User Groups on the Rise (cont.)
The 2004 PLM World conference was one example of how UGS works in partnership with users to provide opportunities to talk to UGS software developers and product managers, explore best practices with fellow attendees, attend training offered by UGS Education Services and explore complementary products and services with partner vendors.
While large user group conferences such as PLM World and the upcoming PLM Europe (which last year attracted attendees from 22 countries) provide broad opportunities for users to interact, there is also value in smaller regional and industry conferences where users can focus on specific local or domain needs.
An example is the Scandinavian User Group, which held its most recent meeting at Saab Automobile in Trollhattan, Sweden in May. Over 100 attendees, including members from Saab, Volvo, ABB, Siemens, Sandvik, Rolls Royce and many others began the conference with a Saab factory tour and an opportunity to test drive new Saab cars. UGS representatives provided information on product roadmaps and product migration plans. Users felt the ongoing dialogue between clients and UGS was extremely valuable. This group, which has traditionally been composed primarily of I-deas NX Series and NX users saw an increased number of Teamcenter Enterprise and Engineering clients this year.
At the end of the conference, attendees were treated to the first showing of the brand new Saab 9-2X in Sweden.
Yet another valuable partnership endeavor is the company’s involvement with industry steering groups. For instance the Automotive Steering Group (ASG) conducts bi-annual meeting focused on automotive industry developments. The ASG consists of seven of the top 10 premier Global Automotive Vehicle Manufacturers, including Ford, Nissan, Mazda, GM, Renault, Toyota, and Daimler Chrysler. The charter of this group is to share strategic enterprise PLM direction amongst each and to influence UGS’ PLM direction.
During its most recent meeting in Stuttgart, Germany the group discussed such topics as Enterprise BOM and PLM, Teamcenter Federated Services, Teamcenter Integrated Development Environment to minimize customizations, Interoperability within PLM and the Supply chain using JT. UGS executives joined to update the group on the pending divesture of UGS from EDS. In addition, a discussion to add new members to the group and further refine the structure of the ASG was also conducted and agreed upon. The next meeting will be hosted by Ford in the Americas in October.
According to industry analyst Daratech, the global market for PLM software and services is expected to grow by a compound annual growth rate of 8 percent through 2007 to more than US$9.2 billion. Through 2007, Daratech expects the product data management and collaboration segment of the PLM market, which UGS leads on the strength of its Teamcenter portfolio, to grow 16 percent, compounded annually. Momentum for PLM is growing and UGS user groups will continue to provide expanding venues where both new and experienced users can share their successes and plan for the future.
