Highland Linux User Group

January 18, 2007
By Pedro Hernandez

Aras, a Lawrence, MA-based software vendor that specializes in product lifecycle management is taking an open-source approach to its Innovator software, paving the way for what the company calls Microsoft Enterprise Open Source. The product lifecycle management software manages the steps involved in launching a new product, from conception to production, and beyond in some cases.

Open source software that runs on Windows is nothing new, but when it comes to software for running production systems or critical business apps, going the open source route increasingly means Linux. It's not a proposition that sits well with shops heavily invested in Microsoft tech.

Under Aras' new strategy, such organizations can "leverage their existing infrastructure and skill sets," says Marc Lind, vice president of marketing for Aras, thereby negating the cost, time and effort required in transitioning to other computing platforms. Another benefit is that the software was built natively and exclusively for Windows, resulting in code that plays well with the Windows OS and related technologies from the start.

Although Microsoft-centric in approach, interoperability is also a priority for the company. The software supports open XML/SOAP Web services standards for exposing data to other enterprise suites such as SAP and Oracle.

"We went out of our way to make it business friendly," he said, adding that the since acquisition costs are zero, the software "eliminates risk on their end."

Innovator, Lind explains, lays a foundation of collaborative planning and management particularly for businesses involved in product development and manufacturing. Standards bodies, for instance, impose strict rules governing the design of electronic components and how interact with their environment. Innovator helps nudges the workflow along by taking these into account and bolstering standards compliance, nipping potential problems early during the development stage. Paperwork and documentation are similarly streamlined as a result.

IT-related endeavors, such as asset management, also benefit from the software. Lind notes that the inherent flexibility built into the software lends itself to being "broadly applied either to a product-based company or IT management."

Aras Innovator version 8 for Microsoft .NET is comprised of the following components:

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Program Management - Phase-gate project management of milestones and deliverables for executive visibility and team collaboration
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Quality Planning - Failure mode & effects analysis and closed-loop actions for mitigating risks and achieving compliance
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Product Engineering - Bill of materials, document management, and change management workflows for development control and cost tracking

Aras Innovator 8 requires Microsoft Windows Server 2003 with .NET 2.0 and Microsoft SQL Server 2005. The software is freely available from the Aras website. The software's CodePlex project page is located here.

Support packages are priced at $8,300 a month for the Enterprise Edition; the Small Business version carries a $4,100 per month cost. Consulting services are also available.