Press Releases

On-Demand Product Lifecycle Management (PLM) Key Trait of Top-Performing, Small to Medium Size Manufacturers According to New Aberdeen Report

Software-as-a-Service PLM Solution Lowers Barriers to Adoption and Increases Product Development Success

MENLO PARK, Calif., April 5, 2006 - Arena Solutions, the leading provider of on-demand product lifecycle management (PLM) software for manufacturers, today announced the availability of new analysis from Aberdeen Group highlighting the fact that 60% of best-in-class, mid-size manufacturers are using on-demand PLM solutions, such as Arena PLM, to achieve significant performance improvements. “The PLM for Small to Medium-Size Manufacturers Benchmark Report” states that those companies who are considered top performers in their industry are benefiting from increased revenue, reduced product cost and decreased product development cost. By leveraging an on-demand PLM solution, SMEs, who typically have limited internal resources, are able to perform on a level playing field with their best-in-class large enterprise competitors for dramatically less cost, risk and complexity than if they deployed a traditional on-premises client/server solution.

The report identifies that SMEs face the same challenges—such as time-to-market pressures, globalization, management of outsourced design, and demand for increasingly complex products—as their large counterparts, but have typically been constrained by resources. The survey further indicates that companies who have implemented a PLM solution are able to better control product data, better manage product development processes, and increase collaboration to achieve profitable growth, and that on-demand has facilitated PLM adoption due to its low implementation barriers.

“Based on our findings, mid-size manufacturers who have adopted PLM are seeing substantial benefits including increased revenue, faster product innovation and reduced development costs,” said Jim Brown, Aberdeen Group analyst and report author. “And these top-performers are now able to compete more effectively with their biggest counterparts. Mid-size manufacturers who are considering a PLM solution should evaluate on-demand PLM offerings, which are more frequently used by best-in-class performers.”

“Aberdeen’s findings mirror what we have been seeing in the marketplace since company inception,” said Michael Topolovac, CEO of Arena Solutions. “Arena PLM provides mid-size manufacturers with the low risk, high value solution they need so they can more successfully participate in today’s increasingly global economy.”

“Arena PLM is a great choice for companies like Foundry Networks who have geographically dispersed operations and a global supply chain,” said Michael Topolovac, chief executive officer of Arena Solutions. “With Arena, each stakeholder in the business process can have access to a single, centralized product record without having to incur the cost and complexity of a global deployment.”

The report concludes that mid-size manufacturers who are looking to improve their product innovation, product development and engineering processes while growing their revenue should use a PLM solution; otherwise they face being at a significant competitive disadvantage. In addition, they should consider on-demand solutions, like Arena PLM, to reduce the technical and functional hurdles to PLM adoption and because on-demand PLM provides a better business fit, enabling SMEs to redirect valuable dollars away from IT infrastructure and back into product development.

About Arena Solutions
Arena Solutions is the leading provider of on–demand (SaaS) product lifecycle management solutions for manufacturing companies of all sizes. As the only true on–demand, secure Internet–based PLM service, Arena PLM provides a superior alternative to complicated, lengthy and expensive traditional PLM software deployments. Through its award–winning service, Arena enables product manufacturers and their global supply chains to streamline outsourcing, improve operational efficiencies, and speed time–to–market. Arena PLM has been adopted by more than 15,000 users across companies at all stages of development, including industry leaders Foundry Networks, Color Kinetics, Intuit, Sierra Wireless, Align Technology and more.

Arena Solutions’ market–changing approach to PLM has received significant recognition in the industry, including Manufacturing Business Technology’s Top 40 Emerging Vendors, the Supply & Demand Chain Executive 100, Industry Week’s “Technology of the Year – Notable Innovators” and Start Magazine’s “Hottest” Companies.

Founded in February 2000, Arena Solutions is headquartered in Foster City, California. For more information, please visit the company’s website at www.arenasolutions.com.

Contact:
Cindi Goodsell
cgoodsell@arenasolutions.com
1.510.479.9015

Arena PLM is a trademark of Arena Solutions, Inc. Other product and company names are the property of their respective holders.