PLCS White Paper Business Benefits
Microsoft Gold Partner
CIMdata review of Share-A-space
Share-A-space FAQ
Share-A-space® is a software application that supports cost effective management of product data, both across the product life cycle and across system and company borders.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

1 General Share-A-space

1.1 What is Share-A-space?

Share-A-space acts as an information hub in-between product information SW applications. Share-A-space manages information from heterogeneous information systems and provide a standards based, homogeneous and consolidated view on the information. This enables consistent change management, quality control and analysis on product data.

1.2 Can I use Share-A-space for Master Data Management

Yes, Share-A-space is a Master Data Manager, integrating and providing control for product data that is spread across engineering domains and organizational borders. Share-A-space lets the source systems act as master systems in their own domain while Share-A-space provides the consolidation and shared data space.

1.3 What are the domains for which it is most suited?

Share-A-space is ideal for integrating IT environments with a mix of processes and systems. Since Share-A-space acts as an information hub it is suited to manage cross domain and/or cross organizational information. It can be used for tying together systems engineering information e.g. requirements with traditional PDM data. Share-A-space can link Design and PDM data with product support information for applications such as fleet management and condition based maintenance. Of course this can all be done also across multiple organizations in a collaboration/joint venture etc.

1.4 What stages of the product lifecycle are supported by Share-A-space?

Share-A-space has the richest data model of all PLM systems, based on STEP and PLCS. Stages are from early requirements gathering through design and manufacturing into operational use and dismantling.

1.5 Where is Share-A-space used today?

The openness of Share-A-space with its roots in the STEP/PLCS open PLM standards is attractive to many organizations. These organizations are looking for solutions that enable them to securely exchange and share product data between different PLM domains and disciplines in business networks. Typical clients are in areas such as Global Engineering Change Management and in Product Support including Fleet Management. There is also a significant interest from Systems Engineering and Building Information Management (BIM), where the needs to share data in a secure and cost efficient way are similar.

1.6 Will Share-A-space help me to comply with ITAR?

The advanced security and role mechanisms in Share-A-space can be set up for ITAR scenarios. This is achieved through the high emphasis on information ownership applied to all information managed, enabling fine grained and autonomous access and security set up. The architecture allows for adding security solutions from 3rd parties.

1.7 What kind of client installations will be required to get this up and running?

Share-A-space applies an ultra thin client approach. Regular web-browsers such as Internet Explorer are used for client access to Share-A-space.

1.8 How can this support my change management process?

Share-A-space supports Ad-Hoc change processes as well as more formal ones like the SASIG ECM recommendation. This support is based on the workflow capabilities of SharePoint and the change objects as defined by STEP in Share-A-space. Also external Process engines such as BizTalk, WebSphere, etc can be used for process orchestration.

1.9 How is it different from Windchill Product Point ?

Share-A-space is designed as an intercompany information hub by its architecture. The information management and storage is based on the open ISO STEP and PLCS standards. This brings a stable, open and neutral information management with fine granularity and explicit management of all product data. The solution becomes non-proprietary with possibilities to apply it to any PLM context. It is standards based with long term archiving as yet another application supported.

1.10 How do you get data into Share-A-space?

Ease of integration is one of the key features of Share-A-space. Information is transferred in and out from Share-A-space through file based exchange or web services. Share-A-space accepts almost any type of information and will manage it according to information standards such as STEP and PLCS. This means you can import legacy formats like csv, xml, etc. into Share-A-space and then export it according to international standards.

1.11 Does Share-A-space assume data ownership/primacy of the source data?

Data ownership/primacy is set forth through the change process defined in the integration scenario. Share-A-space can be used as a master data manager in complex collaboration infrastructures where information is managed across company and domain boundaries.

1.12 How does the data in Share-A-space get synchronized with the source data?

When defining the information change process, Share-A-space is using “change triggers”. These typically already exist such as the release of a change notice. The change information itself is propagated either through file transfer or web services. In cases where a changing system is not capable of sending a change trigger a complete set of data can be sent to Share-A-space which then applies its consolidation rule engine in order to build a synchronized data set. This operation also highlights all changes that have occurred to the information.

1.13 Is Share-A-space integrated with any specific CAD system?

Share-A-space is based on the neutral STEP standards making it independent of any specific CAD or PDM system. Thanks to its core, information integration is easy. 

1.14 Does all data in Share-A-space have to be STEP based?

No, not at all. Share-A-space can manage whatever data or files. The data structure is based on STEP and PLCS but any files can be managed with this concept.

1.15 Is Share-A-space supporting viewing and light weight formats?

Share-A-space is currently in use at clients using lightweight viewers from Actify and Solibri. Others can be used too thanks to the open architecture of Share-A-space.

1.16 What kind of structures are supported by Share-A-space (E-Bom, M-Bom,…)?

Share-A-space is unique in supporting any kind of structures, requirements structures, E-BOMs and M-BOMs etc. Share-A-space provides integration and overlay between those so that integrated configuration management, analysis, etc can be applied across domains. By adopting the STEP and PLCS standards this is made easy while most legacy PLM products are not capable of doing this at all.

2 General SharePoint

2.1 What is SharePoint?

SharePoint is a technology from Microsoft. It is a technology infrastructure for collaboration and social computing. It is a ready-to-use application but also a technology platform for the development of Web-based applications and it is widely used for document based collaboration.

2.2 Can I use SharePoint for PLM?

SharePoint offers a wide range of functionality needed for general management such as document management, powerful search, user and access control, workflow etc. for product data management. A real PLM solution needs additional functionality.

3 Share-A-space SharePoint Add-on

3.1 What is the Share-A-space SharePoint Add-on and when will it be released?

The Share-A-space SharePoint Add-on offers an integrated view through SharePoint on product data that is spread throughout an organization across multiple domains and systems. The Share-A-space SharePoint Add-on lets the SharePoint user view and manage product data in multiple systems in context of each other, providing a consolidated view for configuration, change and analysis. Release is planned for spring 2010.

3.2 Why not just SharePoint + source systems?

Using SharePoint and native source system SharePoint adaptations only provides single views into each information system. The information is not placed into context of each other, for example requirements, part and product individuals may be presented through SharePoint but the link providing information on which requirement that belongs to which part and product individual is not. This intelligent consolidation comes with Share-A-space.

3.3 Does the Share-A-space SharePoint Add-on come with ready-made web parts for browsing and manipulating product data?

Yes, this will be released with version 7.2 of Share-A-space. There will be both standard web parts as well as tailored for specific business processes.

3.4 Is there a Product Data Dashboard capability?

This is easily added. Within the specialization offerings there are such capabilities.

3.5 Can I, as a SharePoint user, configure the Share-A-space views and operations available to me on my personal SP site?

Yes, easily but of course within the boundaries of your credentials.

3.6 Can I configure the Share-A-space SharePoint capabilities using site editing through the SharePoint web interface?

Yes.

3.7 Can I configure the Share-A-space SharePoint capabilities using Visual Studio to enhance the Share-A-space SharePoint components to meet a specific function?

Yes.

3.8 How well aligned are Share-A-space and SharePoint?

Share-A-space uses a complete Microsoft technology stack, providing a homogeneous platform for both the end user as well as administrators and developers. This means simplified and rapid deployment and adoption since only Microsoft technology is used, unlike most other PLM offerings.

3.9 What about my ERP and PLM legacy applications? Can I still use them?

Yes, Share-A-space can be seen as an adapter between the heterogeneous legacy environments, bespoke and COTS, and the broader community of SharePoint users. Share-A-space offers a consolidation of information from multiple sources to be managed through SharePoint.

3.10 Do the Share-A-space SharePoint components expose information that can be used in other SharePoint components, for example can I query Share-A-space SharePoint to get organisation information and link that directly with third party components giving me contact numbers or map information?

Yes.

3.11 Is it possible to integrate the Share-A-space SharePoint components into my workflows?

Yes.

3.12 Does Share-A-space SharePoint include its own workflow components that are configurable?

Yes, through the specialization offerings.

3.13 Will my management be able to identify and assign tasks for me to perform and monitor my progress through SharePoint without ever having to touch a PDM system?

Yes, if that process is implemented in the Share-A-space and SharePoint workflow.

3.14 Where are documents stored? In Share-A-space, in SharePoint, in both?

Both Share-A-space and SharePoint has its own document and file storage. Share-A-space can refer to documents residing in such SharePoint storage. In many collaborative scenarios the SharePoint document management is not used as the master for the collaboration and Share-A-space acts as the document repository due to the collaborative scenario and set up.

3.15 Can you use single sign on?

Yes.

4 Share-A-space R7

4.1 What is new in Share-A-space R7?

With the release of Share-A-space R7, Eurostep is increasing the use of Microsoft software adding SQL Server and SharePoint as key components to deliver an enterprise scalable solution. The Share-A-space SharePoint integration provides a product data portal that lets users view, access and control consolidated product data. Such data is typically distributed over multiple systems and organizations and Share-A-space R7 enables the exploitation of this enterprise wide information asset. Share-A-space R7 addresses total cost of ownership (TCO) and ease of integration with the enterprise IT infrastructure. Overall performance and scalability is enhanced and last but not least, Share-A-space R7 is designed for the future with Microsoft cloud technology in mind.

5 How can I buy Share-A-space?

Share-A-space is provided by Eurostep on a global basis. Eurostep is also using a number of very qualified partners as resellers and system integrators. Share-A-space can be supplied by those. A number of the partners can host Share-A-space and offer this as a service to end users and end user consortia.

Arrows MO Back to top of page