It's time to take a break from the exciting world of Product Lifecycle Management(PLM) pricing models and continue our series on useful PLM websites. In the previous article we discussed helpful blog sites for PLM. Several reader chimed in on some sites I overlooked. Tom Gill suggested Razorleaf, a CAD/PLM consulting group and Vuuch, by Chris Vuuch that features discussions on PLM, ERP and his company's products. I also heard from Peter Strookman who writes an excellent blog called PLM Insider. Peter's posts are a little far apart but well worth the wait. I also recently became aware of a Blog titled "PLM Forests" by Francois Guillaumin. His recent article on Service Oriented Architectures for PLM was well done. There were other suggestions as well and I may consider putting together a resource page for all of the resources I uncover at the end of the series. I will start today's "journey" with the largest. Oracle is the largest software vendor in the world and while other vendors sell more PLM Oracle is a late entry into the PLM market space having acquired Agile Software two years ago. I think that they have made great strides integrating Agile into Oracle's Enterprise Software offerings and the momentum for Agile PLM continues to grow. In the interest of full disclosure Zero Wait-State, my company, is an Oracle Gold Partner in the PLM space so I might not be considered an impartial source on this subject. I do try to be unbiased and call them as I see them. As I review the Oracle site you will see this to be true.
In Journey to the Center of the Earth, Trevor Anderson, a Boston based volcanologist (really a word) is confronted with a complex series of portals into the underground regions of the earth. As I pull up the main site for Oracle.com looking for PLM information I feel kinship with him. I totally get that Oracle is a really big company with lots of products but it would seem like PLM ought to rate more than a mouse over on more products under applications. When I click on Product Lifecycle Management in the pop up window I get a screen with Agile PLM 9.3 and a learn more prompt when I click it I get a decent page about Agile 9.3. It has a few short blurbs about Agile and some links at the bottom for a AMR report and a link to follow Oracle Agile PLM on Twitter. The other two rotating items work properly but don't tell me a lot about Agile PLM. A link at the bottom of the page takes me to another page that lists out Agile's extensive list of modules with short explanations of what each module does but no hyperlinks to more in-depth information. On the right side there is a box for datasheets when you click on the bottom link its takes you to a page titled the online resource library. Clicking on the "download now" button prompts a request for login and password. After answering a couple of questions I get a page with a fairly thorough list of pdf brochures and white papers. Unfortunately there are no presentations or videos at this point. As a partner of Oracle's I happen to know they have a wealth of customer videos and on-line demonstrations. Unfortunately none of these are featured prominently on the Oracle website. I also know they have an excellent blog and forum manned by very knowledgeable resources but no mention is made of either. They also have a very active Facebook page and several linked in groups but I can't find those either. Do you notice the theme? Much like Trevor I am lost in the vastness that is Oracle but can't find my way to the true source of information I know exists here. I realize Oracle has a lot on their plate and many companies to assimilate but given the wealth of data they have amassed on PLM it would be nice if it was more accessible. I did talk to Oracle about the website and they pointed out an area they call PLM Solution Space. This area requires an invitation to access unless you are an Oracle partner like me. It has a complete collection of demos, webcasts, customer testimonials, brochures etc. I am not sure why Oracle feels the need to keep this hidden but if you want access please contact Kerrie Foy-Babbage at Oracle ( kerrie.foy-babbage@oracle.com).
I will try a different tactic. I will search for "Agile PLM information" on Google and see what turns up from Oracle. The first listing is Oracle and Agile Applications. This takes me to a different page on the Oracle Website that is a little more Agile-centric. It has a dated press release about Oracle's acquisition for Agile back in May of 2007 and a link to AutoVue, the internal CAD viewer for Agile and other PLM tools. It also has some letters from Senior VP's and a FAQ. By ranking this is the most visited page for Oracle about Agile and I think it needs some serious updating. The second ranked page is the one I described above. The third ranked link is a blog site that has a wiki about Agile that looks like it was lifted off the Oracle Website. The fourth link actually takes you to the Oracle blog site for Agile. The Oracle Agile Blog site is very technical which is good. It really is a avenue for Agile customers to get questions answered about technical issues with Agile. Agile developers post support patches and answer questions. It really is an impressive vehicle for support. It doesn't do much from a sales or marketing perspective but there is a major amount of content here. I think Oracle should more actively promote this site.
Oracle's Agile PLM marketing team has embraced social media and does make use of Twitter and Facebook. They regularly post customer testimonial videos and events on their fan page and have a link to their blog and a handful of videos and photos posted here. Their fan count is pretty low for a company of Oracle's size. Given the fact that Oracle's web traffic almost ranks in the top 1000 of any website it wouldn't take much cross-promotion to drive these numbers up significantly. Oracle Agile PLM also has several groups on Linkedin devoted to their PLM products. The largest group called Oracle Agile PLM has over 1000 users and regularly features a variety of discussions on Agile PLM and general PLM related topics.
Like Trevor I have undertaken a confusing journey with little guidance but lots of content. Oracle is a sleeping giant when it comes to their web presence in regards to PLM. They have unrivaled resource that they can bring to bear and a significant amount of content that would benefit their current and future customers. It is a matter of Oracle focusing and featuring PLM on their site. With a bit of reorganization they could become a hub for PLM information but currently things are tucked away and hidden. Hopefully as Oracle moves forward they will work out a more aggressive strategy for featuring information about PLM and we will all benefit much like Trevor when he discovered the hidden gems in his satchel at the end of Journey to the Center of the Earth. [clear-line]