IBM and Dassault Systemes have announced a cross-industry initiative aimed at fostering innovation and transforming the way their customers design, manufacture and deliver products to the market.

The products that make up this initiative will help clients increase revenue and market share while driving product differentiation and cost reduction, particularly in industries where responding to customers on demand is critical, such as the electronics and consumer packaged goods industries. 'The IBM and Dassault partnership has never been stronger, as we continue to drive innovation in the PLM market, combining our research, development and services expertise to bring cutting-edge PLM to the market,' said Mike Borman, VP for Worldwide Software Sales at IBM.

'We are committed to working together with our strategic partner Dassault to share best practices and make significant joint investments over the next two years that will provide clients with ways to respond rapidly and successfully to changing customer needs'.

As part of the initiative, IBM and Dassault are delivering products and services for relational product development, supply chain collaboration and enterprise integration.

These will integrate product development and delivery for businesses across the entire enterprise and through an extended network of partners, suppliers and distributors. The joint offerings provide businesses with insight into how consumers or their business customers might interact with future products, and manages the entire process from design concept to actual offerings.

The PLM-based products feed data and information into the entire value chain, from enterprise resource planning, throughout the supply chain and customer service management. With the combination of the three areas - relational product development, supply chain collaboration and enterprise integration - IBM and Dassault will transform the way clients generate sustainable innovation, by streamlining the product development model, integrating data and processes across engineering, manufacturing and other enterprise-wide processes. This will connect data and processes with their extended network of partners and suppliers.

The PLM methods leverage a set of product development technologies and best practices based on CATIA V5, ENOVIA, SMARTEAM, DELMIA, SIMULIA and 3DXML, all developed by Dassault. These are combined with IBM PLM end-to-end products, IBM Websphere Business Integration, IBM Websphere Portal, IBM Workplace and IBM consulting and integration services.

 'Our ongoing success with world-class customers confirms that we have created a comprehensive integrated product portfolio around V5 PLM architecture,' said Etienne Droit, Executive VP for PLM Sales and Distribution at Dassault. 'This virtualises the entire product pipeline, from concept to delivery'. 'The strength of the partnership with IBM will accelerate the adoption of PLM as a business transformation enabler, creating a collaborative environment for companies in all industries'.