ANN ARBOR, MI, USA, Jul 26, 2023 – CIMdata, Inc., the leading global PLM strategic management consulting and research firm, announces the release of the CIMdata PLM Industry Review and Trends Report, the second of five modules of the CIMdata 2023 Market Analysis Report Series (MAR). The MAR Series provides detailed information and in-depth analysis of the worldwide PLM market during 2022. It contains analyses of major trends and issues; revenues of leading PLM providers; and revenue analyses for geographical regions, industry sectors, and historical and projected data on market growth.

The 2023 PLM Industry Review and Trends Report focuses on “The Digital Thread: Powering Business Transformation.” Since the onset of Industry 3.0 and the early applications of digital technology to the product lifecycle, firms have had to deal with the myriad information types generated during product lifecycle activities. Scratchings on a cocktail napkin, formal requirements, program and project plans, early 0D to 1D models, mechanical computer-aided design (MCAD), electronic design automation (EDA) output, software source code and executables, and test results from simulation and analysis (S&A) are just some of the many information types that help describe the evolution of products from idea through life. In the late 1990s, CIMdata began talking about the bill of information (BOI) to describe this concept that predated the definition of PLM that emerged at that time.

Fast forward to today. The capabilities of information systems and storage devices to manage heterogeneous information continues to astound us. The concept today is “the digital thread,” and is used by software companies across PLM (and into other application domains, like ERP and CRM), as well as leading service providers. Government organizations, especially in aerospace & defense, are bullish on the topic. The phrase “single source of truth” has been brought to bear once again, and ideas of master data management (MDM) and data governance (DG) are essential to having a healthy and accurate digital thread, no matter your environment. But, as with most buzzwords or catch phrases, they mean very different things to different people and organizations.

This report has three sections on the digital thread, one to provide context on the topic and another focused on our research on the state of the art and practice of the digital thread in industry. The third digital thread section focuses on the dynamics of the PLM Economy, including competitive moves made by the leading firms and other entrants that could threaten the digital thread objectives of industrial firms. The report closes with sections on “The Green Energy Transition,” documenting CIMdata’s industrial research on the topic, and “Data Governance in the Era of Digital Transformation,” which focuses on the importance of ensuring data quality and completeness, and data’s ability to support an organization’s strategy and tactics as part of any digital transformation.

The CIMdata PLM Market Analysis Report Series comprises five modules:

1. The CIMdata 2023 Executive PLM Market Report provides an overview of CIMdata’s complete global analysis. It includes key charts on PLM market investment statistics through 2022, forecasts of investments for 2023 through 2027, and a summary of PLM solution providers’ performance in 2021.
2. The CIMdata 2023 PLM Industry Review and Trends Report is mainly qualitative and focuses on key issues facing the global PLM Ecosystem of solution providers and end user organizations. It highlights changes that occurred in 2022, what affects those changes may have in the short and medium terms, and what is on the horizon in the years to come.
3. The CIMdata 2023 PLM Market and Solution Provider Analysis Report details measures of and forecasts for the overall PLM market and its key segments in 2021, including Tools, cPDm, and Digital Manufacturing. The Tools section has additional details on sub-segments, including MCAD, NC, S&A, EDA, and AEC. It also includes CIMdata’s estimates of PLM solution provider revenues in these segments and sub-segments for 2023 through 2027.
4. The CIMdata 2023 PLM Market Geographic Analysis Report provides an additional view of the 2022 market results, by major geography. CIMdata’s 2022 estimates and market forecasts for PLM and the major PLM market segments are provided for the Americas, EMEA, and Asia-Pacific. In addition, the report includes estimates and forecasts for the cPDm segment within specific European and Asia-Pacific countries and regions.
5. The CIMdata 2023 PLM Market Industry Analysis Report provides an industry segmentation view of the 2022 market results. CIMdata’s 2022 estimates and market forecasts for PLM and cPDm are provided for ten industry sectors: aerospace and defense, automotive and other transportation, electronics/telecommunications, fabrication and assembly, process-packaged goods, process—petrochemical, utilities, construction, infrastructure, and shipbuilding.

The CIMdata PLM Market Analysis Report Series is available as a five-module set or each module can be purchased separately. Selected modules are also available as part of the CIMdata Community Memberships. Further details and pricing information about the report and Community Memberships are available at www.cimdata.com.