The State Of PLM 2010: A Tale Of Two Markets

For the product life-cycle (PLM) software market, it is the best of times and the worst of times. With the unprecedented tide of economic woes last year, longtime PLM buyers are taking advantage of soft conditions and exerting more pressure on vendors to lower their cost of deployment through more flexible pricing models, configuration options, and integration features. Ongoing budget constraints also mean that PLM customers in nontraditional industries like utilities & telecom, financial services, and retail toe a sharp line between increased PLM interest and actual PLM investment despite the preponderance of homegrown apps. In the long term, forces of change are apparent, as emerging economies in Asia Pacific, Latin America, and the Middle East/Africa have a different set of priorities and considerations for both SaaS-based deployments and maintenance renewal that stand in stark contrast to the established European and North American markets. To overcome PLM program standstill and move forward, business process and applications professionals must take actionable steps to orient PLM programs around value.