When Siemens PLM software launched Teamcenter 7 in October 2007, it marked a significant step forward for the comprehensive PLM suite. Rather than a collection of individual applications linked together, TC 7 presented a new unified architecture in which all of its various modules were built to share a common technology foundation, data model and database.

With the internal integration work finished, the company has turned its focus toward integrating the PLM suite outward so that it melds as seamlessly with software tools beyond its core functionality. The result is today's launch of Teamcenter 8.

According to Bill Boswell, senior director of Teamcenter marketing, the focus of the latest release is increasing productivity of the users who work with it – from the engineers to the suits to the IT personnel whose job it is to maintain and modify the PLM system.

"Everybody is tightening their belts and trying to find ways to be more productive, but the question to ask now is will you be ready with the right products when the economy turns around," he says. "You can't get there by cost cutting alone. You have to be investing in innovation while finding ways to be more productive. We see Teamcenter as a way to drive that productivity."

Office and ECAD integration

In Teamcenter 8, the productivity enhancement most immediately evident to users will be its tight integration with Microsoft Office 2007 products, Boswell says. For example, users will be able to browse and search product data from within the Microsoft Outlook interface as well as save Outlook e-mails into Teamcenter to associate them with a particular project. In the other direction, users can attach data to a new e-mail from within Teamcenter as well as instantly sync their Outlook task list with Teamcenter and visa versa through an embeded “Teamcenter To Do List” inside Outlook.

 

In addition to Outlook, Teamcenter 8 features syncing with the rest of MS Office as well. Users access this live integration through a "Teamcenter" ribbon tab in the Office Toolbar. In Word, for example, the new UI element helps users map attribute data into a text document; when that data is edited in Word, it's updated in Teamcenter.

"It also works in the other direction. If you change the data in a form in Teamcenter, it will change in the office application as well, whether its Word, Excel or PowerPoint," Boswell says. "Essentially, this live integration makes Office a user interface client to Teamcenter."

Beyond the ubiquitous Office applications, Siemens has also expanded Teamcenter's reach into ECAD applications as well. For example, Teamcenter 8 can implement a pull down menu so users can access PLM data within their electronic design software. With it, users can save design files and perform check-in and check-out operations, access approved components and populate electrical component bills-of-materials (BOMs).

Supported applications include Cadence Allegro and OrCAD; Altium Designer; Mentor Graphics' Board Station, Expedition and PADS; Pantheon; and Intercept, among others. Teamcenter 8 also offers an EDA gateway capability so that developers can integrate Teamcenter with legacy software.

Release Enhancements
In addition to its existing 14 process and data management modules, Teamcenter 8 adds two more: Content and Document Management and Formula, Package and Brand Management. Content and Document Management includes a structured authoring and publishing SGML/XML environment with support for the independent S1000D technical publication standard.

Formula, Package and Brand Management module integrates Teamcenter with formula authoring tools, helps organizations improve brand communication and provides traceability of packaging and artwork.

Other application improvements in TC 8 include:

• Optimization of its four-tier architecture to better handle global installations with higher network latencies;


• Enhanced integration with CATIA V4 / V5 and Pro/E;


• Support for the new Ultra Lightweight Precise version of the JT file format;


• An integrated ECAD file viewer with electronic data management capabilities;


• Templates that tailor and extend Teamcenter for industry verticals such as aerospace, consumer packaged goods, footwear and accessories and medical device.

 

IT Benefits
Along streamlining its day-to-day usability for engineers and their managers, Teamcenter 8 also makes the PLM suite more attractive to the IT folks. For one, Siemens recently announced an alliance with IBM to support that company's middleware (IBM DB2 Information Manager and WebSphere Application Server), making the PLM suite compatible with enterprises already using IBM database products.

The company is also capitalizing on the extensibility provided by the SOA architecture it implemented with Teamcenter 7. In addition to the industry vertical templates available for Teamcenter 8, the suite's enhanced Business Modeller Integrated Development Environment (BMIDE) provides a programming environment so IT users can tailor Teamcenter's look and functionality without having to write custom software.

"The BMIDE would typically be used behind the scenes to customize a Teamcenter deployment," Boswell says. "In global environments, where companies may be running multiple design centers, IT personnel can now use templates to decide how an implementation will look and push that out to multiple sites from a central location."
www.siemens.com/teamcenter