Compiled ByDeborah Austin Product life-cycle management (PLM) technology growth -- flattened by weak capital-expenditure conditions -- should rebound with double-digit expansion rates in the next few years, suggests a new report from market analysis/positioning services firm Aberdeen Group, Boston. The worldwide PLM market will grow from $3.38 billion in 2001 to $3.88 billion in 2003 and $5.12 billion by 2005, forecasts the report, "Worldwide PLM Spending: Forecast and Analysis 2001-2005." Growth will be fueled by several factors, says Aberdeen, including:
- Continued adoption of PLM as a business philosophy;
- Midmarket usage as solutions become more "packaged" and less expensive;
- Rapid adoption within midrange Tier-2 and Tier-3 markets, as manufacturing business models shift toward outsourcing and virtual manufacturing/engineering -- and OEMs push subassemblies to Tier 2.
