Siemens Picks JT Format for Global Operations

By DE Editors

After a comprehensive 12-month evaluation, Siemens AG has approved using the JT format for its data transfer and retention tasks throughout its global enterprise. The announcement, marks Siemens AG's first global standardization of Siemens PLM Software (Plano, TX) technology since the company acquired Siemens PLM Software — formerly known as UGS — in May 2007.

The adoption process, with the ultimate goal of making JT-based information available for all Siemens employees (some 400,000), will be supported and accelerated by a new "JT Center of Excellence" at Siemens.

According to a company spokesman, Siemens PLM envisions numerous highly beneficial JT-based application areas throughout the worldwide enterprise "in addition to, and outside of, the classical viewing and collaboration applications."

This vision includes sales, marketing, manufacturing, service, maintenance, and purchasing people as well as engineers and designers.

"Siemens, like all leading global corporations, utilizes technology and services from many providers," said Tony Affuso, chairman and CEO of Siemens PLM Software. "While Siemens has clearly committed to PLM industry leadership with our solutions, we understand that its internal needs will always be driven by the Siemens business strategy and requirements as well as its culture of technology openness. Therefore, while the JT evaluation took place well before our acquisition, we are particularly gratified by this decision because it serves as the latest validation of the superiority of our JT technology."

According to a press release, Siemens AG is comprised of a wide variety of self-governed business units that produce a diverse set of products for multiple industries, which creates a heterogeneous landscape of product development software applications that produce 3D product information in multiple data formats. As a result, the company needed a common and flexible format that was compatible with all of its various 3D systems so that product data could be accurately retained and retrieved over time. The ability to facilitate the potential consolidation of its product development software applications in the future was also a significant consideration.

"Long-term data retention is of vital importance to Siemens," said Reinhold Achatz, head of Siemens Corporate Research and Technologies, "so we needed to ensure the common format we selected was a widely adopted, open, and published standard that could precisely represent the extensive range of our product geometry and specifications, yet still employ a reasonably small file size for speed and efficiency. . .JT emerged as the clear choice...".

To learn more, please visit Siemens.

Sources: Press materials received from the company and additional information gleaned from the company's website.