I believe Product Lifecycle Management software, and it’s various other acronyms, is in its infancy and should be approached with great care.
I have worked with companies using Primavera, JDEdwards, MatrixOne, SAP, PLMWorks, Enovia, IMAN, etc. All were grossly problematic, universally despised more than any work tool, bad boss or environment. All companies had stupendous, costly installation, training and familiarization time periods, averaging 2 - 3 years from acquisition. In fact, every company had a customized version of their PLM installation as no one package solution was adequate. In some cases, the customization was by independant third party contract as the PLM software company disagreed or disapproved or had exclusive integration agreements with other software companies different than what the company was using.
It adds workload on to the design and technical staff involved in product development. They all hate it intensely, some going to outrageous lengths to end-run around the PLM work flows.
In some PLM installations the investment made alot of sense and was made to work and design staff adjusted to the workflow, adding great value to the product development cycle. No company I worked with decreased cycle time; all eventually increased data integrity, accessibility and traceability. But it sure cost alot, every case was in the millions.
I would recommend the smallest solution possible that is stand-alone. Beware of large all encompassing PLM software that claims to be the product development gateway or front end to all your existing applications. Numerous companies have posted losses or “one-time charges” due to problematic PLM integration, some leading to lawsuits against the software authors and integrators.