Prompt note on Amazon Kindle DX announcement. Look Kindle DX review. It includes embedded wireless support and new native PDF support. Just my 10 cents… Think how many PDF business documents and drawing you can make available in your organization? Possible target is manufacturing, shop-floor, consumers? What do you think?
5 Comments | 
PLM and organization, PLM Prompt | Tagged: Downstream Applications, Kindle DX, PDF, PLM | 
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Posted by olegshilovitsky
I’m getting back again to the topic of PLM content. I think this is one of the most exciting topics we can talk about. This is actually “Product” – PLM. This is all the knowledge we create about products from different aspects – starting from “why we need it?” (Requirements), continuing through “how will we use it?” (Function) and ending up with “how can I dispose it” (regulations, etc.). PLM pretends to manage all or this product information or, how I prefer to call it, PLM content.
Content is King. Therefore, PLM, having this goldmine, needs to think about how to use this product data downstream. If you take Google Maps as an example, I see how Maps (actually GIS content) was connected to provide valuable information for us. In this case, a simple Map was used to provide contextual information for application behaviors around Google Map.
So, in the case of PLM, having information about product models, usages, and lifecycles, we can try to release this information for people downstream and allow them to access it using various scenarios–
Buying experience: I want to have information about the product I’m buying.
Social experience: I want to have information about who is using this product.
Lifecycle experience: I want to have information about this product in the past.
There are many other scenarios as well. I’m sure we can find the ways to use product content in downstream applications – asset management, support, maintenance. Let me know if you see any other examples that excite you…
Now, how is it possible to use it? In this context, I want to bring a few examples of futuristic search solutions from Behance Network Projects. Yes, this is not available today. But look on how we can use product content in different ways. I think that many of the examples below will exist in the near future.
5 Comments | Daily PLM Think Tank, PLM and Social Environment, PLM User Experience | Tagged: Downstream Applications, Googlenomic, PLM Content, PLM Data Re-use | Permalink
Posted by olegshilovitsky
The benefits of search solution are obvious. It helps you to find what do you need. Over the past decade Enterprise Search emerged to the level succeeded to provide a solution for indexing documents and additional information, mostly in databases, vaults, content management systems and ERP. PLM system provides a solution to search product information, since this information is well organized and indexed inside of PLM databases and vaults. Unfortunately, this product related information and documents is not available outside of PLM world. However, this information highly demanded by many people in the organization.
Enterprise Search solutions represented by two main groups of providers – traditional providers of enterprise search (Autonomy, Exaled and others) and general search vendors (lead by Google’s GSA) trying to get into the enterprise market. Microsoft, after FAST acquisition, provide an enterprise search solution as well as SharePoint and Express Search Server solution.
Gartner positioned top companies provided enterprise search solutions in their 2008 magic quadrant (bellow).
I think Enterprise Search can be connected to PLM system. By doing that Enterprise Search will index product data, documents and will make it available outside of engineering department for all people in the organization.
6 Comments | Daily PLM Think Tank, Technology | Tagged: Downstream Applications, Enterprise Search, PLM | Permalink
Posted by olegshilovitsky
Daily PLM Think Tank
