Arena, Telelogic Tackle PLM at Different Levels

Product Lifecycle Management applications, like other enterprise applications, are generally big, sweeping suites that can take many months or more to implement.

A hosted service offering from Arena Solutions Inc., however, can get a company up and running in a matter of days, according to Arena CEO Michael Topolovac, in Mountain View, Calif. "Theres zero IT requirement for the customer. We can turn them on instantly," said Topolovac.

Arena PLM comprises Product Arena, Sourcing and Costing Arena, and Integration Arena. For a limited time, Arena is bundling the services for a one-time cost of $9,995 and a $995 per-user, per-year licensing fee. For more information, go to www.arenasolutions.com.

Telelogic ABs Doors/ERS (Enterprise Requirements Suite) helps companies take what is often the first PLM step: requirements management. Requirements management is especially important when building very complex products, where many contractors and subcontractors are involved.

Case in point: Lockheed Martin Corp., which is using Doors/ERS to help grapple with the requirements of Joint Strike Fighter, a next-generation aircraft being developed for the U.S. Air Force, Navy and Marines, as well as for the United Kingdom and six other international customers.

Patra Stroemer, senior manager of systems engineering at Lockheed Martin, in Fort Worth, Texas, said Doors/ERS (see screen, below right) helps manage the process of passing requirements from tier to tier.

"You have to be able to build what you said you would build," Stroemer said. "Requirements are allocated from original contract all the way through subcontract. Whoever wrote a requirement may be done tomorrow, so you want someone to be able to pick it up and understand what it means without having to go back to the subcontract."

Doors/ERS pricing starts at $2,000 (plus maintenance) per user; more information is available at www.telelogic.com.