Press release – May 22, 2025
CONTACT Software recognized as a Representative Vendor in the 2025 Gartner® Market Guide for PLM Software in Discrete Manufacturing Industries
CONTACT’s modular Elements platform aligns with the experts’ recommendations for PLM solutions in aspects such as AI, IoT integration, and sustainability.
PLM software has become an indispensable tool for many industrial companies, serving as a digital backbone that connects people, processes, and data across the entire product lifecycle. CONTACT is proud to once again be recognized as a Representative Vendor by Gartner in their 2025 Market Guide for PLM Software in Discrete Manufacturing Industries.
When it comes to selecting a PLM platform, Gartner recommends choosing “a PLM solution that provides prepackaged functionalities, while also being highly configurable and built on modern system architectures.” We think that this philosophy is ideally reflected in CONTACT Elements. According to Gartner, “CONTACT Software provides a composable PLM platform, CONTACT Elements, which consists of configurable stand-alone functional modules.”
The experts point out that PLM solutions increasingly expand beyond traditional functionalities like product data management, for example, by integrating the Internet of Things (IoT): “IoT enhances PLM by creating connected products and digital twins, providing traceability and input for complex simulations and product improvements, and enhancing the monitoring, analysis and improvement of product performance throughout its life cycle.”
CONTACT Elements includes powerful IoT functionalities, enabling efficient service and shopfloor management. Their seamless integration with the platform’s PLM modules enables closed-loop-engineering or data exchange via the Asset Administration Shell (AAS).
Sustainability is another emerging PLM area highlighted in the report. Respective functionalities “support sustainable product development by defining and meeting sustainability requirements, managing sustainable materials data and connecting with databases to assess environmental impacts during the design phase”.
CONTACT Elements supports companies in developing sustainable products in line with regulations. The platform is ideal for integrating environmental data from suppliers or external databases. Specialist modules help companies select sustainable materials, calculate the Product Carbon Footprint (PCF), and optimize energy-efficiency in production.
The market guide also sheds light on the future role of AI in industry. Gartner predicts that “By 2026, more than 80% of PLM vendors will have incorporated AI capabilities in their platforms for key functional areas, compared with less than 40% in 2025.”
CONTACT is systematically integrating AI into its Elements platform. This enables companies to search for information using natural language, quickly find similar CAD components, create structures through generative AI, or rapidly predict simulation results.
Source: Gartner, Market Guide for PLM Software in Discrete Manufacturing Industries, By Sudip Pattanayak, Marc Halpern, Brady Barnes, Christian Hestermann, Alexander Hoeppe, 5 March 2025
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