. Also has reusability support, APIs, and external tool visibility.
Compliance, Sustainability, “Green” PLM support: Compliance with sustainability objectives, managing the entire lifecycle of products, assets, and components from collaborative sourcing and design to disposal of hazardous elements and reuse or reclamation on other elements.
Performance: Records key performance metrics such as profitability, growth, account retention, or client satisfaction.
Innovation Roadmap: A commitment to innovation including - Innovation history, Innovation strategy, R&D budget (as a % of revenue).
Data Sources: Supports ingestion of IoT, enterprise, and other systems' data. Offers support for digital twin, and quality management, or specific Failure Mode Element Analysis functionality.
Risk Management: Offers corrective and preventative action (CAPA) and FMEA support and offers capabilities such as proactive risk reduction recommendations at the design stage.
Digital Thread: Adheres to open standards and supports the digital thread from 'as-designed,' to 'as-manufactured,' to 'as-maintained' creating a traceable solution for single source of truth.
Extended Bill of Materials: Has all the elements required for an on-par score and offers advanced capabilities such as support for Engineering BOM, Manufacturing BOM, Model Based Systems Engineering, and release and configuration engineering support.
Software Bill: (ALM) offers advanced features such as a high degree of PLM and Application Lifecycle Management link transparency.
Variants: Offers sophisticated management of variants, including variant requirements in functional, logical, and physical categories.

Forrester also reported that “Aras’ superior performance, with annual revenue growth for years at more than 30%, and superior innovation roadmap, enabling its clients to upgrade on average every 18 months to exploit modern technologies, support its strategy to fully support the digital thread and twin capabilities for manufacturers with an open low code platform.”

Aras provides customers with the openness, simplicity, and transparency needed to succeed with enterprise product lifecycle management. Aras solutions enable digital transformation while future-proofing business processes and product ecosystems and adapting to customer needs, giving business and technical leaders the confidence to keep pace with change.

As Aras CEO Roque Martin said:

“Yesterday’s rigid technologies are no longer appropriate for today’s businesses – they need an adaptable, open, and flexible platform. We reimagined PLM to be purpose-built to deliver impact wherever and however it’s needed – as a holistic platform, a point solution, or a flexible overlay to existing systems. We believe being named a leader in the Forrester Wave evaluation validates the way we’re transforming product lifecycle management.”

For more information, visit us on the web.

Aras Celebrates Women’s History Month and IWD 2023

Marilyn Guisbond — Thu, 30 Mar 2023 14:32:00 GMT

It’s All About Embracing Equity

International Women's Day (IWD) and Women's History Month (WHM) are two events that celebrate the achievements and struggles of women around the world. March is WHM each year, with IWD celebrated on March 8.

The history of International Women's Day

International Women's Day is celebrated annually on March 8 to recognize women's social, economic, cultural, and political achievements. The first International Women's Day was observed in 1909 in New York City as a way to honor the 1908 garment workers' strike. The United Nations officially recognized the day in 1975, and since then has been celebrated by people worldwide.

International Women's Day's themes vary yearly, focusing on global issues affecting women. The theme of International Women's Day 2023 is #EmbraceEquity, which focuses on the importance of achieving gender equity and addressing the systemic barriers that prevent women from fully participating in all areas of society. Equity means giving everyone what they need to succeed and recognizing that different people have different needs and starting points. In the context of gender, equity means ensuring that women and non-binary individuals have access to the same opportunities, resources, and support as men. This includes access to education, healthcare, employment, political representation, and protection from violence and discrimination. Embracing equity means recognizing and addressing the historical and structural factors contributing to gender inequality and working to create a more just and equitable world for all.

Women's History Month

Women's History Month is celebrated annually in March in the United States, the United Kingdom, and Australia, among other countries. It began as a week-long celebration in the United States in 1978, organized by the Education Task Force of the Sonoma County (California) Commission on the Status of Women. The week of March 8th was chosen to coincide with International Women's Day. In 1987, Congress passed a resolution designating March as Women's History Month in the United States.

The purpose of Women's History Month is to recognize and celebrate the contributions of women throughout history. It is a time to reflect on women’s progress and acknowledge the work that still needs to be done to achieve gender equality. The National Women's History Alliance selects a theme for Women's History Month each year.

Together, International Women's Day and Women's History Month help raise awareness of the issues facing women today and highlight the progress made in the fight for gender equality.

International Women’s Day at Aras

To acknowledge International Women’s Day this year, our women’s Business Resource Group (BRG) Aras Women in Leadership arranged several ways to celebrate. We invited Jackie Glenn of GLENN DIVERSITY Inclusion & HR to speak on March 9 to discuss the history of IWD and what is meant when we talk about equity. During this event segment, we also built a communal, interactive “equity word cloud” (using a tool called Mentimeter), which you can see above.

After her presentation, Jackie facilitated a discussion on equity between Lalitha Gunturi, Aras General Counsel and leader of our Aras Women in Leadership team, and Valenteen Sterling, HR Manager EMEA. The meeting ended with a lively Q&A. We look forward to our next event, a session on Unconscious Bias featuring all of our BRGs: Aras WIL, Black@Aras, LGBTQ+@Aras, and El Mundo Hispano.

If you want to learn more about Diversity, Inclusion & Equity at Aras, check out our blog, Aras Embraces Diversity and Inclusion: IWD 2022, or visit our career page.

Together Again at ACE 2023: Reimagine Your Possibilities

Marilyn Guisbond — Tue, 07 Mar 2023 17:55:00 GMT

Aras is excited to invite you to attend our ACE 2023 event – in person May 2-3 at Loews Sapphire Falls Resort at Universal Orlando, Florida! This year’s event theme is Reimagine Your Possibilities at ACE 2023, where we’ll focus on how to drive exceptional outcomes, solve real-world challenges, and delve into the new possibilities PLM technology is driving in an increasingly complex world. The conference sessions will explore future technology trends and how successfully leveraging PLM solutions can lead to improved business outcomes.

The agenda is now live; we’d like to share a few highlights with you here:

Keynote presentations including:
- Aras community welcome and keynote by Roque Martin, Aras CEO
- What’s Ahead, the Aras Vision by Rob McAveney, Aras CTO who will review industry macro trends and their impact on global businesses
- What’s New From Aras with John Sperling, SVP of Product Management
- Aras’ Tim Keer, Tuesday and Wednesday sessions, A Day in the Life at Armadillo Robots
Customer Keynotes by Ocado, GE Renewables, and others
Back by popular demand – Aras in the Round – with Roque Martin and Rob McAveney
Training sessions available Monday prior to the event, as well as Tuesday and Wednesday during the conference

In addition, CIMdata, the leading independent global strategic management consulting and research authority focused exclusively on PLM, is offering a PLM Certificate Program exclusively to ACE registrants.

But why just attend? If you are interested in becoming a presenter and wish to share your story with the Aras community, please submit your request here. Speakers selected will receive free registration for the event.

This year our list of sponsors is already growing. If you are considering a sponsorship, check out our current list of sponsors, and the stats. We know that 74% of attendees come to ACE to meet Aras Partners, and 64% are decision-makers in their organizations. For these reasons, we encourage you to consider becoming a sponsor or a presenter – or both!

The countdown has begun – stay tuned for more information as we get closer to the event.

Together Again at ACE 2023: Reimagine Your Possibilities

Marilyn Guisbond — Tue, 07 Mar 2023 17:41:00 GMT

The agenda is now live; we’d like to share a few highlights with you here:

Keynote presentations including:
- Aras community welcome and keynote by Roque Martin, Aras CEO
- What’s Ahead, the Aras Vision by Rob McAveney, Aras CTO who will review industry macro trends and their impact on global businesses
- What’s New From Aras with John Sperling, SVP of Product Management
- Aras’ Tim Keer, Tuesday and Wednesday sessions, A Day in the Life at Armadillo Robots
Customer Keynotes by Ocado, GE Renewables, and others
Back by popular demand – Aras in the Round – with Roque Martin and Rob McAveney
Training sessions available Monday prior to the event, as well as Tuesday and Wednesday during the conference

The countdown has begun – stay tuned for more information as we get closer to the event.

How to Choose the Right PLM Solution for Your Business – Part 2

Marilyn Guisbond — Thu, 12 Jan 2023 18:00:00 GMT

In Choosing the Right PLM Solution for Your Business – Part 1, I shared how you can prepare your business for the challenging experience of selecting new PLM software. In today’s blog, I will share how you can work with the various PLM vendors to select a new PLM solution that is harmonious, efficient, and relatively quick.

If you followed all of the suggestions in my blog, part 1, you should be ready to look at the next steps in your PLM selection odyssey. Having already developed an As-Is and a To-Be model for your business, you can start to plan a strategy to plug the biggest gaps with a new PLM solution.

The strategic direction for your business will give you a good idea of what capabilities are the most important for your future PLM solution. For example, if your business plans to expand or grow, it must be supported by a flexible solution that can be modified to support your business. Remember that the business requirements identified during part 1 will likely not be fully supported with an out-of-the-box solution. Do not be pressured into compromising on something the vendor calls “best practice.” If the solution does not support your business, it does not matter who thinks it is a best practice – it will not work for you.

Do you need to run all your applications in the cloud to follow a corporate edict or to provide compatibility with other cloud-based solutions? You may need a cloud solution that is fully SaaS compliant to support greater collaboration. If so, then you want a PLM provider that has a cloud solution capable of providing the benefits of a true SaaS offering.

If your goal is to select an on-premise offering from a PLM vendor and later move to a PLM SaaS solution, it would not be wise to choose a PLM vendor whose on-premise PLM solution is very different from their SaaS PLM solution. This should be part of the decision-making in your selection process.

Do you have complex problems that your current PLM solution cannot solve? If so, you want a PLM product with flexible software and strong capabilities to solve complex PLM challenges. It would also be preferable if you were not locked into a legacy application that prevented upgrades and other changes to future software.

Here are a few suggestions to make this process go smoothly:

Suggestion 1 – Gather a list of the PLM solution providers with the best tools in your industry that you think will support your business in the future.

Choose no more than 5 vendors and not less than 3 for this activity. You may even want to down-select from the initial list based on some “show-stopper” criteria that can identify your final 3 vendors (if you have too many, it will be a real circus).

Suggestion 2 – Create a Request for Proposal (RFP) that includes all items you need in your PLM software and share this with the PLM vendors.

There are many templates for RFPs available online. Find one you like and fill it in with the areas you want your PLM solution provider to support. Since you have already spent much time on the As-Is model and the strategic information for your PLM goals from part 1, it should not be hard to pull this together. Remember, these are your requirements for your business – the PLM vendor must support your business, not the other way around.

Suggestion 3 – Get answers from the PLM vendors on how they would support all of the items in your RFP and see which vendor appears to provide the most comprehensive solution.

Creating a scoring system will help you determine how the responses are ranked between each vendor. A scoring system removes the bias that exists within your company about certain PLM vendors. Once the RFPs are scored, you can see who has the highest score.

Suggestion 4 – Invite the final three vendors to demonstrate (in person) exactly how they would solve your problems on-site so you can watch their every move.

Provide a demo script they can follow to prepare for this event and allow some of your users to participate, so they feel involved in the selection. Score this with the numbering system you came up with earlier to determine who has the better PLM solution to support your business.

Suggestion 5 – If it is still hard to select a PLM vendor after these activities, you can do other things.

Schedule a site visit to a current customer or do a 30-day trial with the PLM solution software you favor, and maybe revisit the key items in the RFP.

At the end of the day, you should be able to select a vendor you can work with for the long term. Remember, you are not just purchasing software, you are starting a relationship with a vendor who will have a major impact on your business for many years. You can expect to receive better treatment from the PLM vendor during the decision-making process.

As you look at this list of activities, you might think, “this sounds like a lot of work!” You are right. Selecting a PLM solution is not an easy task, and it is not something you can do without much thought and effort. Believe me when I tell you that choosing the wrong PLM solution will result in much more work and difficulty in the long run.

Follow my suggestions; you will be glad you did! If you're interested in learning more about Aras, please visit our website or reach out to our author by leaving a comment or question on this blog.

Marilyn Guisbond さんの グループ アクティビティ

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Together Again at ACE 2023: Reimagine Your Possibilities

How to Choose the Right PLM Solution for Your Business – Part 2

Marilyn Guisbond さんのグループアクティビティ