By Mirko Theiß
PROSTEP plans to present the new version 10 of its PLM integration solution OpenPDM at the end of November – another step towards making OpenPDM available as a SaaS offering. At the same time, we are continuing to move forward with the coordinated modernization of OpenPDM and our data exchange platform OpenDXM GlobalX with the aim of bringing the two solutions together on a shared platform.
Key technical innovations in OpenPDM 10 include full end-to-end support for the latest version of the Java framework Spring Boot 3, which makes it possible to develop even more robust and easier-to-use web applications and microservices. The integration platform provides full support for Java Release 17. This also means that the Java Enterprise Edition (Java EE) previously used will be updated to the current Jakarta EE release from the Eclipse Foundation.
These technical innovations allow us to achieve faster startup times for microservices, which offers enormous time-related advantages during development and testing – in particular for SaaS-based use but also for on-premises installations. Customizing microservices has been made much easier. The OpenPDM data model now not only provides end-to-end support for XML but also for the JSON format and can therefore be used in an even greater number of integration scenarios.
The new functions are available to both our SaaS customers and to companies that have installed OpenPDM on-premises as both versions are developed on the same code base. The changes will have no impact on the time-tested specialist functions, which can continue to be used as before.
As stated earlier, the technical innovations mentioned provide the basis for new and optimized functions and for new functions in the future. Modernization and streamlining of the user interface for administrators has already started. OpenPDM’s process activity catalog is being expanded to include additional standard modules that can be easily integrated into the processing operations using the low-code process modeler. We will also provide graphical data mapping and create additional low-code configuration options.