PLM Market Expanding Beyond Discrete Sectors
The Product Lifecycle Management (PLM) market totaled more than $9.4 billion in 2010, reflecting a significant rebound to the PLM market. PLM suppliers saw recoveries in traditional discrete industries like automotive and A&D, as well as good growth in non-traditional markets like CPG, consumer goods, energy, AEC, and shipbuilding. PLM market revenues for the first two quarters of 2011 show some of the best growth historically. Forecasts for the market indicate good growth, over the 5 year forecast period. The overall PLM market is projected to rise at a Cumulative Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) of 7.5 percent for software and services over the forecast period.
Many factors are contributing to growth in the worldwide PLM market, including demand for increased efficiency and productivity; a continuing need for collaboration across a global manufacturing lifecycle; penetration into new markets such as power & process, architecture & construction, shipbuilding, and consumer goods; the rapidly growing need for product re-invention and innovation, the emergence of mechatronics and product complexity, the continued growth of manufacturing in emerging economies, and expanding adoption of a more holistic end-to-end PLM solution set.
Strategic Issues
One of the most significant trends in the past few years has been a focus by manufacturers to define their enterprise architecture and strategic initiatives within the context of their PLM solution set. Moreover, manufacturers are looking to implement an end-to-end set of solutions from design through manufacturing to automation and factory floor operations. PLM providers are offering these complete lifecycle solution sets that are part of a collaborative PLM/PDM platform that represents a single source for all product, process, and production information. The scope of PLM has progressed from design/build to design/build/automate/ operate/ maintain.
