The role ShareASpace, a collaboration software, will play in the asset management solution PropheSEA.
Last week’s big news in the PLM industry is that Eurostep, the Swedish developer of standards-based platforms for digital collaboration, was acquired by the British defense giant BAE Systems. Eurostep’s ShareAspace software offers asset management, data sharing and collaboration tools that are based on ISO standards such as STEP AP242 and PLCS. According to the press material, Eurostep will be part of BAE Systems Digital Intelligence, a subsidiary which was formed a few years ago.
BAE Systems clearly knows what kind of company it’s buying. Eurostep’s software has already played a significant role within the British defense giant’s operations for many years. Among other things, Eurostep’s ShareAspace solution is being used to manage the technical information for the aircraft carrier HMS Queen Elizabeth.
Additionally, the company has several other major industrial players on its customer list, such as Volvo Group and Siemens Energy. However, in terms of domain, the aerospace and defense segment dominates Eurostep’s customer base, with other defense customers of ShareAspace including Canada.
“Yes, as you mention, we have collaborated with BAE Systems for many years with ShareAspace, which today sits at the heart of the Digital Intelligence division’s Digital Asset Management product suite, PropheSEA,” says Eurostep CEO Mattias Johansson commenting on the announced purchase. “We are excited to bring together our complementary skills and expertise in developing technology that ensures customers can collaborate securely across the entire supply chain and cost-effectively manage their assets across the lifecycle.”
So, why is BAE Systems buying Eurostep? There are several reasons, but the main point is ShareAspace’s capabilities within asset lifecycle management, or in other words its ability to manage complex facilities. As a customer and user of Eurostep’s software in practical application, BAE knows what the platform is capable of. And one way to secure those advanced algorithms and codes is, of course, to own them.
A Key Step in BAE Systems’ Investment Strategy
In the press material, BAE Systems states that the acquisition should be seen as, “the next evolution in an established relationship between the two companies which have worked together for many years. The agreement brings together complementary capabilities in digital asset management, enabling defense and heavily regulated customers to optimize the operation, costs and through-life support of complex assets.”
This is easy to agree with. Dave Armstrong, CEO of BAE Systems Digital Intelligence, commented that, “Having formed Digital Intelligence in early 2022 in response to growing customer demand for data, digital and intelligence capability, we’re now strengthening our portfolio to expand our leading-edge solutions to customers and help them tackle complex challenges on their digital transformation journey.”
Armstrong adds that demand for digital asset management capabilities is increasing, and the security of data sharing remains an important consideration for BAE Systems’ customers.
“This acquisition represents a key step in delivering our exciting and ambitious investment strategy in innovative, data-led technologies including continued development in BAE Systems digital asset management suite, PropheSEA. I look forward to welcoming Eurostep to BAE Systems.”
Moreover, with ShareAspace, the British company also gets a solution that can effectively contribute to sharpening BAE Systems’ solutions from a collaboration point of view. Few would argue against the idea that collaboration is the future of engineering software tools. Industry 4.0 concepts, BIM level 3, circular economy, integrated digital twins, IoT, two-way digital threads and more need collaborative tools that can support products and assets from start to decommissioning and remanufacturing.
Eurostep’s ShareAspace software is a platform that can provide this support. This standards-based solution has many years under its belt and during that time has continued to develop new capabilities and support more industries, such as BIM and working on technical platforms such as the cloud. Considering this development, Eurostep has become a strong international player in PLM wherever neutral-based hubs for data exchange are needed, most recently in BIM on the construction and civil engineering side with a focus on secure collaboration.
All this indicates things are going well for Eurostep. Besides those mentioned above, their customer list includes several well-known organizations and companies, such as Damen shipyard, Saab, Renault Group, NASA, Kongsberg, EGIS and more.
Resolving the Issue of Proprietary Formats Within PLM
One ongoing challenge in PLM strategies is that proprietary formats have been developed in many places. Another problem is that formats in, for example, ship and aviation contexts must be compatible over a long period of time. Proprietary formats or companies developing solutions with strong monolithic features bring risks such as product data becoming locked in, difficult to exchange or impossible to use in collaboration with others.
Eurostep has addressed these challenges, and by participating in the development of international standards STEP and PLCS (Product Life Cycle Systems). It has also built ShareAspace to support openness, collaboration and sustainability over time. The services associated with the software also range from preliminary studies to the implementation and support of systems.
In the ShareAspace system, users can handle data in standard formats, but they can also open formats from other providers and therefore handle both standard and original files. This is important, particularly because the world is changing, as are data formats. A ship, for example, is not only product developed, but it must also be manufactured, maintained, repaired and more. A lot of time will pass between these steps in its lifecycle, which means that product data must have long-term integrity and be relevant for use well into the future. As mentioned above, the fact that the software is based on ISO standards such as STEP AP242 and PLCS is key as this will ensure that data is future proof.
