Aras®, a provider of open and upgradable product lifecycle management (PLM)
software for the enterprise, today announced it has been named a Leader
in “The Forrester WaveTM: Product Lifecycle Management for Discrete
Manufacturers, Q4 2017.” Forrester noted that “Aras is an emerging vendor
in the PLM space, but has made significant inroads to the market with
significant discrete manufacturing client wins and customer boasting
advanced PLM implementations using their PLM Innovator product.”

Aras was among the select companies that Forrester invited to participate
in its Q4 2017 Forrester Wave.® In this evaluation, Aras’ top
scores were in the Product Vision, Implementation and sustainability,
Configurability and flexibility, and Bill of Materials (BOM) management
criteria.


Flexibility, Openness, Fast Results Drive Digital Transformation for
Aras Customers


Manufacturers face the challenge of bringing increasingly complex products
to market, but are shackled by legacy PLM systems and disconnected product
processes held together by desktop spreadsheets. As a result, they are
pursuing digital transformation initiatives to enable cross-discipline
collaboration, connect the extended enterprise, and unlock the value of
their product data.

According to Forrester, “Customers using Aras’s PLM Innovator tool tended
to have the most innovative use cases of their PLM systems of all vendors
included in the Forrester Wave evaluation.” Forrester found “The firm was
lauded by customers for fast implementations and a flexible software
solution that can quickly adapt to a customers’ specific needs while still
being upgradable down the road.”

In conclusion about Aras, Forrester said, “Companies looking to make a
meaningful change to their product organization and knock down the
figurative walls between product development and the business should
consider Aras as an agile solution that meets requirements and delivers
results fast.”

“Aras has been Carestream’s Product Lifecycle Management backbone since
2009 and over 15% of the company uses the platform. We use it to harmonize
many processes including Engineering BOM, Product Change Management, and
Stage Gate documentation required to meet compliance expectations. Having a
harmonized PLM system has allowed us to effectively globalize while
reducing compliance risk significantly through harmonization of process and
tools. The flexibility and upgradability of the [Aras] platform has allowed
us to release updates quarterly helping us to continuously improve and meet
the expectations of a global user base,” said David Sherburne, Executive IT
Director, Carestream Health.

Aras CEO Peter Schroer said, “Product complexity has outpaced the
capabilities of legacy PLM systems, leaving manufacturers at a crossroads
to transform their product processes or be left behind. As a result, they
are turning to Aras to build a new foundation for product innovation. Using
the flexibility of our platform paired with our agile deployment approach,
they are able to accomplish in months what they’ve struggled to solve for
years.”

Rise of the Product Innovation Platform

Legacy PLM systems have focused on management of CAD data for physical,
mechanical design, and are ill-equipped to unify product data across design
disciplines or into the field.

To help industrial companies plan for a new generation of technology for
complex product development, leading industry analyst firm CIMdata released
its position paper,
“Product Innovation Platforms: Definition, Their Role in the
Enterprise, and Their Long-Term Viability.”
CIMdata’s notion of a product innovation platform – an innovation-enabling
business platform that would support all product-related disciplines and
users through the entire product lifecycle – provides a starting point for
organizations discussing digital transformation. Aras recently received top
scores in
CIMdata’s assessment
of the Aras PLM Platform against the Product Innovation Platform criteria.

CIMdata also recognized Aras as a
PLM Mindshare Leader
earlier in the year based on the company’s industry vision, platform
approach, and the impact that Aras is having in the market.

About Aras

Aras enables the world’s leading manufacturers of complex, connected
products to transform their product lifecycle processes and gain a
competitive edge. Aras’ open, flexible, scalable, and upgradable PLM
platform and applications connect users in all disciplines and functions to
critical product information and processes across the extended enterprise.
Aras customers include Airbus, BAE Systems, GE, GM, Hitachi, Honda,
Kawasaki Heavy Industries, and Microsoft. Visit www.aras.com and follow
us on Twitter @aras_plm and

LinkedIn.

Aras Press Contact

Kylie Reardon

Corporate Communications Manager

[email protected]