Numbers Show Increase in Cloud-Based PLM Usage
February 9, 2012
Although everyone working with product lifecycle management (PLM) suspected the numbers for 2011 would show a definite shift toward the cloud and new PLM solutions the numbers are finally proving it. A recent press release titled, Arena Grows New Business 19% in 2011, on Marketwatch, tells of how a leader in cloud based services for small to mid-sized businesses exploded in growth due to the release of their latest creation, PDXViewer, cloud based app for viewing PDX files.
To explain the 19% growth the press release said,
“Helping drive that growth were increases in annuity bookings — up nearly 15% for the year — and an increase in subscriptions coming from new strategic partnerships. New customers were up 18% for the quarter compared to the same quarter in 2010. In addition to 2011′s strong subscription and renewal numbers, Arena fulfilled its commitment to expand the company by building out its software, infrastructure and partner community.”
What these numbers signify is that there is a new trend for companies to move to cloud based PLM solutions. As data continues to grow, expenses continue to be cut and a new technologically savvy workforce demands the latest in cloud technology and access to company data companies of all sizes are turning to new data management solutions.
As Arena is proving with their impressive numbers companies of all sizes are looking to unify departments by making data accessible and manageable by all. This unification in the form of cloud based PLM not only reduces overlap between design and production but eliminates redundancies that only serves to cost more money.
Catherine Lamsfuss, February 9, 2012
Enterprise Search Meets the Cloud in 2012
February 9, 2012
In “2012 – Ready or Not,” Mike Alsup, Senior Vice President at Gimmal Group, lays out a summary of 2011 and speculates on 2012 in the world of SharePoint and content management. Of course, 2011 was another growth year for the ubiquitous SharePoint platform. One estimate puts SharePoint users at 125,000,000 and counting. Although, Alsup says, many of these SharePoint sites are collaboration sites, intranet, and other lightweight knowledge management, meaning lots of room to grow and innovate among the users.
Otherwise, 2011 is noted for lots of infrastructure consolidation and lots of waiting to see what happens with SharePoint Records Management. And for 2012? Alsup gives somewhat lengthy explanations on Records Management 2.0 and content enabled vertical applications. Of course, 2012 speculations are not complete without mention of the Cloud. Here’s what Alsup says,
In the world of SharePoint, the product is different in the cloud and on premise because of limitations on what can be deployed in the cloud and how it needs to be deployed. There are many SharePoint applications that provide great value that can’t be deployed in the Microsoft Clouds (Microsoft private cloud solutions, Windows Azure, Office 365) because of product limitations. If Microsoft enabled these applications to be more easily deployed in their clouds, and their customers could deploy their SharePoint applications similarly in each of the three environments, then the decisions on how and where to host would be based on economics and deployment strategy instead of the limitations of SharePoint in the clouds.
While SharePoint is a powerful and complex system, we know there are limitations when the Cloud is introduced. For a Cloud solution in your SharePoint environment, check out Fabasoft Mindbreeze. Here you can read about the power of information pairing.
Fabasoft Mindbreeze . . .
smoothly integrates itself into your website so that the user doesn’t even realize that Cloud services are working in the background. Furthermore, InSite always knows what a user is interested in. Navigation behavior on the website serves as the basis for recognizing their interests. If the user finds themselves on one of your sub-pages on the topic mobility, for example, even at this level Fabasoft Mindbreeze InSite still displays further information such as blogs, news, Wikipedia etc. on the relevant topic.
Check out the full suite of solutions at Mindbreeze to see what works for you.
Philip West, February 9, 2012
Sponsored by Pandia.com
Before They Come to Your SharePoint Site Know This
February 8, 2012
This list is far from complete and should be an evolutionary thing as it’s just what I’ve collected myself.
A Developer Takes on SharePoint
February 8, 2012
Wendy Neal recently shared some highlights of the SharePoint experience in her piece, “The Top Ten Reasons Why I Love SharePoint.” Neal, a SharePoint 2010 Developer/Architect for GreatAmerica Leasing Corporation, created the list so to articulate exactly why she loves to work with the ubiquitous collaboration software.
Neal cites the time and money saved due to Microsoft handling most development processes as just one of the reasons she found SharePoint to be the right system. Organizations can spend more time on configuring the technology, rather than developing and testing it. The SharePoint community, complex technology potential, and Microsoft Office integration are also discussed.
In terms of the SharePoint potential, Neal also explains the ability to easily build up your system with third party products integration.
One of the really great things about SharePoint is that if something can’t be done out-of-the-box, and if you don’t want to build it yourself, chances are that someone else has. Whether it be vendors who specialize in SharePoint add-ons, or something you find on CodePlex or other code sharing sites, there are a ton of great solutions or tools that can integrate with SharePoint. In addition, many other CMS or storage systems have created web parts that will interface with SharePoint, so that you can keep your content where it is yet still access it through the SharePoint interface.
A quality third party solution, like Fabasoft Mindbreeze, can really get you the most out of your enterprise search investments and extend the capabilities of your SharePoint system. For a deep solution that connects your business information with the Cloud and gives your users the search and navigation experience they need, check out Mindbreeze.
Philip West, February 8, 2012
Sponsored by Pandia.com
PLM Leader Introduces Online Training for Engineers
February 8, 2012
As technology continues to evolve large companies struggle with the demands of training of their employees, especially engineers. Tata Technologies has developed i GET IT, an online training program aimed at engineers. The article, Tata Technologies Plans to Market Online Self-Paced Training Solution for Engineers, on Telecom Tiger, explains how the self-paced training program is expected to be received with open arms in India’s growing engineering industry.
As the article explains of the new program,
“Some of the key factors that have led to growth in the demand for online training solutions can be attributed to the professionals being either too busy, inability to leave the office for several days and attend regular courses for advanced trainings. The increasing demand for local talent has lead to engineering colleges and institutions leaving no stone unturned to sharpen the skills of their students with the very latest course material, whether through text books or online training courses.”
Tate Technologies is best known for their Product Lifecycle Management (PLM) and Enterprise Search solutions making them the perfect company to develop a training program for busy employees in the engineering industry. As data continues to grow and change and more types of data enter into a company’s database new data management solutions must be adopted. Enterprise search must also be updated to include this new data. Engineering companies unable to integrate such measures will get left beyond in a struggling, yet competitive, world economy. We not only predict that more online training programs like Tate’s i GET IT will enter the engineering industry market, we believe smart companies will gladly accept them and take the first steps toward cloud services and new PLM solutions.
Catherine Lamsfuss, February 7, 2012
The Heat in SharePoint Semantics: January 27 – February 3
February 7, 2012
This week SharePoint Semantics shared a variety of informative reading material that is pertinent to both SharePoint end users and search enthusiasts.
In the article “Avoid the Most Common Mistakes Made by Beginning SharePoint Developers,” Ken Toth shares an article that outlines a list of situations worth avoiding if you are a SharePoint development novice.
Toth points out:
“Sometimes reinventing the wheel means you end up with a bigger wheel, but also you will have to look after and support that wheel for when it breaks, and you may also have wasted a load of time making that bigger wheel.”
Similarly, in “Uncover Business and Staff Needs Before Deploying a Microsoft SharePoint Intranet,” we learn that staff often don’t know what they’re talking about when it comes to determining what’s best in a SharePoint intranet.
Toth advises:
“First, conduct an intranet needs analysis to determine staff needs. Then, uncover how SharePoint can allow for new ways of working through scenarios, case studies, stories, and examples. Third, get everyone on the same page by making sure all stakeholders have the same definitions and priorities.”
As SharePoint grows in popularity, many people are starting to wonder what to do with paper information in this increasingly digital world. The post “Looking to Partners to Aid with Managing Paper-Based Information in the SharePoint Environment” offers some solutions.
Writer Jeff Shuey explains the importance of finding partners to manage your paper information.
Toth concludes:
“Bringing paper and digital information together is no doubt a challenge in our information age. It is a discussion worth having so that solutions continue to be made available for handling the ever-increasing variety of formats.”
Sometimes, regardless of the number of needs assessments and situations that you avoid when implementing your SharePoint platform, your site still falls short of its target. In this case, consider turning to The Semaphore Content Intelligence Platform from Smartlogic. It will ensure that your SharePoint content is easily found and re-purposed, saving valuable staff time and money.
Jasmine Ashton, February 7, 2012
Without Data There is No Point in Share
February 7, 2012
To monitor SharePoint Server 2010 servers and the services that run on the servers, you can directly access various logs such as the Windows Server event logs, SharePoint Universal Logging System (ULS) logs (also known as trace logs), or usage data logs. You can also go to SharePoint Server 2010 Central Administration to review various reports. Health analyzer reports contain SharePoint Server 2010 rules for servers or services. Administration (diagnostics) reports contain search-related information. Web Analytics reports contain web analytics metrics.
Varian’s PLM Changes Indicative of Global Shift in Data Management
February 7, 2012
Product Life Cycle Management (PLM) plays an important role in many industries with the medical industry being a prominent one. A recent article, Varian Slashes Redesign Time for RoHS, REACH Compliance, on Environmental Leader, announced a breakthrough by Varian Medical Systems in regards to their PLM effectively reducing their engineering changes from eighteen days to five days.
Of the changes the article explains,
“Using the SAP Environment, Health, and Safety Management application with product compliance functionality and the SAP Product Life Cycle Management application, Varian says it’s been able to understand the chemical composition of its products, more easily redesign components and products…The SAP software embeds compliance checks into the design process, which Varian says helps it avoid late-cycle changes. The software also makes it faster and easier to adjust administrative functions to any corresponding engineering change, Varian says.”
The need to improve PLM is an issue facing all industries, not just the medical. With companies across the globe facing increasing manufacturing prices and lower sales changes must be made across all divisions to cut costs. Improved PLM with integrated cloud services is, currently, the best option for companies. A truly redesigned PLM approach will include a new data management solution and enterprise search to reduce duplicity in design and man hours lost to inadequate searches.
For companies in all industries data has changed and is continuing to change. The difference between thriving despite tough economic times and closing the doors for good could be as simple as how the new, massive influx of data is searched and managed. Adopting new PLM solutions such as Varian is not only prudent but absolutely necessary to compete globally.
Catherine Lamsfuss, February 7, 2012
FAST Search Server 2010 for SharePoint: Features Breakdown
February 7, 2012
In “Fast Search in SharePoint 2010 – What’s that you don’t get in SharePoint 2010 Search,” the author discusses Microsoft’s acquisition of the enterprise search company, FAST Search & Transfer, and the subsequent Microsoft product development, FAST Search Server 2010 for SharePoint. The author notes the very visual change to the user experience and a handful of other capabilities that came with the new search. Two of the more noticeable changes include:
Thumbnails and previews for documents — Word and PowerPoint files in the search result will be displayed with a thumbnail of the cover page. Moreover, PowerPoint files can be previewed in the results list without opening the file, either with a PowerPoint client or with Office Web Applications. These capabilities can help end users visually find the expected content.
View in browser — By using Office Web Applications, Office files can be opened in the browser, without installing the thick client on the computer.
The fully integrated search server engine also lets you build user context from user profiles and define Visual Best Bets. New features and capabilities are exciting. But the learning curve and man hours for developing and customizing the features may not be.
FAST search is an improvement over the SharePoint out-of-the-box functionality; however, Fabasoft Mindbreeze is an even greater improvement. Here you can read about enterprise search with Mindbreeze’s quick, service-oriented, and cost-efficient technology:
Fabasoft Mindbreeze Enterprise finds every scrap of information within a very short time, whether document, contract, note, e-mail or calendar entry, in intranet or internet, person- or text-related.
Mindbreeze solutions add value to your business information, no matter the data you’re looking for or the system you are working with.
Philip West, February 7, 2012
Sponsored by Pandia.com
SharePoint 2010 Governance with DocAve Software
February 6, 2012
One thing I have learned by researching SharePoint 2010 is that if you do not create a governance plan for the collaborative content platform, then you have basically spent thousands of dollars on a networked harddrive. I constantly report on the best pieces referring to this important topic and recently I found that PRWeb.com reported that “New Release of AvePoint’s DocAve Software Extends Management and Governance for Microsoft SharePoint 2010.”
AvePoint’s DocAve 6 release provides more ways for people to work together using SharePoint 2010,” said Kristina Kerr, Group Product Manager for SharePoint, Microsoft Corp. “DocAve’s new features further extend the SharePoint platform’s governance and management functionality to provide organizations with additional options to enforce governance policies that meet their business needs.
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