A little over a week ago, Adam O’Hern published a really good post titled PLM Should Be LIke Google. Really. over at solidsmack.com. If you haven’t read it, you really should. Adam does a really good job talking about how Google has changed expectations around how stuff is found on the internet and that today’s PLM providers need to step forward and offer the same ease-of-use. I agree with the direction of Adam’s post here, but there is one area over which I have to voice a dissenting view.

“But wait!” you scream. “You’re just talking about Product DATA Management! Product LIFECYCLE Management is so much more than data storage!” Whatever dude. No it isn’t. PLM is data management. Sure, PLM helps you organize lots of different kinds of data, but that’s the whole point: it’s all about data. I’m arguing that it’s time to separate the storage of data from the analysis of data, and PLM is all about the latter.

Now, I’ve had my own gripes about the lack of forward progress in the ease-of-use and too-much-in-your-face nature of today’s PDM. In fact, as I wrote in a post titled Is PDM Disruption Ready? But I don’t think it’s accurate to say that PLM is just PDM. I’ve written about the Brave New World: PDM Without PLM as well as initiated some discussion in the post PLM: The Debate Over the Troubled TLA. In my mind, I see PLM as separable from PDM. But I don’t think it’s always been that way. I think it’s gotten to that point over time. Let me explain why I’m taking this position.

The Early Adopter View

When PLM technologies were first launched, there were no common applications for the technology.

You’d hear about one early adopter applying it to enable some strange auditing process. Another organization used PLM to automate the transmission of documentation to regulatory bodies. Yet another company used it to manage their approved vendors and parts lists. In another instance, PLM was used for program management. The list of applications for PLM went on and on and on. The applications for PLM were literally all over the place.

That in turn meant that every organization that was using PLM had a different story. It also mean that every organization had a completely different means of measuring the value of PLM. Don’t get me wrong, those are all completely valid applications for PLM technologies. It works perfectly for early adopters who are willing to make it work for them. But it doesn’t work for the mass mover.

The Mass Mover View

What the heck is a mass mover? Well, the mass mover market is the set of organizations that will only adopt a technology once it is clear how it can be applied to a business and the value it provides. Until those two items are proven and fairly standardized, most of the market will not adopt a technology. For PLM, that was a major problem.

What happened next was very interesting. Many PLM Software Providers came out with guidance on how to deploy PLM. They involved more standardized phased approaches to lay a foundation and then allow the application of PLM to more unique use cases. The foundation for PLM almost always involved the deployment of PDM, a design release workflow and a change management workflow. That’s when more standardized metrics that measured the value of PLM in these foundational areas start to emerge as well.

The result? Mass mover organizations have gained more surety about PLM. That’s translated into many more of them moving forward with the technology.

What’s My Point?

So how is this relevant to Adam’s post? Well, it’s probably obvious that I disagree Adam’s statement that PLM is nothing more than PDM, ‘whatever dude’ objection withstanding. But I understand where he is coming from. I think his perspective represents the more recent view of PLM that has its foundation in PDM, design release and change management.

Additionally, I’d advise Adam not to hold his breath for a PLM Software Provider to step forward to address the shortcomings of PDM. As much as it might be funny to see Adam all blue in the face, that’s a box that’s already been checked by many PLM providers. As I wrote in my post Is PDM Disruption Ready?, there’s little financial incentive for them to do so. But furthermore, that’s where Software Providers like Inforbix (my review) and Alcove9 come into play. They seem to be solving that problem with gusto. That’s also why Oleg Shilovitsy is so heavily cheering Adam on.

Furthermore, I think there’s a lesson in here for some other Software Providers as well. Companies like Autodesk with their PLM360 product (my review) and Kenesto (my review) are breaking new ground by decoupling PLM from PDM. I believe the creation of a PLM foundation in the form of PDM, design release and change management is what has paved the way for many mass movers to get comfortable with the technology. Decoupling a PLM offering from it may present some challenges when the time comes to getting more than early adopters to use their products.

Summary and Questions

OK. Here’s the recap.

Adam O’Hern wrote a really good post titled PLM Should Be LIke Google. Really. If you haven’t already, go read it.
I disagree with Adam that PLM is basically PDM. However, I understand how he could have developed that perspective. It represents what has happened recently with PLM as its foundation has been more standardized into a foundation of PDM, design release and change management.
While I believe Adam is right in calling on PLM Software Providers to improve the PDM experience, perhaps even like the interaction with Google, there is little financial incentive for them to do so. They have already sold PDM into the vast majority of their customers. Where’s the upside?
Autodesk, Kenesto and other Software Providers like them that allow the decoupling of PDM from PLM need to tread carefully. The standardization of PLM into such a foundation has offered the mass mover market surety in adopting PLM. Removing that may make it more difficult to get mass mover organizations to adopt their product.

Your turn to let loose. Do you agree with Adam? Is PLM little more than PDM? Do you think there is an incentive for PLM Software Providers to improve the experience with their PDM offerings? Take a position and state your case.

Take care. Talk soon.