Smaller Companies Get Help To Manage Product LifecyclesSmaller Companies Get Help To Manage Product Lifecycles

More and more companies are turning to product lifecycle- management to help them source materials, design products, document changes, and loop in post-sales data for product evolution. Long a staple of the big automakers, electronics and high-tech companies, and the aerospace industry, there's now software to help small and midsize businesses manage their own product lifecycles.

CoCreate Software Inc. has launched PLM software built on Microsoft's .Net technology. OneSpace.net is available either as a hosted service for $120 per user per month, or in a traditional licensing structure for $995 per user.

The software is designed to let businesses collaborate on engineering, manage projects, share ideas, and communicate among product development teams and outsourcing partners.

Key features include a secure project workspace, an integrated meeting center to set up and conduct Web-based meetings, an instant messenger utility, mark-up tools, a decision and task tracker, and a three-dimensional model to view, inspect, and modify product design alternatives.

OneSpace.net will be available in beta versions by mid-summer; the commercial version will be available in September