Why is Social PLM DOA?

For the past two years I have heard many technology vendors touting the benefits of social tools. No one can miss the astounding uptake of such solutions as Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, Linkedin and others. There have been many articles on the value that social tools can bring to your business. However, the uptake of social tools within Engineering organizations in the guise of social PLM has been very low; possibly non-existent.

Why is this the case? Is there no value in Engineering for social tools, or is it just hard to exploit these tools in the product development environment? There is clearly a need for more social collaboration during product design, so it would stand to reason that these social tools would have some value. As I have introduced many engineers to Social PLM in my PLM Certificate Education classes, I have often wondered about the lack of enthusiasm for these kinds of tools.

I think there are three main reasons for this lack of excitement for the potential value of Social PLM:

1) Age - Most of the people in my classes are not young. No offense, but most of you are pretty old, uh, I mean experienced. Very few are linked up with the tools teenagers user every day. Many of these experienced engineers look at Facebook and Twitter as huge time wasters with no real value. Some of my students are just now learning to text...what? Come on!

2) Email dependence - I am old enough to remember when some people called email a fad. Now we have become dependent on 100s of emails invading our in-box each day. When you tell most Engineers that there is something that might one day replace email, it's like telling them you are taking away their favorite slide rule (I remember those too); the push-back is predictable.

3) Separate software applications - All of the Social PLM tools I have seen are delivered as separate software applications that must be learned. An Engineer is not going to leave the CAD/CAM/PDM/email environment to learn and use another application, unless required.

So, what is the answer? In my opinion, until we have social tools embedded into the native PDM applications that Engineers are using today to do their work, social PLM uptake will be slow. Look at some of what is available today: SocialLink from PTC, 3DSWYM from Dassault, Teamcenter Community from SiemensPLM, and a host of point solutions: Yammer, Jive, Vuuch, etc... Many of these social solutions are based on MS Sharepoint, and they bring the inherent limitations of that tool. All of these software solutions also require the engineer to learn some type of new tool. I just don't see that happening very quickly.

I hope to see social features moved from standalone software solutions into the PDM environment, where they are easy to use, and readily available. Then, I think you will see Engineers and others start to use them, and they will begin to see the value of social PLM tools for product design.

What do you think?

Cheers,

Jim

Are you Prepared for the Next Generation of PLM?

I just read a very interesting article, Are you Prepared for the Next Generation of Manufacturing? Click on the link and read this very interesting article. I started to think about new technology in the context of PLM. Many of these new technologies have not been embraced by PLM vendors, nor is their impact well understood by businesses. Most PLM vendors have done things the same way for decades, and businesses are loathe to change anything ever, if they can avoid it. We are already starting to see new and exciting ways to encourage efficiency and innovation for PLM. I am afraid those who do not adapt may soon find themselves on a sinking ship.

My favorite quote from the article was:

"If a manufacturer (or any business) makes an informed decision to embrace technology with a progressive, flexible architecture, that manufacturer is prepared to attain success."

So, here is my list of technologies that are starting to have an impact on PLM now, and will continue in the future: Embrace, or get erased!

1) The Internet of Things - sensors, software and all types of intelligence is being added to every device under the sun. Do you have a good process to link your engineering activities with software and electronic activities? The technology exists today, but many have not implemented these new tools. Often different business organizations prevent this from happening efficiently. Check your processes and make whatever changes are necessary to facilitate information sharing between software development, electronic design, and engineering.

2) BYOD - I grew up in the 70's and attended a lot of events with the postscript: BYOB (bring your own beer). Today we are focusing on BYOD (bring your own device). As more and more employees request to use their own devices with company data, the need to adapt will increase. Do you think employees would be more creative if they could log into the system and noodle with their data on a tablet, phone, or other device whenever inspiration strikes, and wherever they are located at that moment? There are issues, but the opportunities are increasing in this area.

3) Social Media - I have blogged about Social PLM in the past (read it here and here and here and here). Becoming a more social business is hard for most engineering companies. The standard engineering environment is one that is not use to sharing any information unless violently threatened. If you tell an engineer that his email will be used less internally in favor of a Facebook-like sharing platform, he or she might hit you with a slide-rule, or at least slit your tires. But, that is the direction forward-thinking companies are taking. It makes a lot of sense and it enhances support for innovation and collaboration; are you ready for this?

4) Big Data - Today, information is growing at an unprecedented rate. We have moved from talking about Petabytes to Zetabytes, and now to Exabytes: 2.8 Zetabyes of data were created in 2012 alone. For more astounding facts about the growing data tsunami (read my blog here), or look at the following article: Staggering Revelations About Big Data. The real point for PLM is not how much data is out there, but how prepared are you to track, analyze, and act on this data. As you read this, many Gigabytes of information is being generated that relates to your company, your products, and you. What will you do with it?

There is probably more, but that will do for now. How are you preparing to make these new technologies complement your PLM environment? Are you choosing to put your head in the sand, and hope they go away. SPOILER ALERT: they aren't going away!

- Jim

Why Has Social PLM Failed?

"I hate Facebook", he said, with fire in his eyes. "Twitter is a total waste of time, if you ask me. I can see no reason for it to exist!" I was instantly sorry I had asked his opinion. I was also surprised that someone in their mid 40's would have such strong negative opinions about social media. It was especially surprising, since this was a person that had embraced smart phones, tablets, PCs, email, and other technology for many years.

The man in question was an engineer who was looked to as a forward-thinking leader in his company. He was a key player in an engineering organization and in charge of introducing PLM to his company. He was also in charge of the entire PLM implementation project. The executives in this company would listen to him on PLM related technology issues. Any chance of  getting social PLM tools into this company was quickly erased from my mind. This conversation got me to thinking about social PLM and why it seemed to limp along in 2012.

Why has social PLM failed to make a big impact in most companies this year? I, along with others, thought this would be the year when social PLM would make a big push into most businesses. I also read a recent article by Oleg Shilovitsky about his take on this topic. Read the full article here.

I have come to the conclusion that Social PLM has failed because most people in the engineering and manufacturing parts of businesses (mostly the people that champion PLM) do not use social media. They have not seen benefits in their own personal lives, and that is why they struggle to see how it can help in their businesses. It reminds me of the early days of the PC: people started to buy personal computers for their own use, and then wondered why they couldn't have the same exceptional connectivity and personalization in their jobs?

I think social PLM will have to follow the same path. However, for that to happen, we need company PLM champions using social media in their personal lives. This has not happened yet. In fact, most of the PLM classes I teach tell me that very few engineers use or care much about social media tools. When I introduce the topic I get a lot of wide-eyed stares and snoring. Those who attend my classes think social media tools are fun toys for their teenagers, but have no use in a "real" business.

I am sure that this will change over time. Sadly, I am old enough to remember when people called Computer Aided Design (CAD) a toy, and when people called 3D modeling impractical, and when people called email a fad; of course, none of these turned out to be true. I just hope I can live long enough to see social PLM have its' due.

What does your company think about social media? What do the leaders of your business organizations think about social tools? Do they have Facebook accounts? Do they have twitter accounts? Do they see any benefits from social media? If not, it will be hard for any of them to see the benefits of Social PLM.

What do you think?

Jim

Work Life Balance: Fact or Myth?

I was recently reading a blog titled: Why Work-Life Balance is Dangerous. The premise of this article was that people have crappy jobs, and that's why they need work-life balance; that if only their jobs were better, then there wouldn't be any reason to have this artificial balance requirement. While I do agree that putting some kind of program in place to help people balance their lives is not the answer, I also feel that people need to spend more time on the one area of their life that matters most: the family.

I have had all kinds of jobs during my 28-odd years of working. Some of them I have really loved, and some of them I have tolerated. Through it all, I have tried to spend quality time with my family, and have tried to always put them first. I have not always done this very well, but I have always tried, and failed, and tried again. No matter how my job was going, I always knew there were people waiting for me at home that would support me, love me, and even commiserate with me.

I know many people who spend a lot of time at their jobs, and truly love what they do. Many of these people spend so much time working because they have a poor, or non-existent family life. They are the ones busting your chops about not spending enough time working, while they are just filling an emotional hole in their lives with work. Anyone who has invested enough time in their family to make it pay off would always rather be home than at work.

With a strong family behind you, I think you can put up with almost anything! That is true for kids as well. When children know their family loves them, supports them, and is there for them, they will do far better at school, and social challenges and problems will be far less critical.

As I have watched the family deteriorate during my lifetime, I see more and more problems at school that directly relate to what is going on at home. I think you can view most problems in our society and see that they have their genesis in the home; many homes today do not provide a supportive environment for children.

Well, I will get down off of my soap-box now. All I can say in conclusion is: keep your family strong! You will never get as much joy out of a job as you can get from your own family; even if you have the best job in the world...unless it's mine!

What do you think?

Cheers,

-Jim

How Will Social Media Technology Impact PLM?

I just read an article (Read it here, if you like) that highlights the amazingly fast rise of Pinterest as a social media site. I also found some interesting statistics about people's experiences with social media:

• 91% of today’s online adults use social media regularly
• 300,000+ businesses have a presence on Facebook
• 28% of smartphone owners watch video on their phone in a typical month
• It has been found:
• $15,000 in direct mail = 200 new customers
• $7500 in billboard ads = 300 new customers
• $0 spent on Twitter = 1,800 new customers
• Only 18% of traditional TV ads generate a positive ROI

Facebook, Youtube, and eBay were the three top brand searches in 2011. The most popular social networks are Facebook, Twitter, and moving into third place, Pinterest; pushing Linkedin to number four.

Facebook is #1 today: 1 in 4 page views are on Facebook. Second is Youtube for video content, and finally Google is third. What this means is that if you don't have a presence on Facebook, or Youtube, then you are missing many of the eyeballs that you need to make money.

If you have a blog, or a traditional web presence, then you need to make sure people can link between your various social personas easily and quickly; many companies do not understand this yet. Mobility is also a strong trend, as more and more people log into the internet from smart-phones, iPads, Kindles, and other mobile devices. If your web site looks like a steaming pile of moose poo-poo on a mobile device, then you will not get the kind of traction you are hoping for from your web site.

Companies are not only working on their traditional web presence, but some of the heavy-weights are getting into the social media space big-time. SAP just bought Ariba for $4.3 billion to support the cloud and mobility, Salesforce.com bought Buddy Media for $690 million, and Oracle just bought Vitrue for $300 million and then they bought Collective Intellect, all to support social clouds, mobility, and social analytics.

All of these new technologies will have a big impact on PLM. The way your users collaborate will change dramatically in the next 5 years: We will go from a predominantly email collaboration model to a cloud-based social platform model; We will see a much stronger push for mobile access to all information; We will see the emergence of Social PLM. These changes will help you, or your competitors, to be more efficient and productive; which, is up to you.

What changes do you see coming in your business?

Cheers

-Jim

Nobody Cares About Your Stupid Website!

I was touring some local model homes with my wife recently. We are not in the market for a new home, but this is one of my wife's "hobbies". She just loves to go look at new model homes. I guess I can see why: they are clean and welcoming, they smell nice, and the people there always make you feel wanted.

The other day I was searching around the internet (like I do almost every day), and I realized that I don't look for websites as much as I use to. In the old days, I was always looking for the best website to tell me about a product, or gain information, or find a cool link. Today, I have noticed that I tend to follow links from my social media "friends" that send me to blogs, to Facebook, to Tweets, to Linkedin, and eventually, maybe, to a traditional website.

Most of the time, when I visit a corporate web site, I can't find a link to their Faceboook, Twitter, blogs, YouTube, or other social accounts, this leaves me frustrated (I get frustrated a lot). At the very least, a corporate web page should provide a solid jumping off point for the rest of their social presence. This led me to wonder just how important web sites, search engine optimization (SEO), and site optimization in general is to the overall brand messages and information that we seek on the internet.

I recently read an article titled: "Why 'The Atlantic' No Longer Cares About SEO". One of the things they are doing is not worrying about writing articles for Google search algorithms, but writing articles that real people want to read, share, rewteet, repost, etc. They are, "capitalizing on the growing importance of social networks, rather than search engines, as sources of traffic." I think this is a growing trend, and one that I see more and more every day.

What does this mean? Well, for one thing, the first place people look for information about you or your brand is not necessarily on your web page. They likely look at blogs, tweets, videos, and other sources as well. By the time they get to your website, most people have already formed an opinion about you; sometimes they NEVER get to your web site at all! Your competition is becoming more social as we speak, can you afford to do nothing?

Just like walking into someone's home, people must find a very social and friendly atmosphere on your web site. If you have an old-school site with static pages and very little social content, you will likely miss out on many potential customers. These potential "friends" will get up, spill their drink, and take their social presence elsewhere; and no one wants that.

What do you think? Is your website inviting people inside, or pushing them away?

-Jim