The most popular and comprehensive Open Source ECM platform
Let us know more
Cloud Computing: Engineers and Manufacturers Feel the Force of the Cloud
Cloud computing and Social Computing technologies are beginning to have an effect on the areas of Engineering and Manufacturing.
Just one example of this trend is the announcement by AutoDesk in December that they are entering the Product Lifecycle Management (PLM) space, and they are leap-frogging their competition by doing it by introducing an offering designed from the ground up explicitly for the cloud. Another example is Fujitsu’s “Engineering Cloud” launched last summer which targets the management of computer-aided design (CAD), analytics, and engineering process and planning in the cloud.
Fear of the possible loss of intellectual property has kept cloud adoption rates by engineering and manufacturing organizations low, but that’s changing. Organizations are being lured by the competitive advantages which the cloud can provide, which include reducing costs, improving collaboration, and speeding processes.
A survey of automotive, electronics and industrial machinery manufacturers in the US and Europe by Microsoft in early 2011 found that these companies thought that the following functional areas of their organizations would most benefit from the use of Cloud and Social Computing:
- 68.5% – Sales and Marketing
- 52.3% – Product Design and Engineering
- 51.0% – Logistics and Transportation
- 47.0% – Manufacturing Operations and Processes
- 43.6% – Supply Chain and Distribution Networks
Sanjay Ravi, Managing Director of Worldwide Discrete Manufacturing Industry at Microsoft, said that “Manufacturers are exploring ways to improve product design with social product development, enhance visibility across multiple tiers in the value chain, and create new business models and customer experiences based on smart devices connecting to the cloud.”
