3DMojo

Back in Episode #64, you saw a great example of the power of 3DVIA Sync Integration and the ease and speed by which a SmarTeam integration can be built.

This podcast shows another example of integrating 3DVIA Composer into ENOVIA SmarTeam, in particular the ability to update Composer data with meta data modifications. The combination of Composer's XML structure, associative labels that reflect current meta data values, and the ability to tie it all together into SmarTeam provides exceptionally robust capabilities for just about any customer-specific integration requirement.

 

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I am pleased to announce that 3DVIA Composer can be seen at the upcoming ENOVIA Customer Conference Europe (ECC Europe), June 3-4 in the Hilton Munich Park, Germany.

Please be sure to stop by the 3DVIA booth at the ENOVIA Customer Conference Europe. Also, on Wednesday, June 4 @ 10:30 pm, stop by the Enterprise Business Process Collaboration track for a 3DVIA Composer presentation and see how you can integrate 3D into your after sales process.

Many times I am asked to explain how 3DVIA Composer "integrates" into a PDM or PLM system. While this is a perfectly valid question, what I find interesting is that this question is often asked before anyone even begins to use the software, and sometimes it is even asked as a pre-requisite or must-have before further consideration of the product.

I find this line of thought to be extremely backwards. Asking to see the integration before seeing the content creation system is like putting the cart before the horse. And unlike the chicken or egg debate, the answer to this question is obvious: content creation must always come before content management. It makes no sense to create a complex and powerful content management solution, and then not have an effective way to create content to add to that system. It's like buying a PDM system before you have CAD software and CAD data to manage.

Additionally, it makes no sense to implement a content management system but then put in place an inferior content creation system. Without great content, what are you managing? While we could spend all day discussing the pros and cons of a single vendor solution versus a best-in-class composition of products, one thing is certain: a chain is only as strong as its weakest link. Take Arbortext and Isodraw, for example: a single vendor solution, for documentation content management and publishing (Arbortext) and for technical illustration creation (Isodraw). Whether or not Arbortext is great at managing and publishing content, all of its potential benefits are lost by Isodraw's inferior ability to quickly create and update content from 3D CAD data. Being inefficient, outdated, and neither easy nor fun to use, the content creation tool is the weakest link.

Content management systems all have their nuances, but as it relates to workflow and vaulting, they all offer very similar benefits. In this context, content creation is king, and our customers keep telling us that 3DVIA Composer is the king of kings. And once they have maximized the initial benefits from a desktop-oriented (i.e.: non-integrated) implementation, they also tell us that 3DVIA Composer is exceptionally easy to integrate into their systems. And their logic is clear: begin by implementing an outstanding system at the desktop and make your users exceptionally happy and productive without a massive process disruption. Then integrate from the desktop back into the servers, based on how the users want to work.

Imagine that: a system that the users like and one that makes IT people happy by offering a natural, phased progression of capabilities that doesn't need to be force-fit into the environment. Now that's like having the chicken and the egg at the same time.

I am pleased to announce that 3DVIA Composer can be seen at the upcoming ENOVIA Americas Customer Conference, May 6-9 in the Orlando World Center Marriott.

Please be sure to stop buy the Dassault Systèmes booth at the ENOVIA Americas Customer Conference. Also, on Tuesday, May 6 @ 2:30 pm, stop by the Solutions Theater for a 3DVIA Composer presentation.

We are often asked about whether 3DVIA Composer can be integrated into a PDM or PLM system. The answer, of course, is a resounding "yes". With the power of 3DVIA Sync Integration and our open XML architecture, our customers have been able to create very robust integrations to their business systems such as Agile, SmarTeam, ENOVIA VPM, and many others. And the best part is that they were able to complete those integrations very quickly.

Jonathan RIONDET was in Dassault Systèmes Russia last week and had the chance to meet Evgeniy FEDOTOV, one of the application engineers for ENOVIA SmarTeam. To prove how easy it is to integrate 3DVIA Composer into SmarTeam, he was able to insert our free 3DVIA Player ActiveX control into SmarTeam, to enable 3DVIA Player as the viewer for SmarTeam. He was then able to create a batch update command using 3DVIA Sync Integration, and even create this amazing demonstration of the integrated capabilities.

This podcast episode shows how CATIA and 3DVIA Composer content is not only managed within SmarTeam, but it demonstrates that as the CATIA data is modified into a new release, the 3DVIA Composer content is automatically updated by SmarTeam.

And if that isn't enough to get you excited, how about this: this integration was completed in less than 1 hour!

Many thanks to Mr. Fedotov for preparing this example.

(Note: Updated March 7, 2008 @ 12:00 EST)

 

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