IBM Engineering Lifecycle Management vs. Arena PLM and QMS

Overview
ProductRatingMost Used ByProduct SummaryStarting Price
IBM Engineering Lifecycle Management
Score 7.0 out of 10
N/A
IBM Engineering Lifecycle Management (ELM) is an end-to-end engineering solution used to manage system requirements to design, workflow, and test management, extending the functionality of ALM tools for better complex-systems development.N/A
Arena PLM and QMS
Score 8.7 out of 10
N/A
Arena by PTC is a cloud-based PLM and QMS platform. Arena helps product companies that rely on distributed teams and global supply chains to develop products, ensure regulatory compliance, and respond to customer demands.N/A
Pricing
IBM Engineering Lifecycle ManagementArena PLM and QMS
Editions & Modules
No answers on this topic
Arena PLM Launch
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Arena PLM Enterprise
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Arena QMS
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Arena QMS Enterprise
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Offerings
Pricing Offerings
IBM Engineering Lifecycle ManagementArena PLM and QMS
Free Trial
NoYes
Free/Freemium Version
NoNo
Premium Consulting/Integration Services
NoYes
Entry-level Setup FeeNo setup feeRequired
Additional DetailsArena's cloud-based PLM and QMS solutions include role-based subscriptions to meet diverse team needs. Their fixed-fee QuickStart™ implementations supports rapid deployment.
More Pricing Information
Community Pulse
IBM Engineering Lifecycle ManagementArena PLM and QMS
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IBM Engineering Lifecycle ManagementArena PLM and QMS
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Score 8.2 out of 10
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User Ratings
IBM Engineering Lifecycle ManagementArena PLM and QMS
Likelihood to Recommend
8.8
(22 ratings)
8.9
(214 ratings)
Likelihood to Renew
8.0
(6 ratings)
9.0
(5 ratings)
Usability
2.1
(4 ratings)
7.1
(16 ratings)
Availability
-
(0 ratings)
9.0
(3 ratings)
Performance
-
(0 ratings)
9.1
(3 ratings)
Support Rating
5.0
(3 ratings)
9.1
(16 ratings)
Online Training
-
(0 ratings)
8.2
(2 ratings)
Implementation Rating
10.0
(1 ratings)
8.3
(2 ratings)
Configurability
-
(0 ratings)
8.7
(2 ratings)
Product Scalability
-
(0 ratings)
9.0
(3 ratings)
Vendor post-sale
-
(0 ratings)
8.0
(1 ratings)
Vendor pre-sale
-
(0 ratings)
9.0
(1 ratings)
User Testimonials
IBM Engineering Lifecycle ManagementArena PLM and QMS
Likelihood to Recommend
IBM
IBM Engineering Requirements Management DOORS former IBM Rational DOORS profits very much from the mighty market position it had till today. It had been the most favored requirement engineering tools suite with the highest investments in the infrastructure concerning hardware, software, and knowledge sources. It was embedded in knowledge sources of test stands, hardware labs, and knowledge database servers. It allowed for some of the highest profit changes and made the fame with it. But the paradigms of requirements engineering change. If not were superseded by completely different approaches for the target solution worlds. The foremost position in the selling tables is unstable if changes are not solved or coped with by the strategist at IBM and their customers. Since the highly successful alternative suits are already at the market, and some are from IBM already the lifecycle for IBM Engineering Requirements Management DOORS is at the later highs. But the suite is still at the very top and very popular. There are still many problems unsolved and many wishes at the customers to make the use more comfortable and efficient at the overall level. If the time of setting up the software package is passed the adoption get more extended and complicated. There is a lot of work at the stage around and the expertise will be required for a long time from now.
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Arena by PTC
Arena PLM is well suited for part number, BOM and file management. Processing changes (ECNs, ACOs, DCO's, etc.) in Arena is very easy to do and provides great visibility on the status of submitted requests. The ability to communicate with Suppliers and grant them access to files in Arena is extremely helpful. Arena does not appear to be the best suited system for managing software
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Pros
IBM
  • Easy to use with well defined template and user defined fields. New team can setup a project area easily by copying an existing template and adding customized fields for their special needs.
  • It can be used during almost the whole project cycle and give us a better view and control on the projects.
  • Lots of built-in report functions.
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Arena by PTC
  • It provides easy, 'login-anywhere' internet cloud-based access to fundamental PLM functions.
  • It provides secure access control for employees & vendors (but you pay per person for access licenses).
  • Data is effectively 'always backed up' in the internet-cloud.
  • There is an option to attach thumbnail graphics representative of each item and create a Bill of Materials view that also displays the graphics to help provide item recognition for BOM readers.
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Cons
IBM
  • Wireframes are quite basic. If you need intuitive and interactive wireframes to elaborate the requirements. you probably need to define outside the tool and then upload as image.
  • ER (define data dictionaries) modeling is not there.
  • Use case modeling is quite basic. You can visualize the use case and actors relation but the tool does not enforce the rules.
  • Does not support offline work.
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Arena by PTC
  • In my opinion, the Help Pages clearly do not realize that a picture is worth a 1,000 words; need illustrations and screenshots!
  • I think the 'Save' button when editing Quality Processes needs to "float" on the active page, not lurking at the bottom.
  • In my experience, the Arena PLM and QMS Training programs need to be revamped to include "real-world" examples and working through examples, not simply reading through a training manual.
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Likelihood to Renew
IBM
At the moment we are required by contract to continue to use the IBM DOORS software for our current client. Given that it can be expensive, if we were to use it after our current client's needs were met, we would have to secure other projects in order to justify the continued use of the software.
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Arena by PTC
We have so much time and effort invested into Arena. The history of approvals, revisions, etc. are necessary for many of our customers. We also have entire device histories recorded. Having to re-create that on another platform would be a feat requiring years of effort. But mostly, Arena just works. It's transformed our business into a much more streamlined system, resulting in a massive cost and time savings.
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Usability
IBM
The UI is terrible and not intuitive. Users need training in order to complete tasks. Much like SAP, it's not the clearest tool. The tracing feature is especially complicated because you must write the scripts yourself. There is a learning curve. Also, even the setup, installation, and logging in each time takes a considerable amount of time.
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Arena by PTC
Arena has improved their UI over the years that I've used it to make it more user friendly. Additionally, there is a lot of redundancy within Arena (multiple ways to achieve the same end), which makes it easier to learn.
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Reliability and Availability
IBM
No answers on this topic
Arena by PTC
Seems like when I need to access our workspace for an emergency situation, this is when maintenance is scheduled, just the luck of the draw, I guess, and I just wait until the maintenance is complete, and then can proceed
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Performance
IBM
No answers on this topic
Arena by PTC
We use a few other software or systems (Silicon expert) and it is seamless to us, pages load quickly and efficiently.
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Support Rating
IBM
It does a basic job and has the potential to complete some robust reporting tasks, however, it really is a clunky piece of software with a terrible user interface that makes using it routinely quite unpleasant. Many of our legacy and maintenance projects still use DOORS but our department and company use many alternatives and are looking for better tools.
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Arena by PTC
Upon initial observation, Arena Solution appears to possess a rather intricate nature, yet this complexity was effectively navigated during the initial configuration phase with the invaluable assistance of an expert well-versed in Arena, a factor that greatly contributed to our comprehensive mastery and autonomous handling of Arena Solutions thereafter.
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Online Training
IBM
No answers on this topic
Arena by PTC
The On line training was easy to understand and was very efficient for most of our users. We used the training tools to make sure we use all of the features to their fullest and correctly! After a few weeks mos of our users were very proficient with ARENA PLM and were able to work on their own and use mos of the sections and PLM capablilities.
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Implementation Rating
IBM
No problems
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Arena by PTC
Pretty straightforward, from OOB
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Alternatives Considered
IBM
It was easier to do all the change management-related activities, even configurations were handled very effectively. New process definitions and initiatives made it easier for better project deliverables. Effective resource allocations and better reporting and defect management. The overall cost of the tool is great too and well within budget.
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Arena by PTC
Arena is much better than QAD in terms of BOMs and ECOs and Revision Control. We use Arena concurrently with SAP and they integrate very well together, which is nice. The integration team was really helpful in making sure that the SAP to Arena functionality runs smoothly, and when there are any issues, they are very responsive to help make changes to fix the problem that might be there.
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Scalability
IBM
No answers on this topic
Arena by PTC
Arena is easy to customize and therefore easy to scale. Different user groups with access restrictions can be easily created and new training plans can be created to support different user bases. Suppliers can also easily be added or items can be shared with them
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Return on Investment
IBM
  • If you can setup DOORS to your project, you will experience lower costs.
  • Also, less rework in the project, which means lower times to achieve your milestones.
  • Finally, the cost of setting up a related project is considerably lower, and the estimates obtained in the process are much more precise.
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Arena by PTC
  • Decreased the company's time to market for release of its second generation flagship product.
  • Decreased the turn around on non-conformance reports (NCRs), supplier corrective action reports (SCARs), and corrective and preventative actions (CAPAs).
  • Better organized the company's process maps, DHF, and other regulatory related information so that major audits are completed faster and with fewer findings.
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ScreenShots

Arena PLM and QMS Screenshots

Screenshot of Arena Bill of Materials (BOM) Management. Indented BOM displaying "in production" item status.Screenshot of Arena Engineering Change Management.  Engineering Change Order (ECO) approval with redlines.Screenshot of Arena Projects. Project schedule with status and progress.Screenshot of Arena Quality. Quality process showing a Corrective Action Report (CAR) with the issue details, affected items, and resolution progress/status.Screenshot of Arena Requirements. Tracks requirements and related product development issues for a complete product picture.Screenshot of Arena Analytics, Arena's business intelligence (BI) tool