PLM Competition and “True Cloud” Solutions PLM领域的竞争和“真正的云”解决方案 原文by Oleg 翻译by 咋不乐 CAD, PLM and engineering software world is very competitive. Time ago, CAD vendors competed on the number of features. It is not unusual to see lists that comparing features and functions. However, nowadays the competition on features becomes useless. In the era of iPad apps and Web 2.0, you can just say that this application isn’t cool enough . I’m almost not following competitive conversations online, and you can rarely see such a type of topics on my blog. CAD,PLM和工程软件领域竞争非常激烈。以前的CAD供应商在软件功能上竞争。比较特征和功能是件很寻常的事情。但是现在这种功能及特征级别的比较变得越来越不太重要了。在这个iPad app和Web2.0的时代里，你可以脱口而出的是：这个运用程序不够酷。我在网上几乎不会去碰触竞争这个话题，你们也很少看到我的博客中谈论这类话题。
The following Vuuch blog article struck my attention – Vuuch is the first “true cloud” PLM application. Take a time during your 4th of July long weekend and read this article. My good fried, Alex Neihaus is taking the conversation to the level combining some competitive statements mixed with really geeky and cloud language. Here is my favorite passage from this blog: Vuuch博客上有篇文章引起了我的注意—Vuuch是第一个“真正的云”PLM程序（标题）。在7月度假的时间，花点时间读读这篇文章吧。我的好朋友Alex Neihaus在论述中谈到了业界的竞争，并且运用了极客和云技术的语言。下面是我比较喜欢的一些章节： …despite lots of strategy talks with customers and high-concept keynotes at user conferences from the big PLM vendors, the first company across the finish line with a true cloud application for the PLM community is Vuuch… …尽管比较大的PLM供应商同客户在用户大会上谈论了很多策略和进行了很多高调的主题演讲，但第一个冲过终点站并提供云运用的供应商是Vuuch… …To be a true cloud app, it’s not enough to have a web portal that users access. That’s what Gmail is. Instead of your messages being stored on an internal server behind a corporate firewall, they are stored on Google’s servers. Big deal. That ain’t what we call cloud. To really be a cloud app, the application must have an API that can be called remotely. That is, it must not only have UI, it must be callable from other applications, using cloud technologies… …要成为真正的云app,并不仅仅是提供给用户web portal.虽然Gmail就是这样的，你的个人信息不是存在防火墙后面的server上，而是放在goolge的server上。这并不是我们说的云。成为真正的云的话，程序必须有能够远程调用的API。也就是它不仅仅是需要拥有UI，还必须能够通过云技术来被其他的程序调用。。。 I found this definition a bit shocking and decide to provide some clarification about cloud technologies that can help to readers to translate this from geeky to normal. 我发现这种定义有一些令人震惊。决定做一些剖析，这样的话，读者能够将这种“机客”的语言翻译成正常的语言。 Cloud Computing in Various Forms 云计算的多种形式 First of all, I’d like to point readers to Wikipedia’s article about Cloud Computing. It is educational and provide a comprehensive analyzes of multiple aspects of cloud applications. 首先，我希望向读者指出Wikipedia中关于云计算的解释。普及一下这个概念并希望从多个角度来分析云程序。
Cloud computing refers to the use and access of multiple server-based computational resources via a digital network (WAN, Internet connection using the World Wide Web, etc.). Cloud users may access the server resources using a computer, netbook, pad computer, smart phone, or other device. In cloud computing, applications are provided and managed by the cloud server and data is also stored remotely in the cloud configuration. Users do not download and install applications on their own device or computer; all processing and storage is maintained by the cloud server. The on-line services may be offered from a cloud provider or by a private organization. 云计算指的是通过网络（WAN，互联网）使用各种基于服务器的计算资源.云计算用户可以通过计算机，上网本，平板电脑，智能手机或其他的设备获取资源。 Modern develOPMent of cloud qualifes three levels of cloud based solution – SaaS, PaaS, IaaS. 当代云平台有3个层次的解决方案—Saas,Paas,Iaas SaaS (Software as a service) is a software deployed over the internet, available to the end user as and when wanted. It is also called sometime “software on demand”. Payment is per-usage or subscription. SaaS can be considered as the oldest and mature part of cloud computing. Examples of SaaS are salesforce.com, Netsuite, Google Gmail and some others. Saas(软件即服务)就是将软件实施到网络上，终端用户随时都可以接入。它也被称为“定制的软件”。费用是按照使用和包月/年来计算。SaaS可以被理解成最古早和成熟的云技术。这方面的代表是salesforce.com, Netsuite, Google Gmail等。 PaaS (Platform as a service) is a combination of a development platform and solution stack delivered as a service on demand. It provides the infrastructure that can be used to build a new software application or extend the existing ones without underlying cost of buying and deploying additional hardware and software. Sometimes, PaaS is used to extend the capabilities of existing SaaS solutions. Examples are Force.com (from Salesforce.com); Google App Engine and Microsoft Azure. Paas(平台即服务)是研发平台和定制解决方案的统一。它提供了构建新软件或拓展已有方案的架构，并且不需要额外的硬件和软件的投入。有时候，PaaS可以用于拓展SaaS解决方案。比方说Force.com（归属于Salesforce.com）；Google App Engine 和Microsoft Azure. IaaS (Infrastructure as a service) delivers computer infrastructure, typically a platform virtualization environment. It includes service, software, data-center and network equipment available as a single bundle. The best known IaaS environments are Amazon EC2 (Elastic Compute Cloud) and some others. IaaS(架构即服务)交付计算基础架构/设施，传统意义上是虚拟平台—服务，软件，数据中心和网络设施被捆绑在一起。最为人知的IaaS 环境是Amazon EC2 (弹性计算云)等。 PLM on the Cloud 云端的PLM The idea of PLM on the cloud isn’t new. The first company pioneering cloud deployment in PLM space was Arena Solution (former Bom.Com). Nowadays, vendors are talking about cloud solutions. I can see different PLM vendors are taking various strategies related to the cloud. Among 4 main companies in this space, Dassault is leading with their cloud offering based on utilization of AWS and placements of V6 platform on EC2. Autodesk strategy seems to be interesting too. On one side, Autodesk Buzzsaw is a mature application service (SaaS – according to classification above). On the other side, Autodesk is trying “cloud water” with multiple applications – some of the utilize cloud infrastructure (i.e. Amazon EC) and some of them are focusing more on mobile (AutoCAD WS). Siemens PLM and PTC are more neutral in this cloud game. Vuuch, as I learned from Alex Neihaus’ blog, is now joining PLM on the cloud race. 云端的PLM并不是啥新鲜玩意。第一个运用云服务的公式是Arena Solution (以前的Bom.Com)。现在，供应商在探讨云解决方案。我看到了PLM厂商关于云的不同策略。这其中的4个厂商有比较大的动作，达索利用Amazon的AWS将V6平台布施在EC2上。Autodesk似乎也很感兴趣。一方面，Autodesk Buzzsaw是个很成熟的SaaS运用(SaaS-根据上面的分类)；另外一方面，Autodesk已经在试水云计算，发布了各种运用（其中有一些是基于云架构平台，比如Amazon EC；另外一些基于移动设施：AutoCAD WS）。Siemens PLM和PTC在“云计算”竞争中相对保持中立。Vuuch，正如Alex Neihaus阐述的，加入了这场赛跑。 What is my conclusion? Competition is a tough thing. Especially, when it comes to technology. Customers are not interesting in technologies and more focused on applications these days. I’m a very happy customer of Google Apps and I don’t care if Gmail is “true cloud app” or “false cloud app”. I see PLM and engineering software lives in the world of SaaS. Efficient leverage of PaaS and IaaS can be PLM cloud apps successful. Just my opinion, of course. YMMV. 我的结论？竞争是个艰难的事情。特别是涉及到技术。客户对技术本身并不感兴趣，他们更加关注在运用本身。比如说，我很乐意使用Google Apps，我并不关心Gmail是不是“真正的云app”。我观察到现阶段的PLM和工程软件主要是架构在SaaS上。但有效的利用PaaS和IaaS可以成功架构PLM云app。这仅仅是我的观点。当然，你的意见/方法或许会不一样。 |
