PTC (Parametric Technology Corporation) is a software company that provides product development solutions for manufacturers and other industries. PTC offers a range of software and services designed to help companies design, develop, and manage their products, including computer-aided design (CAD) software, product lifecycle management (PLM) software, and enterprise resource planning (ERP) software. The company’s software is used by manufacturers in a variety of industries, including aerospace and defense, automotive, consumer products, medical device, and industrial equipment.
Founded in 1985 and headquartered in Boston, Massachusetts, PTC is a global technology company with over 6,000 employees across 80 offices in 30 countries, 1,150 technology partners, and over $1 billion in revenue.
PTC’s Products
PTC’s products are designed to help companies streamline their product development processes and improve efficiency. For example, CAD software allows engineers to create and analyze 3D models of products, while PLM software helps companies manage the entire product development process, from idea to launch. ERP software helps companies manage their financial and operational resources and integrate them into a single system. Let’s review some of the core products of PTC’s offering.
PTC Creo
PTC Creo is a suite of computer-aided design (CAD) software tools for product design and engineering. It is used to design and model 3D objects, create technical drawings and simulations, and manage product data. Creo includes a range of tools for different stages of the product development process, including conceptual design, 3D modeling, simulation, and data management. It is used by a variety of industries, including automotive, aerospace, consumer goods, and medical devices. PTC Creo is listed as a top 10 tool in the CAD software industry.
PTC Windchill
One of PTC’s core offerings, PTC Windchill is the product lifecycle management (PLM) tool that many manufacturing companies need to run their daily operations. It is used to manage the data, processes, and resources associated with the development and maintenance of complex products. Windchill helps organizations to efficiently collaborate, innovate, and make informed decisions throughout the product development process.
Windchill provides a range of capabilities, including product data management, project management, engineering collaboration, supply chain management, and quality management. It is used by a variety of industries, including aerospace, automotive, electronics, and medical devices.
Windchill integrates with other PTC software tools, such as Creo and ThingWorx (a platform for the Internet of Things), to provide a comprehensive solution for product development and engineering.
PTC Mathcad
PTC Mathcad is used for engineering calculation and technical documentation. It is used by a variety of industries, including aerospace, automotive, and manufacturing, to create and share technical calculations and documentation.
Mathcad allows users to create and document calculations using a combination of text, equations, and interactive graphs. It includes a range of tools for working with mathematical expressions, including algebraic, differential, and integral equations, as well as tools for analyzing and visualizing data.
Mathcad is designed to be a flexible and intuitive tool for technical professionals. It allows users to create calculations in a natural, human-readable format, and to collaborate and share their work with others. Mathcad is used by engineers, scientists, and other technical professionals to create and share calculations and technical documentation for a variety of purposes, including design, analysis, and simulation.
PTC Windchill RV&S
PTC Windchill RV&S (formerly known as PTC Integrity) is a Systems and Software Engineering (SSE) solution that streamlines the end-to-end product development cycle via improvement of cross-discipline collaboration, shortens time-to-market, streamlines compliance, and helps manage risk. The RV&S stands for Requirements, Validation & Source.
PTC rebranded its portfolio of products for Application Lifecycle Management (ALM) in 2019, while also introducing an even tighter integration with their wider portfolio of products, enabling organizations to fully leverage a smarter-than-ever Connected Product Lifecycle Management suite of enterprise solutions.
Windchill is a comprehensive platform with advanced ALM capabilities, including built-in linking and tracing between product data and requirements, source code and validation.
ThingWorx
For IoT solutions, PTC made an acquisition of ThingWorx in 2013 which has evolved into a leading Internet of Things (IoT) platform to build, deploy, and manage IoT applications.
IoT refers to the connection of physical objects (such as devices, sensors, and machines) to the internet, allowing them to send and receive data and interact with each other. ThingWorx provides a platform for creating and managing these connected “things,” enabling organizations to gather data from their physical assets and use it to drive business outcomes.
ThingWorx includes a range of tools and features for building and deploying IoT applications, including a visual programming environment, a data analytics engine, and a set of APIs (application programming interfaces) for integrating with external systems. It is used by a variety of industries, including manufacturing, healthcare, and transportation, to build IoT solutions for a wide range of applications.
Codebeamer
With their recent Intland acquisition, their product catalog now includes Codebeamer. With its ability to support companies for software development and quality management, Codebeamer is designed to support the entire software development process, from requirements gathering and planning to testing and deployment. It includes a range of features and tools for project management, collaboration, bug tracking, and testing.
One of the key features of Codebeamer is its integration with a variety of other software tools, such as version control systems, bug tracking systems, and build systems. This allows it to be used as part of a larger development ecosystem, helping teams to manage the various activities and tasks involved in software development.
Codebeamer is used by a variety of organizations, including software development companies, manufacturers, and service providers, to help them manage the development and maintenance of software applications.
Vuforia
Vuforia is a software platform that enables the development of augmented reality (AR) applications and is used by a variety of industries, including education, manufacturing, and retail
Augmented reality involves superimposing digital information onto the physical world in real-time, usually through the use of a device such as a smartphone or tablet. Vuforia enables the creation of AR experiences by providing tools for image recognition, tracking, and rendering.
With Vuforia, developers can create AR applications that recognize specific images or objects in the physical world and overlay digital content on top of them. This can be used for a variety of purposes, such as providing information or instructions, enhancing marketing campaigns, or creating interactive educational experiences.
Vuforia offers a range of tools and resources for developers, including APIs (application programming interfaces), libraries, and sample code, to help them create and deploy AR applications.
PTC Servigistics
Servigistics is a software platform for service lifecycle management (SLM). Servigistics includes a range of tools and features for managing the service lifecycle, including service parts planning and forecasting, service level agreement (SLA) management, and field service management. It is used by a variety of industries, including manufacturing, aerospace, and defense, to manage the service and support of complex products.
Servigistics helps organizations to optimize the delivery of service and support by providing tools for managing the service supply chain, improving field service efficiency, and managing service level agreements with customers. It is designed to help organizations improve the quality and efficiency of their service operations, reduce costs, and increase customer satisfaction. While Servigistics is not a top competitor in the SLM space, it still is in use with thousands of companies worldwide.
PTC Arbortext
Arbortext is used by organizations to create, manage, and publish technical documentation and other content related to their products and services.
Arbortext includes a range of features and tools for content creation, management, and publishing, including a content management system, a single-source publishing platform, and a set of authoring and editing tools. It is used by a variety of industries, including manufacturing, aerospace, and defense, to manage the production of technical documentation and other content for their products and services.
Arbortext is designed to support the entire content lifecycle, from authoring and review to publication and delivery. It can be used to create content in a variety of formats, including print, online, and mobile, and to publish content to a variety of channels, including websites, mobile apps, and print media.
How is PTC Growing To Support Industries?
To expand its complex product offering, PTC has made several acquisitions over the past 10 years or so. Those include some of the latest acquisitions such as Intland (Apr 2022), and RE’FLEKT (Feb 2022), but the most significant acquisitions were Arena Solutions (Acq. for $ 715M in Dec 2020), Onshape (Acq. for $ 470M in Oct 2019), and Intland (Acq. for $ 280M in Apr 2022) which has the requirements management tool named Codebeamer.
PTC and Integrations With Other Software Tools
Through the years of expansion of PTC’s software products, companies looking to adopt these tools will need PTC’s tools to work with other enterprise software tools that they may be utilizing. This is where PTC partners, like SPK and Associates, come in. SPK’s experience with integrations, middleware, API support, and modifications that can be made to systems to enable deep integration and automation are very valuable to those companies looking to make a significant software investment and want to ensure their employees receive value for the time they will need to spend in the software platform.
Conclusion
As a longstanding PTC partner, SPK has experience in most if not all of PTC’s products. To learn more about SPK’s experience in the Manufacturing Tech, Automation, and IoT spaces, contact our team here.
