Was anyone surprised that Autodesk acquired Inforbix? Well, actually, I was. Not that I didn't think that Inforbix would be acquired. They seemed to be gaining traction in the market. And frankly, with Oleg as a loud and prominent evangelist, the concept and message behind Inforbix was getting out.
But what does it all mean? What are the implications? We'll talk about that. But first, here's the background.
Background
Inforbix was founded in 2010 by Oleg Shilovitsky and Anatoly Savin. Oleg worked the last 11 years working for Smart Solutions, SmarTeam, Enovia, Dassault Systems. Most recently, he was ENOVIA SmarTeam Chief Technology Officer. Inforbix was first launched in November 2011.
On August 28 2012, Autodesk announced its intent to acquire Inforbix (press release). As part of the acquisition, Oleg Shilovitsky co-founder and CEO of Inforbix will join Autodesk as Senior Director of PLM and Data Management.
Capabilities Provided
Let's start by looking at the capabilities that are relevant for each company.
- Autodesk's PLM360: Back in December of last year, I published a post titled The Devil Must Be Cold: Autodesk Launches PLM Product Nexus. Essentially, the product that is now named PLM360 tracks and automates business processes while connecting with data sources as necessary. What's notable about the offering is that it is decoupled from the Autodesk PDM system called Vault. It can run without it. I think there are advantages to that, mainly in that it allows for more granular adoption of the system.
- Inforbix: In April of this year, I published a post titled Inforbix: Access to Enterprise Information for the Engineer? This technology indexes product data and information whether it is in ERP, PLM, PDM, desktops or shared drives. Users can then find, view and reuse that data as necessary.
So what will these two offerings do together? Well, nothing quite official has come out of Autodesk on that since the acquisition was announced. But that doesn't mean we can't speculate. But I'll do the tin the next section. I like to keep part of the post factual.
Commentary and Analysis
So how could these two kinds of technologies be used together? Well, my first thought wasn't about processes at all. It was about multi-CAD data management.
Federated Multi-CAD Data Management
When I first saw this announcement, it made me think of a roundtable discussion that I led this year at COFES 2012. You can get a quick summary and even listen to the recorded audio in a post titled 'Decoupling PDM and Process' Discussion at COFES 2012.
Now what sticks in my mind wasn't the discussion in general, but what an Autodesk executive said during the discussion. His position was that CAD and PDM are tightly coupled together. So much so that you shouldn't try to deploy a PDM system that could manage data from multiple CAD applications. He advised customers to get the PDM system offered by the same software provider that provides the CAD application. This struck me as interesting because it stands in direct opposition to what many other PDM and PLM providers are saying. They tout that their systems can manage data from any CAD application.
Now, why is that relevant here? Well, Inforbix has as much to do with data, and even CAD data, on desktops and shared drives as it has to do with data in enterprise systems like ERP and PLM. Inforbix will not only index that desktop and drive data, but it will also let you view and interact with it. The same is true of data sitting in other PDM systems.
So what's that mean? It means Autodesk seems to be supporting a more federated CAD data management strategy, and actually seems to have the technology to make it feasible. And that stands as a differentiator, positive or negative, when compared to other PLM and PDM providers.
Just-in-Time Product Data for Processes
In the first episode of the Tech4PD web show, Jim Brown of Tech-Clarity and I debated if product data and processes needed to be managed in a single integrated software suite or across an ecosystem of granular point solutions.
In the context that Autodesk's PLM360 can be decoupled from Vault and its management of product data, Inforbix's capabilities become a lot more intriguing. If it can be integrated as the guts to find the most appropriate product data to act as the basis for process decisions, then you're starting to look at a 1+1=3 equation. Essentially, you can have a decoupled set of solutions but always still find the right product data for decisions.
OK. So what exactly is the implication? Well, it means you really could avoid all that time-consuming planning and then deployment of integrated solutions. And I have to be honest, no one really likes that anyway.
What's the Downside?
I have to admit. I've had to think pretty hard about the negatives here.
Can the Autodesk reseller channel sell a solution like Inforbix? There have been concerns about them being successful with PLM360 because its an enterprise kind of sale. However, I do think the fact that both are SaaS offerings via the cloud, that concern is mitigated a bit.
How can Inforbix be integrated into PLM360? In concept, it sounds appealing. But making it a reality could be far different. Enabling Inforbix to find the right information to support a specific process in an automated way is a tall task, despite the fact that all the pieces are there.
Summary and Questions
Let's recap.
- On August 28 2012, Autodesk announced its intent to acquire Inforbix (press release).
- You can read more about Autodesk's PLM360 in a post titled The Devil Must Be Cold: Autodesk Launches PLM Product Nexus. You can also get some insight into Inforbix's capabilities in a post titled Inforbix: Access to Enterprise Information for the Engineer?
- From a Multi-CAD Data Management perspective, Inforbix matches Autodesk's existing strategy to cede the management of other CAD application's data to other PDM systems. Inforbix would enable engineers to find that product data across a federated ecosystem of such PDM systems.
- Inforbix's capabilities have interesting implications for process automation in PLM360 as well. Inforbix could provide access to the right product data, even though it would exist in other systems, desktops or shared drives, to support process decisions.
- There are some minor concerns about the ability of Autodesk's reseller network to sell a solution like Inforbix as well as how intelligently Inforbix could be integrated into PLM360.
Alright. That's my take. What's yours? Sound off and let us know what you think.
Take care. Talk soon. And thanks for reading.