Arena Solutions Unveils Strategy to Integrate Arena PLM with Complementary Enterprise Applications.

Business Editors/High-Tech Writers

MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Jan. 13, 2003

Partnerships with Industry-Leading ERP, MCAD and EDA Vendors

Leverage Standards-Based, Web-Native Product Lifecycle Management

(PLM) Infrastructure

Arena Solutions, Inc. (formerly bom.com), the leading provider of online Product Lifecycle Management (PLM) solutions, today introduced its strategy for integrating the Arena PLM solution with complementary applications. The strategy will enable customers to reconcile product data managed in Arena PLM with other specialized types of product data authored in disparate enterprise systems. This reconciled view of data across the enterprise gives customers deeper insight into the status of their products and helps them make informed decisions earlier in the product lifecycle. Arena and its partners will leverage the web-native architecture of Arena PLM to develop standards-based integrations between Arena PLM and tools such as enterprise resource planning (ERP), mechanical computer-aided design (MCAD) and electronic design automation (EDA) systems. Industry-leading companies including QAD and SolidWorks are among the first organizations to work with Arena to integrate their products with Arena PLM.

Currently, manufacturing organizations have to manually coordinate the exchange of information across ERP, MCAD and EDA systems, a time-consuming and often error-prone process. When integrated with those tools, Arena PLM uses dynamic data exchange to automatically aggregate, reconcile and distribute product information across the different systems. As the primary system of record for product data, Arena PLM not only manages the product definition but also understands and provides visibility into the specialized types of data that are authored and stored in each of the other tools. By giving companies this more complete view of their products, Arena helps them manage product costs, make better planning decisions and adapt to dynamic market conditions.

Historically, integrations to client/server PLM software have forced companies to choose between upgrading their software, which generally breaks the integration or requires significant resources to reconfigure it, or continuing to use an older version of the software in order to maintain a functioning integration. The Arena strategy eliminates these tradeoffs by leveraging the web-native architecture of Arena PLM to build integrations around standard Internet transaction protocols and data formats, including http, SSL, XML, XML-RPC and IPC 2570. This standards-based approach ensures continued functioning of the integrations when one or both of the linked applications is upgraded, while minimizing the customization required for each implementation. To support development of integration adapters and other integration tools, Arena will make its application programming interface (API) available and provide documentation and technical support to its partners.

"Today's manufacturers face challenges of unprecedented complexity as development schedules accelerate, quality requirements proliferate, and teams are increasingly distributed across the supply chain and around the world," said Michael Topolovac, CEO of Arena Solutions. "Arena PLM helps companies manage this complexity by centralizing the product data created and used by these extended teams. Our strategy to integrate Arena PLM with complementary applications will give the entire enterprise even greater insight into their products -- meaning our customers can better understand the implications of their decisions before they're implemented. This new integration strategy is an important part of how we provide customers with the balance of flexibility and control they need to seize new market opportunities and respond to competitive challenges."

Arena PLM: the Foundation for Standards-Based Integration

Arena Solutions today introduced its expanded Arena PLM solution, which works with the enterprise applications that are important to customers (see related announcement today). The Integration Arena suite is part of Arena PLM and contains the following modules:

-- ERP Integration -- The ERP Integration module provides fully automated data flow between Arena PLM and ERP systems. This type of integration is ideal for companies with well-defined business processes, as the information exchange is triggered by pre-defined events, and implemented using standards such as XML-RPC and IPC 2570 (Product Data eXchange). This standards-based approach means that Arena PLM can be integrated with any ERP system; the first implementation is an integration with MFG/PRO by QAD.

-- MCAD Integration -- The MCAD Integration module reconciles relevant information authored in MCAD tools with the product data created and stored in Arena PLM. The first MCAD Integration is the SolidWorks Integration Adapter, which enables seamless data exchange between Arena PLM and SolidWorks.

-- EDA Integration -- The EDA Integration module enables EDA systems to synchronize electronic design data with the product data stored in Arena PLM. The first EDA Integration Adapter from Arena is currently in development.

-- ERP Update Notifications -- The ERP Update Notifications module also streamlines the flow of data between Arena PLM and ERP tools by outputting product data in the format of a customer's choice. The customer can then import this data into any ERP system it uses.

-- Data Archiving -- The Data Archiving module provides a way for customers to download product data from Arena PLM and store it on their local servers for long-term archiving.

Software vendors interested in integrating their products to Arena PLM can get more information from the Partners section of the Arena Solutions website at http://www.arenasolutions.com/partners/.

About Arena PLM

Arena PLM provides a centralized environment for managing product data, making it easy for OEMs, suppliers and outsourced partners to collaborate in real time around a single set of information -- regardless of geographic location or IT infrastructure. This is particularly valuable for OEMs that need a secure way to share continually changing product data with contract manufacturers. Other benefits include fewer costly mistakes, improved product quality and faster time to market. The cost-effective subscription model, which makes Arena PLM affordable for organizations of any size, means that Arena PLM customers realize rapid ROI.

Pricing & Availability

The Arena PLM solution includes three application suites: Product Arena, Sourcing & Costing Arena and Integration Arena. For a limited time, Arena is bundling the Product Definition, Manufacturer Management, Vendor Management and Change Management modules for a one-time cost of $9,995. Those individual modules are normally available for a one-time cost of $4,995 each. User licenses are available for $995 per year with no set-up or installation fees. Customers can access Arena PLM from any computer with a web browser; there is no traditional software to install, maintain or upgrade. New Arena customers can be up and running within days. They can register by visiting the company's website at www.arenasolutions.com or by calling the sales department at +1.866.937.1438.

About Arena Solutions

Arena Solutions (formerly bom.com) is the leading provider of online product lifecycle management (PLM) software. The Arena PLM solution facilitates rapid product development and efficient product management by unifying fragmented product teams, outsourced partners and remote suppliers into one cohesive design and manufacturing chain. As the system of record for product data, Arena PLM provides a unified product definition and a controlled change management process from product concept through end-of-life. By offering a real-time, integrated view of complete product information -- which incorporates data authored in design tools and which can be automatically synchronized with production systems -- Arena PLM enables the extended manufacturing enterprise to reduce errors, increase efficiencies, lower product costs and engage in more accurate planning. The web-native architecture of Arena PLM keeps the total cost of ownership low by eliminating the need to install, upgrade or maintain traditional software or hardware. Founded in February 2000, Arena Solutions is based in Mountain View, California. More information is available at www.arenasolutions.com.

Arena Solutions, Arena PLM, Product Arena, Sourcing & Costing Arena, Integration Arena and bom.com are trademarks of Arena Solutions. Other product and company names are the property of their respective holders.