How Manufacturers Unlock Value Moving From Oracle Agile to Arena PLM

The countdown is on for Oracle Agile PLM users. With Premier Support ending in December 2027, manufacturers face a defining moment: continue operating on an aging platform with mounting risk or take this opportunity to modernize their product development.

In our recent webinar, “Not Just Migration: The Measurable Gains of Moving From Agile to Arena,” Arena PLM experts joined customers from Siemens Healthineers (PETNET Solutions) and Xirgo Global to discuss what it really takes to move beyond a simple system swap. They also revealed how to unlock measurable business value from the process.

Here’s a recap of key insights and practical guidance from the session.

Why the Oracle Agile Migration Matters Now

A typical PLM migration spans several critical phases that include:

• Internal alignment and executive sponsorship
• Budgeting and procurement cycles
• Requirements gathering and vendor evaluation
• System design, configuration, and integration
• Data migration, validation, and testing
• Training, onboarding, and change management

When Should You Start Planning an Agile PLM Migration?

End-to-end, this process can take 8 to 16 months—and often longer for companies operating in highly regulated industries or managing complex global supply chains. December 2027 may seem distant, but in PLM time, it’s well within the planning range. Organizations that act now will be the ones positioned for a smooth transition rather than a last-minute scramble.

PLM Migration as a Strategic Decision, Not Just a Technical One

For Siemens Healthineers, the Agile sunset accelerated an already complex transformation initiative.

Their PETNET division manufactures and delivers radiopharmaceuticals with same-day production and shipping requirements. In this environment, even brief system downtime or compliance gaps are unacceptable. “We can’t afford disruption. Our products have a same-day shelf life, so our PLM system must be reliable,” stated Douglas Johnston, Systems Quality Engineer at Siemens Healthineers.

To meet this demand, the team initiated a rigorous vendor evaluation process. Multiple vendors were assessed using real-world scenarios that involved replicating existing PLM forms, fields, and workflows.

Arena by PTC emerged as the right fit for several reasons:

• Strong functional alignment with existing Agile workflows
• Clear usability improvements that supported faster adoption
• Lower total cost of ownership, eliminating hidden add-on fees
• Deep expertise from solution architects familiar with Agile migrations
• A scalable cloud-native architecture built for long-term growth

“From a service perspective, Arena was the most responsive and dynamic when it came to adapting to our expectations or scope of changes. From a functionality perspective, Arena delivered stronger bill of materials (BOM) management capabilities,” added Johnston.

How to Choose the Right PLM Migration Approach

One of the most important decisions in any PLM migration is determining how much to change during the transition. Two primary approaches include:

1. Lift and Shift: Replicate existing configurations and workflows in Arena to minimize disruption. Optimize and modernize later, once teams are comfortable with the platform.
2. Transform During Migration: Use the migration as an opportunity to redesign processes, eliminate inefficiencies, and modernize workflows upfront.

Arena supports both strategies, giving organizations the flexibility to:

• Migrate full historical data or only latest revisions
• Reconstruct existing workflows or introduce streamlined ones
• Validate configurations in a secure sandbox environment before go-live
• Roll out improvements iteratively after launch

The best approach is the one that aligns with your business priorities, your team’s readiness, and the value you want to unlock first. “Regardless of the path you choose, engaging with IT early is essential,” emphasized Scott Moisan, Senior Solution Architect at Arena by PTC. Early IT involvement accelerates legacy data extraction, reduces validation timelines, and avoids late-stage surprises that can delay go-live.

Life After Agile to Arena Migration: What Actually Improves?

For many organizations evaluating PLM migration, the most pressing question is: What changes after go-live?

Joshua Lindquist, Document Control Lead and Arena Administrator at Xirgo Global and Douglas Johnston shared firsthand insights from their post-migration experience, and the improvements were immediate and measurable.

Faster Onboarding and User Adoption

Arena’s AI-enabled help tools, contextual guidance, and self-service training resources allowed both frequent and occasional users to get up to speed quickly. This reduced dependency on system administrators and accelerated time to value.

“The difference in usability was night and day. Our team picked it up faster than we expected, and we saw real adoption almost immediately,” noted Lindquist.

Streamlined System Administration

Where Agile required multiple administrators to support day-to-day operations, Arena enabled a significantly leaner model—often manageable by a single administrator.

Greater Confidence in the Platform

With Arena’s cloud-native architecture, automatic updates, and built-in security, teams gained confidence that their PLM environment would continue to evolve without disruptive upgrade cycles.

Achieving Meaningful Results With Arena: Speed, Visibility, and Control

Beyond usability improvements, product companies see tangible operational benefits when they transition to Arena.

Faster Change Processes

Engineering change orders (ECOs) and change requests (ECRs) move more efficiently across the organization, supported by:

• Automated routing and approvals
• Configurable workflows aligned to business rules
• Reduced manual effort and bottlenecks
• Greater visibility into change status across teams

Real-Time Analytics and Reporting

Arena’s embedded business intelligence enables organizations to:

• Build dashboards quickly without IT involvement
• Track quality, compliance, and change metrics in real time
• Identify trends and act on data-driven insights
• Improve cross-functional decision-making

Enhanced Supply Chain Intelligence

Integrated supply chain insights help teams:

• Identify at-risk components (end of life, shortages, compliance)
• Assess supplier performance and exposure
• Anticipate disruptions before they impact production
• Strengthen sourcing decisions with real-world data

Streamlined Cross-Functional Collaboration

Arena’s cloud-native platform supports secure, controlled collaboration across internal teams, partners, and suppliers. Everyone works from a single source of truth, reducing miscommunication, version errors, and rework.

Stronger Compliance Posture

For regulated industries—including MedTech, aerospace and defense, and high-tech—Arena’s connected QMS and robust security framework support regulatory frameworks like FDA, ISO, EU MDR, ITAR, and CMMC.

Arena PLM Reduces Manufacturing Risk

Manufacturing risk often stems from outdated product data, disconnected teams, and limited visibility into supplier and component issues. Arena helps reduce these risks by providing controlled change management, centralized product records, secure collaboration, and built-in traceability. With better visibility across the product lifecycle, manufacturers can identify potential issues earlier, improve compliance, and reduce costly production delays.

Move From PLM Migration to Transformation

The shift away from Oracle Agile is inevitable, but how organizations approach it will define the next decade of product development.

Companies that treat migration as a strategic transformation rather than a technical task achieve impactful results. They reduce risk, accelerate time to value, streamline compliance, and create a solid foundation that scales with the business.

By prioritizing usability, structured data, and connected processes, manufacturers can unlock measurable gains across engineering, quality, operations, and supply chain—turning a required migration into a long-term competitive advantage. To hear more from our customers and experts, watch the on-demand webinar.