PLM Promotes a Smart Outsourcing Model that Balances Cost with Intellectual Property Protection

Capitalism has followed cheap labor since before the Industrial Revolution. However, high-skilled work like programming and engineering has recently begun traveling to low-cost nations, and as a result, the eternal challenge of balancing cost and risk has even more serious consequences. The new outsourcing models that help companies stay cost-competitive in the short run, may hurt them in the long run by creating competitors who adapt or outright steal their intellectual property.

This paper outlines how product lifecycle management (PLM) solutions can be used to outsource engineering without sacrificing cost controls, intellectual property integrity, or in-house engineering talent. It describes collaboration models built around advanced design technology that inject efficiency into engineering processes at every level, enabling companies to balance short and long term concerns.