PDM (Product Data Management) refers to the management of the engineering data, primarily CAD data associated with a product and manage the versions and changes of the product. Example of legacy PDM system widely used in industry is Dassault Systems VPM V4. PLM (Product Lifecycle Management) refers to the managing every aspect of the product right from conception to manufacturing to the after sales service. PLM integrates the People, Process, Technology and Data. PDM is a subset of the PLM system.
In last decade, companies have started moving from PDM systems to the PLM systems to have more integrated approach towards product development. However, for many companies the transition is yet to start or not yet complete.
In this paper, we have presented the approach for migration from PDM to PLM system and then decommissioning of PDM system to have minimal impact on Business Continuity. The migration approach presented is based on the data classification in PDM system. Broadly migration is a four-step approach Co-existence of PDM and PLM, Migration of remaining active projects, Archiving the inactive projects and Stopping the Co-existence of PDM. The proposed approach for each step will help as a guiding principle for the organizations to start the planning and execution of the PDM to PLM migration. This approach will ensure gradual migration from PDM to PLM with less Business disruption. The success of migration will largely be dependent on organizations ability to plan and execute each step with greater detail