Question: PROSTEP sees itself as a 100-percent PLM specialist. Is this the right way to prepare for the future?

Theis: What we mean by 100% PLM is the digitalization of the entire product lifecycle from development to production and operation through to service. This vision is exactly what the market is demanding and what we – and only we – are able to deliver in this form. Our core focus lies in the integration of complex processes and systems – including at a cross-enterprise level. The market for such solutions is growing strongly because the topic of integration is becoming ever more important. Digitalization, Industry 4.0 and IoT are bringing new players whose systems have to be integrated into the existing processes and IT landscapes. I therefore think that we are very well positioned for the future.

Question: Does the market share your view?

Theis: PROSTEP is one of the few vendor-neutral providers with expertise in the PLM field. That is a very important unique selling point. The market perceives us as being the think tank par excellence of the PLM world and this clearly has a lot to do with our close links with the prostep ivip Association. We enjoy a very positive image as a neutral PLM consultant in the automotive industry in particular, but also in shipbuilding. However, we have also acquired a whole series of larger customers in the fields of machine and plant engineering and this has further raised our profile on the market.

Question: What new target markets will you be looking at in the future?

Theis: Our target market is and will remain the discrete manufacturing industry, that is to say carmakers, machine and plant manufacturers, shipbuilders, as well as manufacturers of mechatronic and electronic equipment. We also have customers in the aerospace industry, but in this sector there is still room for us to fly higher. Our strength lies in a healthy mix of project business with Automotive OEMs and regional sales with mid-sized companies.

Question: PROSTEP is increasingly having to address new issues such as model-based systems engineering, the integration of electrical/electronic and software development, etc. How do you manage that with the existing headcount of approximately 250 employees.

Theis: It’s a difficult balancing act. On the one hand, we have to address new topics in order to identify their potential at an early stage. On the other, we sometimes have almost too many topics in our portfolio. But for the topics you’ve just named, we have the right answers ready to hand. Through our acquisition of Bartscher & Hasenäcker Consulting GmbH, which specializes in PLM for E/E and software development, we have brought some valuable specialist know-how into our fold. We want to deepen our internal know-how on the subject of MBSE in various research projects and combine it with the know-how of Bartscher & Hasenäcker Consulting. Where we certainly have to do more is in the development of OpenPDM connectors for E/E and ALM systems.