Aras Innovator

Avantages

The software gave us one location to do cost, price, tooling and save data for quotes. It leaves less room for user error than Excel but it is Excel based so its user friendly. It is customizable.

Inconvénients

The system is limited and time consuming to customize. The version we have runs off an old version of Internet Explorer. It can be very slow depending on your internet connection.

Avantages

The most pleasant thing is that it works with Solid Edge, for me as an engineer who needs quick access to documentation, it is very helpful.

Inconvénients

I did not notice any significant problems with the system. They work without problems. Maybe a preview of the document (drawing, model) directly in the application would be useful

Avantages

I don't think it is actually an Aras feature itself, but there are various "connectors" available that integrate different software packages with Aras. As an EE, I can open my CAD product (Altium) and directly push/pull things to/from Aras from my designer suite. Although my connector functionality has been broken for the last few months (unsure who is at fault), this is by far my favorite feature since using Aras (when it worked).

Secondly, Aras has the ability to pull up PDF drawings without actually downloading them. When I just want to quickly check some drawing, this is a nice feature since I avoid hording 100s of drawings in my downloads folder.

Inconvénients

I have had many struggles with Aras since my company migrated over a year ago to this system. Here are some key items:
1. Aras is very slow. When I sign off an ECO, typically my Chrome browser will ask me "do you want to kill the page or wait?" because it thinks the window has become non-responsive. I know better now, and go get coffee or check my emails until the page responds.
2. It seems to be difficult to make updates to Aras to improve functionality for the company. I've suggested many improvements, few of them seem to make it in, and when updates do get made there are typically issues when it is released and they have to patch their patch. It shouldn't be that hard.
3. My right index finger is getting extremely strong, from the 100s of mouse clicks I've performed since using Aras. All the data is there, but it can be very difficult to get to as you perform click after click to go through pages and tabs to your final destination.
4. I've come across features that apparently weren't implemented such as "Check For Completeness" under the actions menu-it would tell me my ECO was ready to move forward, only to sign off and it tells me fields are missing. There is also no indication of which fields are mandatory when creating parts/drawings, you find out through trial and error when trying to sign off on things.
5. BOM management is horrific in Aras. Ref designators would be truncated and we would find out from the manufacturers. Editing BOMs is very manual and error prone.

Avantages

The vast array of features that can be had for nothing more than the work of installing it. Aras Innovator is incredibly powerful, easy to use, and has a great support structure.

Inconvénients

The installation process was a little burdensome.

Avantages

I really like this product. It has so many feature and it follows the PMBOK framework. I really like the ease of use and the ability to drill down for more information. I was looking for a software that closely follows the PMOK framework and this was one of the best. It is a PPM and product life software that does an excellent job

Inconvénients

It was a little tricky to install and set up. It has much to learn and can take some time to fully understand.

Avantages

Compared to other PLM tools out there, there is nothing I like about this software. If this is the first PLM software you use, maybe the pro is it is configurable, but then again, why do you need to custom configure it so much if it is not usable straight out of the box?

Inconvénients

For ARAS to market itself as a PLM software, it certainly lacks even the most basic features of a PLM tool. For example, there is no Reference Designator field straight out of the box; you have to custom configure a field for it. Same with BOM notes. To release a brand new part, you have to go through ECO. Why? The part never existed in the first place; ECO is normally used to change an existing part. There are just too many clicks to go through to get the info you need. The ECO doesn't list the changes; you have to go into the part itself to see what the changes are. In summary, nothing is intuitive about ARAS. A good PLM tool is supposed to make your life easier; ARAS makes your life more complicated, and you waste so much time to get the info you need.

Avantages

I like that the software allows our company to keep track of every quote and stores important information (such as Cost/Price details) to reference whenever it's needed.

Inconvénients

It's not very user friendly - especially as a new user. I started working at my company over a year ago and I'm still having difficulty with figuring out a simple work around.
It seems to have a lot of glitches.
Our ARAS tech support also has issues working out simple kinks.

Avantages

Visually it is appealing, there are features (such as copy/paste) that are useful and an improvement

Inconvénients

As others have noted, it is exceptionally difficult to customize and tasks that previously took minutes now can take hours. The lead time to implement improvements based upon user feedback is tracked in years instead of weeks or months. Both Internet Explorer and Chrome freeze up and essentially stop while using the program, while IT flips back and forth on the recommended browser, seemingly without an understanding of the root of the problems. Boxes and data entries have to be manipulated in a specific order, otherwise errors will occur.