Whether it is aerospace & defense or automotive, consumer goods, education, energy, finance, food & beverage, government or any other sector, PLM software has proven its mettle around the world to meet complex and evolving challenges associated with the industry. Various studies support the fact that the growth of the global PLM market is set to witness a tremendous growth to reach above $46.2 billion by 2018. The key factors driving this rise will include the increase in adoption of PLM across all industries and the growing need to reduce time-to-market of a product.

While the industry has garnered huge fan-following in various countries, India still is at its infancy when it comes to PLM adoption. Challenges like high cost of implementation, the need to replace existing PLM solutions and the availability of open-source and pirated PLM software solutions top the concern list of several companies. Companies are still ignorant about the usage, need and benefits of having the best fit PLM. On the other hand, PLM providers take this situation to their advantage and offer the 'not needed' solutions to their customers. And the failure drives the users on a back foot. The misaligned expectations between the service providers and the customers also play a crucial role in further fueling the set back.

Understanding the need of the hour and the quandary faced by these companies, we have brought this special edition of siliconindia dedicated to PLM. A list of '10 Most Promising PLM Companies' and our cover story on 'Tata Technologies: Building Competitive Advantage with Effective Implementation & Use of Product Lifecycle Management' will help you take a leap forward in the PLM space, challenge and even eliminate your concerns.