Ekonomi

The End Station for Jim Heppelmann’s Grand PTC Vision as New Boss Barua Brings...

”TPG Capitals’ purchase of PTC’s ThingWorx and Kepware marks the end of the ambition to bridge product development and manufacturing on one platform”
Last week's events in the PTC sphere must have been a heavy experience for former PTC boss Jim Heppelmann. His vision of a broad product development platform for PTC was wound down when his successor, Neil Barua, announced: "We are selling the ThingWorx and Kepware solutions to TPG Capital."
A decade-long PTC investment has thus reached the end of the road. Instead, PTC is going back to the core business of product development with "focus on CAD, PLM, ALM, SLM and the implementation of AI and SaaS."
The vision that Heppelmann had was not at all wrong. The core idea of using robust connectivity software like Kepware to collect shop floor data and leverage an IIoT platform like ThingWorx for analytics, real-time insights, and asset management can be considered a foundational and mission-critical capability in modern Industry 4.0 manufacturing. This value proposition is still strong and will remain even if ThingWorx and Kepware are transferred to third-party ownership like TPG. Large companies that use ThingWorx include, among others, Volvo Group, SKF, and Atlas Copco. They have deployed the solution and will continue to use and develop it.
What the PTC experience shows, however, is that it is a tough task to bring the product development and manufacturing sides together seamlessly connected under one broad umbrella that can bridge product development/engineering and manufacturing/factory automation. For a while, there were actually three constellations with a PLM vision related to this idea: Siemens Digital Industries, PTC/Rockwell, and also Dassault Systemes/ABB. Today, only Siemens remains, whose Xcelerator portfolio and solutions for seamless connections between product development and smart factory automation have long been the strongest on the market. Rockwell's billion-dollar investment in PTC provided an ambitious start to a smart factory project, but it eroded over time, and in 2023, Rockwell sold the last of its PTC shares. The Dassault/ABB constellation really never took off.
What are the direct consequences of PTC's sale of ThingWorx and Kepware?
• Finacially: PTC recently reported a decent FY2025 with revenues of around $2.7 billion and ARR growth of 8.5%. The ThingWorx/Kepware business generated around $200 million. This means that after the sale to TPG, it will lose around 8% of its revenues.
• On the other hand, the sale could yield as much as $750 million, which in various forms can be invested in Neil Barua's vision of the "intelligent product lifecycle (IPL)," focusing on the company's core solutions for this (CAD, PLM, ALM and SLM), on AI and on a SaaS model that can accelerate customers' product development.
What does Barua, who took the helmet in April 2024, want with the IPL vision and PTC's path into the future? How are users affected? What do analysts like CIMdata think? AI's role?
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SLUTSTATION för Jim Heppelmanns VISION om ett PTC med en plattform som överbryggar produktutveckling...

PTC-basen NEIL BARUA säljer ThingWorx & Kepware: "Åter till vår starka kärnverksamhet.”
Förra veckans händelser inom PLM måste ha varit en tung upplevelse för förre PTC-chefen Jim Heppelmann. Hans stora vision om PTC som en helhetsleverantör av en bred produktframtagnings-plattform fick sin dödsstöt med beskedet från efterträdaren, Neil Barua: ”Vi säljer ThingWorx och Kepware-lösningarna till TPG Capital.” En decennielång satsning i PTC’s regi nådde därmed vägs ände ifråga om ThingWorx och Kepware. Istället går man tillbaka till bolagets kärnverksamhet inom produktutveckling med, ”fokus på CAD, PLM, ALM, SLM och implementeringen av AI och SaaS."
Den vision som Heppelmann hade var i sig inte alls fel. Med Kepware kunde man koppla ihop olika hård- och mjukvaror och fånga produktionsdata från verkstadsgolvet. Datainsamlingen från fabriksgolvet till IT-system gav kraft åt ThingWorx i rollen som en plattform för IIoT (Industrial IoT), med vars hjälp man kunde utveckla, driftsätta och hantera applikationer som kopplar samman de fysiska tillgångarna, analysera data och ta fram operativa insikter i realtid. Idén är fortfarande stark och kommer att finnas kvar även om ThingWorx och Kepware-delarna går över i ett tredjepartsägande. Bland nordiska storföretag som använder ThingWorx finns t ex Volvo Group, SKF, och Atlas Copco. De har driftsatt lösningen och lär fortsätta att använda och utveckla den.
Vad PTC-erfarenheten dock visar är att det är en tuff uppgift att få ihop produktutvecklings- och tillverkningssidorna under ett enda sömlöst paraply. Det behöver ingen tvivla på. Ett tag fanns det faktiskt tre konstellationer med denna helhetsvision: Siemens Digital Industries, PTC/Rockwell och faktiskt också Dassault Systemes/ABB. Idag är det bara en spelare kvar i detta, Siemens, vars Xcelerator-portfölj och bolagets övriga lösningar för sömlösa kopplingar mellan produktutvecklingsverktygen, med IIoT-bitarna (Industrial IoT) och med smart fabriksautomation är marknadens absolut starkaste helhetsprogram.
Miljarddollar-satsningen som Rockwell gjorde i PTC gav en ambitiös start åt smart factory-projektet, men har urholkats över tid och 2023 sålde Rockwell av de sista aktierna. Dassault/ABB-konstellationen stannade vid lösa planer.
PTC redovisade nyligen ett hyggligt 2025 med intäkter på drygt 2,7 miljarder dollar – en ökning på 19 % jämfört med FY2024 – men med en ARR-tillväxt på 8,5 %. ThingWorx/Kepware-verksamheten genererade runt 200 miljoner dollar. Detta innebär, om försäljningen till TPG går igenom, att man tappar runt 8 % av intäkterna. Å andra sidan kan försäljningen, beräknad att slutföras under 2026, ge ett bra kassatillskott som kan vara värt så mycket som 750 miljoner dollar. Pengar som i olika former kommer att investeras i Neil Baruas vision kring ”den intelligenta produktlivscykeln (IPL),” med fokus på företagets resurser på dess kärnlösningar för denna (CAD, PLM, ALM och SLM), och att utnyttja AI och en SaaS-modell för att accelerera produktutvecklingen för kunder.
Vad vill Barua med sin IPL-vision och PTCs väg in i framtiden? Sålde PTC lösningarna för att "arkitekturen var splittrad och molnövergången långsam," som en tech-evangelist hävdar? Hur påverkas användarna? Vad tycker analytiker som CIMdata?
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PLM Deal Between SIEMENS and HD Hyundai in a Key Role as TRUMP Wants...

The XCELERATOR portfolio, digital twin technology, PDM, MBSE, and simulation solutions become the backbone of the "revitalization effort."
Can Siemens PLM technology and South Korean industrial know-how in shipbuilding technology accelerate the American shipbuilding industry? The question is interesting, not least because this industry is leading a waning existence in the United States. Globally, the American shipbuilding industry is small - the commercial sector covers less than 0.3% of the world's gross tonnage. Instead, China, South Korea, and Japan dominate, holding more than 90% of the global commercial market. Not least, the Chinese shipbuilding expansion worries the US military, which by law must build its ships domestically. At the same time, the Secretary of the Navy, John Phelan, claimed that it is "behind schedule and over budget."
Can the trend be reversed? Yes, according to Siemens Digital Industries Software and the South Korean shipbuilding group, HD Hyundai, which owns the world's largest shipyard, Hyundai Heavy Industries in Ulsan. Last week, the companies announced that they are launching an initiative, meaning that Siemens PLM technologies and HD Hyundai's advanced engineering can modernize the American shipyards, develop skills, and strengthen the US maritime industrial base. The companies' Joe Bohman (pictured left), CTO of Siemens PLM division, and Sangmin Moon (right), VP of HD Hyundai's Global Strategy Division, also signed a memorandum of understanding to "drive the revitalization of the commercial shipbuilding industry in the US."
It is worth noting that the issue is linked to the global tariff program that Donald Trump is running. The president wants to get the shipyard industry in the US up and running again, and with a trade and tariff agreement from Trump's recent visit to Asia, it became clear that South Korea has allocated $150 billion to cooperation with the US on shipbuilding. This is part of the $350 billion the country promised to invest in America to achieve a reasonable tariff agreement.
It is in the light of this that the initiative between Siemens and HD Hyundai should be seen. But there are several aspects, the PLM side being an important one: South Korean industry is a world leader in areas such as automotive, consumer electronics, etc. In this, Siemens PLM technology in the Xcelerator portfolio has played a significant role. In 2021, for example, the company secured an order from the car manufacturer Hyundai KIA Motors, which took the decision to switch to NX CAD and Teamcenter (TC). And in June 2022, it became clear that HD Hyundai and Siemens, built on NX and TC, among other things, would develop a new ship design-adapted CAD and PLM/PDM platform.
A reasonable interpretation is that this collaboration is a key to Siemens playing a major role in revitalizing the US shipbuilding industry, including the military one. But just as importantly, Siemens is a world leader in the field, where Dassault, Accenture, and BAE Systems also have prominent positions.
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SAP TechEd 2025 Report: How SAP Plans to Fuel Software Developers Control of AI...

Muhammad ALAM, SAP Board Member: "SAP's unique interplay between applications, data, and AI puts developers in the driver's seat - where they belong."
When enterprise systems leader SAP's annual TechEd conference kicked off earlier today in Berlin, AI was the dominant theme. As the globally leading cloud ERP system, it doesn’t come as a surprise that SAP has launched - and continues to do so - a variety of embedded AI capabilities in its products, including its Joule AI assistant. As analyst Gartner pointed out in its latest Magic Quadrant (Cloud ERP for Product-Centric Enterprises, Oct 2025), SAP has one of the more robust roadmaps in the market for enabling agentic AI features.
Accordingly, a series of news was presented to raise the level of developers' work, and Muhammad Alam, a member of the SAP board, noted that SAP is expanding its AI offering to give developers the intelligence and control they need to turn insights into action:
“Exactly, and what SAP is introducing today gives developers the tools they need to keep pace with AI developments. Innovations in SAP's unique interaction between applications, data, and AI put developers in the driver's seat - where they belong,” he said, pointing to the rich flora of new AI capabilities in SAP Build, a growing data ecosystem, and powerful AI assistants in Joule. “These are examples that allow developers to go from idea to result faster.”
As AI transforms the workplace, SAP has also set a goal to equip 12 million people worldwide with AI skills by 2030. Innovations and partnerships—including a new collaboration with Snowflake—are enabling developers to transform business data and artificial intelligence into tangible results. For example, with new agent building capabilities in Joule Studio, developers can extend SAP’s pre-built agents and build new agents that leverage SAP’s business data and can act autonomously as business conditions change.
SAP Build, the company’s central platform for building and automating business applications, now gives developers greater freedom to build, extend, and automate using the tools they prefer. For example, developers working with agent-based solutions such as Cursor, Claude Code, Cline, and Windsurf can now use SAP’s development framework through the new SAP Build Local Model Context Protocol Servers. Furthermore, Visual Studio Code users will have access to SAP Build directly in their development environment through a new SAP Build extension, which will later also be available on the Open VSX Registry for other environments. SAP and n8n have also announced plans for integration so that Joule Studio agents and n8n agents can work together.
But in the end, a key to effective AI is data quality - intelligent applications are built on reliable data. How does SAP address this?
Click on the headline to read more on PLM&ERP News.

“Points Out a Natural First Step into Agentic AI:” IFS Accelerates Industrial Operations with...

…ready and equipped with 50 agent skills now and 100+ skills available by December.
It is no coincidence that ERP system developer IFS was recently upgraded to the Leaders quadrant in the latest of analyst Gartner’s so-called Magic Quadrants (October 2025). IFS Cloud was positioned on the visionary axis among the top four in the market – Oracle, SAP and Microsoft included - in the quadrant for “Cloud ERP for product-centric companies.”
In short, the company’s development pace is intensive and Gartner particularly praises IFS.ai initiative and points out that, “key innovations include IFS.ai Copilot and some early AI agent functions," explaining that, "The supplier’s roadmap is centered around additional agent-based AI capabilities and to integrate AI into the solution to a greater extent through co-innovation with its Nexus Black offering.”
It was further noted that the recent acquisitions of TheLoops and 7bridges by IFS to strengthen AI capabilities were of great importance.
With this in mind, today’s announced development of IFS Loops' agent platform is interesting: With 10 digital workers, with 50 agent skills, and with a short-term roadmap for 100 skills designed for mission-critical workflows in manufacturing, energy, utilities, telecom, construction, aerospace and defense, and service industries, a clearly competitive solution is on the horizon.
Unlike basic chatbots or traditional automation tools that follow rigid, predefined rules, digital agents use advanced AI, specifically large language models (LLMs) and machine learning, to learn and adapt their behavior over time. The latter is a typical characteristic for IFS Loops' agent platform, which delivers template-based digital workers that autonomously handle large operational tasks, including field dispatch, supplier coordination, customer order management, and inventory replenishment, across enterprise systems with real-time information, audit-ready compliance, and domain-specific understanding.
"The pace of operational change is faster than ever, with complexity growing faster than human teams or legacy systems can handle. Operations leaders and CIOs can’t wait for months of IT rollout to benefit from new capabilities. IFS Loops gives companies a digital workforce they can deploy today, orchestrating complex industrial workflows reliably, securely, and contextually, allowing skilled teams to focus on higher-value tasks. For many, this is their first step into agentic AI and a natural entry point into the broader IFS Cloud ecosystem,” said Somya Kapoor (pictured), CEO of IFS Loops, in a comment.
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Addnode’s CEO Johan Andersson: ”Autodesk-partners som Symetri spelar en huvudroll i att realisera...

Möt JOHAN ANDERSSON, koncernchef för SYMETRIs ägare ADDNODE, i dagens djupintervju. AI accentuerar att kompetens är en grundbult för framgång inom PLM och integration av subdomäner som CAD-, CAE-, CAM-, PCB- och mjukvarudesign. Autodesks (AD) partner-ekosystem är inget undantag i en produktframtagnings-värld som går mot allt större inslag av el/elektronik, mjukvaror och online-kapabiliteter, vid sidan av mekanik.
Självklart ställer detta höga krav på holistisk kompetens för att hantera effektiva, integrerade processer i produktutvecklingen. Det är i detta Autodesks VAR-partners (Value Added Resellers), som Symetri - kommer att spela avgörande roller för att kunderna ska kunna ”översätta” AD’s rika mjukvaruflora till konkurrenskraftiga AI-styrda produktframtagnings-system. Vi har diskuterat saken med Addnodes koncernchef, Johan Andersson.
”Vi är bra positionerade, med tung teknikkompetens inom områden som konfiguration, PDM/PLM, IoT, BIM, GIS och har djupa insikter om utmaningarna och värdet av kopplade datastrategier och lösningar för att realisera värdet av AI,” säger Andersson.
Vilka trender styr utvecklingen i detta? Analytikern CIMdata pekade i ett webinar i juni ut ett antal viktiga faktorer. Sammanfattningsvis konstaterades att fler tjänster kommer att behövas för att möta behoven. Några nyckelbitar på CIMdatas ”meny” är:
• PLM fortsätter att utöka kopplingarna till andra affärskritiska affärssystem, systemintegration är avgörande
• Utökat fotavtryck, stöd för digitala trådar och förberedelser för produktivitet med hjälp av AI kräver högre integrationsnivåer
• Molnet som teknisk plattform blir allt viktigare – t ex i perspektivet av moln-till-moln, moln-till-lokal sammankoppling (on premise) – och AI driver moln-implementering
• Optimal AI kräver att företag säkerställer korrekt strukturerad data
• Lågkod-/No code-applikationer i fabriker kräver vassa systemintegratörer (SI)
Hur landar de här punkterna i relation till Autodesk-chefens, Andrew Anagnost, syn på saken? Mycket nära; här är kontentan av hans keynote på Autodesk University 2025:
Framtiden är här, och världens produktutvecklare måste ta till sig övergången till molnkopplade, AI-baserade arbetsflöden, som i realtid och end-to-end anpassar sig till förändrade projektbehov. Inte bara för att skärpa produktiviteten, utan också för att omforma hur hela design- och byggekosystem samarbetar kring en enda gemensam, levande källa till sanning.
”AI och automatisering lägger grunden för en ny era av konstruktion som är snabbare, smartare och mer motståndskraftig – och frigör obegränsad kapacitet,” sa Autodesk-basen och pekade på lanseringen av tre AI-nativa branschmoln: Forma (för AEC), Fusion (Design & Manufacturing) och Flow (Media & Entertainment). ”Med dessa flyttar vi användarna bortom filer till kontinuerliga, datarika, och AI-assisterade samarbetsmiljöer.”
De som ska sätta detta i praktiskt verk på världens midmarket-företag är partners som Symetri. Men vad är det som behöver göras? Varför har storleken betydelse?
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ALTAIR’s CTO, Sam Mahalingam, on the New HPCWorks 2026: ”In Siemens’ Environment, we’ve Pushed...

Next-Generation Performance in HPC, AI and Quantum Technology.
When Siemens-owned Altair launches HPCWorks 2026, the premiere is accompanied by big words: “It’s about next-generation performance in HPC, AI, and quantum technology,” says CTO Sam Mahalingam. Naturally, there is an element of marketing in this, but the statement has its feet in reality. Above all, because engineers today are increasingly working with AI and the technical capacity and performance requirements that come in its wake. HPC, High-Performance Computing, is one of the key factors in this.
Among other reasons, this is why Siemens' $10.6 billion bet to buy AI, HPC, and simulation & analysis player Altair Engineering, appears to be a stroke of genius - how so? The global HPC software market is projected to grow from $50 billion 2023 to around $100 billion by 2032.
Those who once coined the expression that "data is the oil of the new age" thought that development would be rapid, but they probably had no idea how fast it would go. As AI maturity reaches new levels, the rate of expansion is breakneck, and as the world moves forward in the AI paradigm, it is also becoming increasingly clear that the amount of data to be processed is growing almost "hyper-exponentially." In short, data drives the AI economy, and there are large volumes in motion.
The globally generated data amounts have gone from around 15.5 zettabytes (ZB) over the past decade to an estimated 181 zettabytes by 2025. An even more staggering figure is that nearly 90% of all data in the world has been created in the last two years.
It's not hard to see that HPC software is crucial in this scenario, and Altair's HPCWorks can play a leading role, not least in product development, where it is one of the important factors in enabling fast and efficient parallel data processing in, for example, demanding FEM and CFD simulations & analysis. Unlike traditional systems, which process data sequentially, HPC software harnesses the power of the cloud and thousands of interconnected computers, or nodes, to solve complex problems.
So, in this regard, today HPCWorks is a leading platform for HPC and cloud services. With the 2026 version, Mahalingam believes, it will be possible to achieve results faster thanks to new features and improvements, such as sharpened GPU integration and use, expanded AI, and better machine learning tools. This is complemented by enhanced reporting so that users can understand, fine-tune, and optimize their HPC environments.
“The technology landscape is changing rapidly, and we are adapting Altair solutions to support the latest developments in AI, machine learning, data analytics, EDA, and quantum computing,” says Mahalingam, “and today, as part of Siemens, we've pushed the technology even further.”
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Siemens Altair’s CTO Sam Mahalingam om nya HPCWorks 2026: ”I Siemens-miljön kan vi driva...

”NÄSTA GENERATIONS PRESTANDA inom HPC, AI och KVANTTEKNIK.” När Siemens-ägda Altair igår, lagom till morgondagens stora ATCx Digital Twin 2025-event, lanserar HPCWorks 2026 ackompanjeras premiären av stora ord: "Det handlar om nästa generations prestanda inom HPC, AI och kvantteknik," menar teknikchefen, Sam Mahalingam. Det är klart att det finns ett inslag av marknadsföring i detta, men icke desto mindre har påståendet fötterna i realiteterna. Framför allt för att liver för ingenjörerna idag ofta handlar om AI och de tekniska kapacitets- och prestandakrav som kommer i kölvattnet. HPC, High-Performance Computing, är en av nyckelfaktorerna i detta.
Bland annat därför framstår idag Siemens beslut för ett knappt år sedan, med chefen Rolands Busch och PLM-basen Tony Hemmelgarn i spetsen, att satsa 10,6 miljarder dollar på att köpa in AI-, HPC- , och simulerings & analysaktören Altair Engineering som ett genidrag - hur då?
De som för några år sedan myntade uttrycket att "data är den nya tidens olja" trodde nog att utvecklingen skulle bli snabb, men de anade nog inte hur fort det skulle gå. Vartefter AI-mognaden nått nya nivåer är expansionstakten halsbrytande. När världen kliver vidare in i AI-paradigmet blir det också allt tydligare att mängden data som ska processas ökar närmast "hyper-exponentiellt." Data driver kort sagt AI-ekonomin och det är stora mängder i rörelse.
De globalt genererade datavolymerna har under det senaste decenniet gått från runt 15,5 zettabyte (ZB) till för 2025 beräknade 181 zettabyte. En än mer svindlande siffra är att närmare 90 procent av all data i världen har skapats under de senaste två åren.
Att HPC-programvara (High-Performance Computing) är av avgörande betydelse i detta scenario är inte svårt att förstå. Programvaror som Altairs HPCWorks blir i detta centrala, inte minst inom produktutveckling, där de är en av de tyngsta faktorerna för att möjliggöra snabb och effektiv parallell databearbetning. Till skillnad från traditionella system, som bearbetar data sekventiellt, utnyttjar HPC-programvara kraften i molnet och flera tusen sammankopplade datorer, eller noder, för att lösa komplexa problem.
I detta kan HPCWorks betecknas som den ledande plattformen för högpresterande beräkning och molntjänster. Med 2026-versionen blir det möjligt, menar Sam Mahalingam, att nå resultat och genombrott snabbare tack vare nya funktioner och förbättringar, inklusive förbättrad GPU-integration och -användning, utökad AI- och maskininlärnings-verktyg och support. Till detta kommer också utökad rapportering så att användare kan förstå, finjustera och optimera sina HPC-miljöer.
“Tekniklandskapet förändras snabbt, och vi anpassar Altairs lösningar för att stödja den senaste utvecklingen inom AI, maskininlärning, dataanalys, EDA och kvantberäkning”, säger Sam Mahalingam. ”Idag, som en del av Siemens, kan vi också driva tekniken ännu längre.”
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IFS CLOUD Breaks New Barriers: Becomes a Leader in Gartner’s Latest Magic Quadrant for...

“…but Oracle, Microsoft, and SAP still top the analyst’s product-centric ERP cloud platform evaluation.”
Which are the strongest ERP solutions when it comes to product-centric cloud platforms? The question is hot in times when cloud migration is a key to keeping your system competitive, not least in the light of AI.
Analyst Gartner’s so-called Magic Quadrant is a respected evaluation in this context. And when they recently released their 2025 review, it can be concluded that much is similar when it comes to positioning in the leader quadrant. Oracle Fusion Cloud ERP lands at the top as it did in 2024, followed by SAP S/4HANA and Microsoft Dynamics 365 as the most advanced solutions in terms of both the ability to execute, on the one hand, and the vision of where you are going on the other. It is these two axes that determine how Gartner positions the players. In the case of Oracle's Fusion Cloud, Gartner specifically points out the breadth of features, the unified and robust data model, and AI as particular strengths.
Also notable is that IFS Cloud has entered the Leaders quadrant, which confirms that the company is on the right track, given that Gartner actually also places IFS Cloud on the Visionary axis as a more complete solution than the remaining three platforms in the Leaders quadrant: Infor, Epicor, and Oracle's NetSuite.
This development for IFS is probably nothing that surprises the company's CEO, Mark Moffat (pictured):
"We have spent years really understanding what is happening in our core industries so that we can deliver solutions that respond quickly to changing circumstances, such as supply chain shortages, labor shortages, skills gaps, regulations, and environmental changes. When a wave of innovation, such as AI, comes, we can focus on areas of industrial processes that drive disproportionately much value," he said in a recent interview.
Gartner defines cloud-based ERP for product-centric companies as a market for application technology that supports the automation of operational activities for manufacturing, distribution, delivery, and service of products. The definition also includes that these ERP solutions are delivered under a SaaS model, where support and infrastructure are the responsibility of the software vendor.
Generally, Gartner's evaluation includes things like procurement, human capital, financial planning, and analysis. It also looks at modules for configuring orders, manufacturing, and field service, but also for specific solutions related to the MES, EAM, and PLM areas. The sustainability aspect is, of course, also included.
In this perspective, it is interesting that Gartner points out IFS's focus on integrated industrial solutions, which include MES, EAM, and PLM, as a particular strength. The latter also applies to IFS's AI-driven automation solutions.
But what about the strengths and weaknesses of the top-ranked solutions? Click on the headline to read the full story on PLM&ERP News.

From BROWNFIELD to SMART FACTORIES: How to Retrofit the Past into a Profitable Future

RAHUL GARG, VP at SIEMENS Digital Industries Software: “The Comprehensive Digital Twin and Simulation Key to Hassle-Free and Seamless Manufacturing.”
Can it be profitable, or even physically possible, to upgrade an older, diversified, traditional manufacturing facility to a state-of-the-art, digitally controlled smart factory? The question is explosively relevant in a situation where AI, digital twins, threads, and advanced sensor- and software-controlled automation have reached today's levels of maturity.
In this situation, doing things the same way they have always been done is no longer enough to manage things like rising operating costs, inefficient production processes, and a labor market characterized by a shortage of skilled workforce. This is what Rahul Garg, VP of Industrial Machinery Vertical Software Strategy, argues in today's article.
“Digitalization and automation are key to navigating these challenges. Manufacturers can bolster their automation systems to guarantee adaptive and flexible production, helping their operations remain profitable and competitive. And contrary to popular belief, modernization also does not necessarily mean replacing every single piece of old equipment with shiny new machines,” he notes.
Of course, no one said it would be easy to transform a traditional manufacturing operation into a smart factory, with challenges such as integrating legacy machines and systems. Similarly, older machines often lack sensors, while others lack network connectivity or modern standards to interact with new systems.
That may be the case, but this has not stopped many factories from successfully incorporating modern automation processes with outdated equipment that lacked the more advanced features of more modern machines, such as IoT connectivity and AI integration. So, where and how did they start? Rahul Garg:
“Achieving a more automated factory that is ready to face a volatile landscape starts with a plan. With a solid plan, manufacturers can more easily incorporate automation capabilities into their production lines. To ensure harmony between legacy and new systems, manufacturers should look to the comprehensive digital twin. By leveraging the simulation capabilities of this, automation integration becomes seamless and hassle-free, enabling a wide range of resource-saving test capabilities, providing agile and robust operations on the shop floor.”
But how does it work in more detail? Don’t miss the meeting with Rahul Garg in today’s article. He has worked closely with both small and medium-sized companies in technology-driven industries to overcome key challenges and drive revenue growth with strategic solutions, smarter services, and better business practices. It could be a profitable meeting.
Click the link to read the full article on PLM&ERP News.

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