It was a breakthrough year for product lifecycle management. The design platform shook its reputation as merely an engineering design tool to successfully transition into a strategic business approach to managing a product from concept to end of life.
The news that surfaced this past year, especially concerning acquisitions and strategic partnerships, supports the conclusion that PLM has arrived in the enterprise.
Overriding this arrival, however, was the economic landslide that hit manufacturers and everyone else in 2009. The year began with PTC and Autodesk announcing sagging earnings and layoffs. By mid-year, still more PLM players had announced disappointing financial results. The decline in spending by manufacturers forced research firm CIMdata Inc., which has been tracking the market for over 20 years, for the first time to revise its PLM forecast at mid-year.
“All of the PLM suppliers have had to address this huge change in market dynamics and are still struggling to adapt their plans accordingly,” says CIMdata President Ed Miller.