Integware Offers New Solutions for More Industries
July 30, 2012
The medical industry has long benefitted from data management solutions and Integware has long provided some of the leading solutions. Now, the company is branching out to other industries as explained in the Melodika article, “Integware, the Leader in Deploying PLM Services and Solutions for the Medical Device Industry, Today”.
The article explains how the latest software will benefit many industries including manufacturing:
“Integware’s GxP solutions and services have been deployed in some of the largest manufacturing companies in the world. These solutions enable compliance with regulations, decrease time-to-market with a focus on ROI and efficiency, and reduce Total Cost of Ownership (TCO).”
Chris Kay, CEO of Integware, was quoted as saying
“Customers don’t want to adopt another technology or install another piece of software that helps them solve a single problem; they want to transform the way they do business by having traceability between all key product-related processes. Our customers want to increase their margins, while at the same time improving speed, quality, and compliance…”
Integware is not alone in trying to create more efficient PLM solutions for non-traditional industries. Inforbix, another leader in the field, works well with almost any industry because of their devotion to new data management solutions. Through their solutions employees can save time and eliminate duplication of files all while finding, reusing and sharing data with ease.
Catherine Lamsfuss, July 30, 2012
Too Many Cooks in the SharePoint Kitchen
July 27, 2012
Bjorn Furuknap brings us another irreverent look at the world of SharePoint, this time focusing on the quantity of SharePoint developers. In Furuknap’s SharePoint Corner, he brings us this entry, “How Many SharePoint Developers Are There Really?”
In its publicity for its purchase of Yammer, Microsoft boasts of how many developers they have building on SharePoint.
Furuknap states:
What’s very odd, though, is that Microsoft claims there are 700,000 ‘developers building on the platform’. With these numbers, that means that for every SharePoint customer, there are over 10 developers. Read that again: For every SharePoint customer, there are more than 10 developers . . . It can mean one of two things: 1) There are far too many developers out there and a lot of them are unemployed. Good for businesses, if true. 2) SharePoint is a platform so complex that you need to pay, on average, ten people to do nothing but develop on SharePoint. Bad for SharePoint, if true.
Let’s go with the idea that SharePoint may be too complex for its own good. What is to be done? Most organizations cannot afford a herd of developers to customize SharePoint into a usable infrastructure. For organizations in that situation we recommend exploring a smart third party solution like Fabasoft Mindbreee Enterprise. Working as a standalone solution, or in conjunction with an existing SharePoint infrastructure, Fabasoft Mindbreeze not only streamlines your enterprise needs, but also integrates the rest of your electronic data repositories via Connectors.
Do not let the complexities of SharePoint bankrupt your IT department. See a high return on your investment by choosing Fabasoft Mindbreeze.
Emily Rae Aldridge, July 27, 2012
Sponsored by Pandia.com
Soft Tech Software Adopted by SATCOM Giant
July 27, 2012
The need for product lifecycle management (PLM) solutions perforates across industries with the communications industry being no exception. It was recently announced that the General Dynamics SATCOM Technologies located in Richardson, Texas, will begin using the PLM software, ProductCenter, created by Soft Tech Inc. in the Equities.com article, “United States : SofTech Product Selected by General Dynamics SATCOM Technologies”.
The reasons for the adoption of the PLM solution by the communication company were discussed in the article:
“ProductCenter streamlines engineering documentation processes and supports multi-CAD tool integrations and the vaulting of product related data. ProductCenter also enables Engineering to manage the Bill of Material (BOM) for improved efficiency in product manufacturing. Although ProductCenter is focused on the product development processes today, it will be used to manage any document that requires access control and routing to any department and/or individual.”
The need for PLM solutions to support mult-CAD files and be accessible across departments is not relegated to this company or this industry alone. Inforbix, another leader in the PLM field, understands that any industry utilizing CAD/CAM files needs a solution that can easy work with such files and yet remain fluid, streamlining processes. They pride themselves on being able to enable all of their PLM users to ‘find, reuse and share product data’ regardless of the size of the enterprise.
Catherine Lamsfuss, July 27, 2012
Sign In as Difference User in SharePoint 2013
July 26, 2012
The “Sign in as a Different User” menu option has been done away with in SharePoint 2013. Microsoft has made it known that they have worked to make SharePoint 2013 a more streamlined, efficient, out-of-the-box solution, and in doing so are discouraging users from customization. However, some of the features that were removed still need to be navigated in some way. The “Sign in as a Different User” command is one example. Nick Grattan’s SharePoint Blog gives us a workaround in, “Sign in as Different User and SharePoint 2013.”
Grattan states:
This ‘Sign in as Different User’ menu item is very useful when testing applications, but it can lead to problems especially when opening documents, say in Microsoft Word. So, it may be for these reasons that the option has been removed in SharePoint 2013. You can add the menu item back in, but I would suggest only doing this on test or development SharePoint servers. To do this, repeat this edit on all servers in your SharePoint farm:
What follows is a step-by-step list of instructions to help you successfully complete the function.
For users who are concerned in general about the lack of customization options in SharePoint 2013, we would encourage the addition of a smart third-party solution. For instance, Fabasoft Mindbreeze Enterprise can stand alone or work alongside an existing SharePoint infrastructure to increase efficiency and intuitiveness. Fabasoft Mindbreeze is a trusted industry leader based in Austria, and consistently wins recognition for by KM World.
Emily Rae Aldridge, July 26, 2012
Sponsored by Pandia.com
CAD Interoperability a Cinch for Renault
July 26, 2012
Several industries struggle with multiple CAD systems and are slowed by interoperability issues. A recent Design News article, “Renault Fast Tracks CAD Interoperability”, explains how one of the world’s leading racing companies, Renault Sport F1, is using new data management solutions through product lifecycle management to overcome such inconveniences.
PLM manager at Renault Sport F1, Jean-Francois Plusquellec, was quoted as saying,
“Working with suppliers is “our No. 1 issue. We need to have a lot of loops between our design team and our suppliers, and we need to have high quality for the 3D translation.”
The solution to the multi-CAD problem is as follows:
“Using Elysium’s technology, Renault Sport F1 has created a supplier portal that integrates with its ERP system and product data management system and allows suppliers using different CAD programs to exchange data and models quickly and accurately without manual translation or cleanup on Renault’s end.”
Although most engineers in a recent survey conducted by PTC agreed that CAD interoperability was one of the major hurdles facing the industry solutions do exist. By adopting PLM solutions designed with CAD/CAM in mind, interoperability ceases to be a problem. Data management solutions are rapidly overcoming many of the traditional challenges facing engineers in the manufacturing industry and will continue to advance in the years to come.
Catherine Lamsfuss, July 26, 2012
Siemens Recognizes Asian Manufactures
July 25, 2012
The Asian manufacturing market is one of the fastest growing markets for utilizing product lifecycle management solutions. In an effort to recognize the efforts and hard work of Asian enterprises Siemens presents its annual Asian-Pacific Innovation Awards. According to the recent Manufacturer’s Monthly article, “Siemens PLM Software Celebrates Ingenuity in Asia”, Mahindra Vehicle Manufacturers won this year’s highest honor for implementing Technomatix portfolio enabling them to come closer than ever to real-time manufacturing.
As the article explains of the award,
“The top award is presented to the company that uses PLM technology in a way that enables them to be a hallmark of success in the manufacturing industry, maximising the value derived from their products throughout the entire lifecycle to streamline their productivity and performance. While Mahindra Vehicle Manufacturers walks away with top honors, it is not alone in showing ingenuity and innovation in its use of Siemens PLM Software’s technology. Each of the nominees demonstrated outstanding innovation in their application of PLM solutions for their businesses.”
Recognizing manufacturers for their progress is very important especially during turbulent economic times. Behind every successful manufacturer is an equally great PLM provider that often goes overlooked. We like to bring attention to all of the state-of-the-art PLM providers that work tirelessly to allow manufacturers around the world to reduce waste and solve complex manufacturing issues through new data management solutions.
Catherine Lamsfuss, July 25, 2012
Streamlining SharePoint at Work
July 24, 2012
On the Microsoft SharePoint Blog, Chirag Patel addresses readers’ questions about what SharePoint can do for them professionally with his entry, “8 Easy Ways to Change SharePoint at Work.”
Before diving into his list of eight tips, Patel gives an introduction to his ideas:
With endless possibilities and boundless optimism, SharePoint obviously has a great deal more to offer and [sic] the manner in which it is implemented and governed. You will also find mountain of articles and how to guides on the Internet but my response almost always touch on the following areas. In this post I will share 8 easy ways that by themselves may not dramatically improve productivity, but combined can result in significant performance gains and hopefully help you leverage SharePoint functionality.
In terms of leveraging SharePoint functionality, not every organization can afford a team of SharePoint developers in-house or contracted out. For these organizations, a smart third party solution may be a good addition to an existing SharePoint infrastructure, or as a standalone piece.
A third party solution with good reviews and user feedback is Fabasoft Mindbreeze Enterprise. With a listed of notable technology partners, Fabasoft Mindbreeze can ensure high functionality with limited additional effort. For users who have to choose between intense customization of SharePoint and adding a third party solution, many will find a third party solution like Mindbreeze to be the least stressful option.
Emily Rae Aldridge, July 24, 2012
Sponsored by Pandia.com
The Codex of PLM Openness Gains another Provider
July 24, 2012
As the manufacturing industry is becoming less dependent on national borders the need for companies and providers to work together is growing. One initiative to help that happen is the Codex of PLM Openness. The Virtual Strategy article, “Trubiquity Joins the Codex of PLM Openness Initiative”, explains how another PLM provider has joined the initiative.
The article explains both the Codex itself and Trubiquity’s decision to join:
“The Codex of PLM Openness is a program of the ProSTEP iViP organization designed to provide a common understanding on openness of information technology (IT) systems in the context of PLM. This joint effort involved IT providers, integrators and customers and has defined measurable criteria that provides a clear position with regard to PLM Openness. Trubiquity joined the voluntary CPO as a self commitment to continue offering highly integrative solutions for PLM driven supply chain managed file transfer (MFT) and collaboration.”
PLM solutions used to be relegated to only the top manufacturers in the world but with the advances in technology (especially cloud) in the last few years PLM solutions have become affordable for even the smallest of enterprises. Providers who understand that many companies adopting PLM solutions are new to marketplace focus on customer support and training to ensure that solutions are utilized to their maximum. Openness begins with the relationship between customer and provider.
Catherine Lamsfuss, July 24, 2012
Claims Based Authentication in SharePoint 2013
July 23, 2012
The Web is buzzing with the release of SharePoint 2013 Preview, which was recently announced. Wictor Wilen, a SharePoint certified architect, takes on analysis of the new product with special attention being given to Claims-based authentication mode in his blog entry, “SharePoint 2013: Claims is the New Black.”
Wilen explains how the authentication mode has become less flexible:
Now in SharePoint 2013, Claims-based authentication mode is the default authentication method. You cannot from the web interface create content web applications using Classic mode. If you need to create a Classic web application you need use PowerShell – but you should not do that (unless you have some specific requirement) since Classic mode is now considered deprecated, and will likely be removed in future releases of SharePoint.
Wilen goes on to explain how the SharePoint team has made a number of improvements in Claims-based authentication since it has become the default. Lastly, he lists the next steps that users need to make to keep up with the changes from 2010 to 2013 SharePoint offerings.
For users who need efficient and intuitive enterprise search, but do not have the time to navigate SharePoint’s infrequent and upsetting changes, a third party solution may be a better fit. Check out the award winning Fabasoft Mindbreeze Enterprise. With quarterly seamless updates and a more intuitive interface, Fabasoft Mindbreeze might be a more time and cost efficient solution for your organization.
Emily Rae Aldridge, July 23, 2012
Sponsored by Pandia.com
NC Software Market and PLM Growing Together
July 23, 2012
With most of the world’s economy in a state of descent it is refreshing to report on an industry setting records in growth and revenue every year with even more growth predicted. The American Machinist article, “More Growth Forecast for Global NC Software Market”, is just one more testimony to the incredible demand for product lifecycle management solutions (PLM) across industries around the world.
The article describes how PLM is affecting the NC software market:
“Since 2002, the NC software market has shown modest but steady growth as global economies generally improved, CIMdata noted. Although the world market has seen significant growth in the sale of machine tools, and in manufacturing output, manufacturers have put greater emphasis on the efficient operation of machine tools —a consequence of strategies that have emphasized competitiveness. Thus, the overall PLM market (of which CAM is one part) has continued to grow.”
This article backs up what those in the industry already know and what several industry journals and reports have announced – PLM is alive and growing! With anticipated growth in 2012 to be in the double digits it is no surprise that more companies are turning to PLM to help manage costs, streamline processes and eliminate waste. Inforbix, a leader in the PLM field, offers PLM solutions that work with any industry because they focus on data management, the essential key to PLM. Their software provides “integrated cloud solutions for manufacturing companies that tackle everyday tasks such as finding, reusing, and sharing product data without the overhead of traditional data management systems” making them the natural choice for many companies.
Catherine Lamsfuss, July 23, 2012