CIMdata Predicts Strong PLM Market Growth for 2007

May 26, 2008 // Published as a news service by IHS

The increase exceeds earlier forecasts, with the boost attributed to recognition of the enterprisewide value of PLM for companies of all sizes in a growing number of industries - particularly in light of continuing predictions of possible global economic downturn, CIMdata said.

Ken Amann, CIMdata director of research, said PLM investments are forecast to continue their climb over the next five years, increasing at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 9.8% and expanding the market size to nearly $40 billion by 2012.

CIMdata research of companies that have implemented PLM indicates that typical return on investment (ROI) ranges from 100% to 300%.

"Executive-level recognition of the significant business value of PLM is driving increased implementation of the approach," Ed Miller, company president, said.

"Increasingly, many of these far-reaching systems extend beyond engineering design to a broad range of activities - from early-stage product strategy development and planning, to product engineering and manufacturing engineering, and through to product maintenance and support," Miller said.

He said that the impact of this broad PLM footprint is that many diverse, previously isolated disciplines and pockets of automation are now being tightly integrated, with processes optimized for the entire enterprise and across the full product lifecycle.

"Considering the far-reaching business impact of PLM, the approach has become a critical enterprise investment," Miller said. "PLM is now widely regarded as a do-or-die competitive necessity in a turbulent global economy where companies leveraging these solutions will likely be among the top performers in the coming years."

For more information about the 2007 PLM Market Briefing, go to http://www.cimdata.com.

Source: CIMdata.