Though many improvements have come to PLM software over the years, the overall framework hasn't changed much. Cloud-based PLM offers a significant change.

Furthermore, as designers have needed to share product data with stakeholders both inside and outside the organization, so the need for PLM in the cloud has grown. As such, this call has come from a range of stakeholders, including engineering, operations, manufacturing, quality, procurement, regulatory and even marketing.

That said, there are still challenges that need to be addressed if this approach is to get buy-in from everyone.

Many companies recognize the benefits of cloud-based PLM solutions. However, the lack of confidence in existing approaches to privacy and data security remains one of the biggest obstacles to a faster market penetration of PLM solutions on the cloud. There are also lingering concerns around availability and predictability.

Fortunately, the general adoption of cloud continues and security and authentication is a top priority for most cloud providers.

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