Rethinking The Business Of Engineering

The Era of IoT

It’s well understood that products are more sophisticated than ever and are growing in complexity as embedded software and electronics become integral, especially where Internet of Things-style capabilities are being introduced.

What we hear from today’s manufacturers is that many struggle to keep pace with fast-moving IoT developments, such as sensors, ubiquitous connectivity and cloud-based services; new and expanding regulations around complex products; and drastic industry shifts that are driving products to more service-like business models where updates occur continuously.

What differentiates manufacturers in terms of product development? We see that it is digital connectedness between the engineering disciplines (mechanical, electronic, and software development) as well as extended enterprise collaboration across manufacturing, the supplychain and field service.

Rethinking the Approach

Fortunately, there is a Digital Transformation underway in product development. New technology platforms exist to surpass legacy PLM implementations and move the enterprise forward digitally.

Back to research from CIMdata — newer, more modern technologies are capable of filling in data and process gaps left by legacy PLM systems. This minimizes disruption by encapsulating the existing PLM systems and connecting them to the process layer that spans engineering and product definition across the lifecycle.

A true cross-discipline platform approach that layers over existing PLM silos is more efficient and cost-effective in large companies than the alternative, conventional “rip & replace” strategy.

In this way, product companies can truly link data and enabled processes to underpin complete lifecycles that merge cross-discipline product development, manufacturing and field service with fast-changing processes and workflows across the extended enterprise, including customers, suppliers, partners, remote employees and other stakeholders.

So what does it take to power today’s business of engineering?

It takes a paradigm shift to a platform approach combined with the will to change by bringing together people, processes and systems across the various disciplines and the extended enterprise.

Rethinking the business of engineering lets companies achieve seamless design, development and delivery of tomorrow’s smart, connected innovations.