Nov 29, 2017   SOURCE: BusinessWire

Aras Named a Leader in Product Lifecycle Management For Discrete Manufacturers by Leading Independent Research Firm

Aras, a provider of open and upgradable product lifecycle management (PLM) software for the enterprise, today announced it has been named a Leader in “The Forrester Wave™: Product Lifecycle Management for Discrete Manufacturers, Q4 2017.” Forrester noted that “Aras is an emerging vendor in the PLM space, but has made significant inroads to the market with significant discrete manufacturing client wins and customer boasting advanced PLM implementations using their PLM Innovator product.”

Aras was among the select companies that Forrester invited to participate in its Q4 2017 Forrester Wave™. In this evaluation, Aras’ top scores were in the Product Vision, Implementation and sustainability, Configurability and flexibility, and Bill of Materials (BOM) management criteria.

Flexibility, Openness, Fast Results Drive Digital Transformation for Aras Customers
Manufacturers face the challenge of bringing increasingly complex products to market, but are shackled by legacy PLM systems and disconnected product processes held together by desktop spreadsheets. As a result, they are pursuing digital transformation initiatives to enable cross-discipline collaboration, connect the extended enterprise, and unlock the value of their product data.

According to Forrester, “Customers using Aras’s PLM Innovator tool tended to have the most innovative use cases of their PLM systems of all vendors included in the Forrester Wave evaluation.” Forrester found “The firm was lauded by customers for fast implementations and a flexible software solution that can quickly adapt to a customers’ specific needs while still being upgradable down the road.”

In conclusion about Aras, Forrester said, “Companies looking to make a meaningful change to their product organization and knock down the figurative walls between product development and the business should consider Aras as an agile solution that meets requirements and delivers results fast.”

“Aras has been Carestream’s Product Lifecycle Management backbone since 2009 and over 15% of the company uses the platform. We use it to harmonize many processes including Engineering BOM, Product Change Management, and Stage Gate documentation required to meet compliance expectations. Having a harmonized PLM system has allowed us to effectively globalize while reducing compliance risk significantly through harmonization of process and tools. The flexibility and upgradability of the [Aras] platform has allowed us to release updates quarterly helping us to continuously improve and meet the expectations of a global user base,” said David Sherburne, Executive IT Director, Carestream Health.

Aras CEO Peter Schroer said, “Product complexity has outpaced the capabilities of legacy PLM systems, leaving manufacturers at a crossroads to transform their product processes or be left behind. As a result, they are turning to Aras to build a new foundation for product innovation. Using the flexibility of our platform paired with our agile deployment approach, they are able to accomplish in months what they’ve struggled to solve for years.”

Rise of the Product Innovation Platform
Legacy PLM systems have focused on management of CAD data for physical, mechanical design, and are ill-equipped to unify product data across design disciplines or into the field.

To help industrial companies plan for a new generation of technology for complex product development, leading industry analyst firm CIMdata released its position paper, “Product Innovation Platforms: Definition, Their Role in the Enterprise, and Their Long-Term Viability.” CIMdata’s notion of a product innovation platform – an innovation-enabling business platform that would support all product-related disciplines and users through the entire product lifecycle – provides a starting point for organizations discussing digital transformation. Aras recently received top scores in CIMdata’s assessment of the Aras PLM Platform against the Product Innovation Platform criteria.

CIMdata also recognized Aras as a PLM Mindshare Leader earlier in the year based on the company’s industry vision, platform approach, and the impact that Aras is having in the market.

About Aras
Aras enables the world’s leading manufacturers of complex, connected products to transform their product lifecycle processes and gain a competitive edge. Aras’ open, flexible, scalable, and upgradable PLM platform and applications connect users in all disciplines and functions to critical product information and processes across the extended enterprise. Aras customers include Airbus, BAE Systems, GE, GM, Hitachi, Honda, Kawasaki Heavy Industries, and Microsoft. Visit www.aras.com and follow us on Twitter @aras_plm and LinkedIn.