Electronic Data Systems Corp. launched the fifth arm of its business Monday — PLM Solutions, which combines the technologies of recently purchased Unigraphics Solutions and Structural Dynamics Research Corp.
The pooled resources of Unigraphics and SDRC — suppliers of product development, data management and collaboration software and services that fall under the product lifecycle management category – will create a new line of business with more than $1 billion in revenue, EDS officials said.
The newly minted PLM Solutions will compete in scale with the likes of IBM and SAP AG, which offer product lifecycle management software as well as integration and consulting services.
PLM software digitally produces and shares product planning, design, manufacturing and distribution information for collaboration over local networks and the Internet.
EDS PLM strategy is to deliver solution sets in four areas: product development, manufacturing planning, product data management and collaborative commerce support. The Plano, Texas, company will sell multiple products in each of the four areas, which are largely organized around either Unigraphics or SDRC functionalities. Product development and manufacturing planning fall under Unigraphics aegis, while collaboration and integration fall under the SDRC Team Center software banner. Team Center allows businesses to aggregate data in back-end systems and expose that information in a Web environment.
To that end, PLM Solutions also plans to develop products around its native Web architecture, according to Glenn Wienkoop, president of marketing portfolio management of PLM Solutions.
The goal is to wrap each of the product categories with EDS e-business services to create an end-to-end PLM offering – from software and integration to services and support, according to Wienkoop.
EDS four additional lines of business include Information Solutions, which handles infrastructure and outsourcing; E Solutions, which provides e-business consulting and integration services; Business Process Management outsourcing services; and the A. T. Kearney management consultant group.