In a recent episode of Tech Leaders Unplugged, host Tullio Siragusa welcomed Andrey Knourenko, the VP of Engineering at Aras Corporation. The focus of their conversation is the future of product lifecycle management (PLM) and the challenges of migrating fully customizable PLM systems to the cloud. Andrey shares his background, highlighting his experience in enterprise software and manufacturing. He joined Aras, a small PLM company, in 2005, and it has since become a leading player in the industry. This article seeks to extract the most relevant words of wisdom from the conversation.
Understanding Product Lifecycle Management (PLM)
PLM, or Product Lifecycle Management involves managing the different stages of a product's life, from ideation to design, manufacturing, and maintenance. It encompasses a range of tools and applications that help manage requirements, project management, quality management, design change management, and more. Andrey emphasized that each manufacturing company has unique manufacturing processes, requiring customized PLM systems tailored to their specific needs.
Challenges of Migrating PLM Systems to the Cloud
The challenges of moving fully customizable PLM systems to the cloud lead to highlighting the complexity of products, especially with the integration of software, which has increased over the years. Companies evolve, and their manufacturing processes change, requiring PLM systems to evolve as well. Migrating an existing PLM system to a new cloud platform can be a costly process, often as expensive as the initial implementation. To address these challenges, companies need flexible, powerful, and upgradeable PLM systems.
Benefits and Complexities of Moving to the Cloud
Tullio and Andrey explored the benefits of migrating PLM systems to the cloud, such as increased flexibility, accessibility, scalability, and the ability to leverage advanced analytics and AI capabilities. They both agreed that there is a historical reluctance of manufacturing companies to move to the cloud due to security concerns regarding intellectual property. However, the perception has changed over the years with increased security requirements and the development of better tools and standards by cloud providers. The demand for cloud migration has surged, especially after the COVID-19 pandemic forced many companies to adopt remote work. Andrey explains that a major challenge lies in maintaining the customization and integration capabilities of PLM systems during the migration process.
Overcoming Customization and Integration Complexities
Andrey explained that traditional PLM systems had limited flexibility, making it difficult for large companies with complex products and manufacturing processes. To address this, their company provides a DevOps environment that allows customers to continue customizing the PLM system in the cloud. They ensure that cloud deployments have the same capabilities as on-premises deployments. Additionally, a cloud management platform is necessary to optimize resources, deploy customizations efficiently, and ensure reliability and backup capabilities.
Addressing Latency and Change Management
The conversation concludes with a discussion about concerns related to latency, user experience, and change management during the migration process. Andrey acknowledges the importance of minimizing latency and optimizing traffic between clients and servers. He noted that large companies often have distributed operations, making cloud deployment advantageous even with latency considerations. The need for proper change management and user adoption planning suggests that organizations prioritize minimizing disruptions and ensuring smooth transitions during the migration process.
In summary, migrating fully customizable PLM systems to the cloud brings forth a mix of challenges and benefits. While the complexities of customization and integration require diligent attention, the cloud offers increased flexibility, accessibility, scalability, and advanced analytics capabilities. The ever-evolving landscape of manufacturing necessitates adapting PLM systems to meet the dynamic needs of companies. While customization and integration complexities need to be addressed, the cloud offers increased flexibility, accessibility, scalability, and advanced analytics capabilities.
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