Press Release – May 28, 2026
The new CONTACT Elements release
The new version of CONTACT’s PLM and IoT platform provides customers with the ideal foundation to unleash the full potential of AI in development, manufacturing, and service. A host of new features boost innovation and bring greater efficiency and speed to everyday work.
In the new release of its open low-code platform Elements, CONTACT Software embeds the powerful intelligence layer Fourier AI system-wide and delivers innovations to enhance efficiency across the entire lifecycle – from change management and manufacturing to service. Additional improvements accelerate day-to-day work with the platform.
Integrating AI deep into the product lifecycle
With Fourier AI, the new Elements release provides a scalable infrastructure that enables companies to flexibly implement their individual AI use cases. It is specifically designed for demanding engineering tasks and deeply integrated into development, production, and service processes.
Fourier AI understands the context of data in CONTACT Elements and delivers reliable results. To achieve this, an orchestrator combines market-leading AI models with domain-specific ones developed by CONTACT – for example, AI models that help engineers to quickly find similar 3D geometries.
Fourier AI was developed according to the “Security by Design” principle and ensures full data sovereignty. Data remains stored locally at the customer, while AI operations run anonymously in a GDPR-compliant cloud. The robust role and rights concept ensures that the AI only provides information that is authorized for the respective users.
Implementing changes faster
CONTACT has fundamentally redesigned its Engineering Change Management and will continue to expand it with upcoming releases. Product optimization needs can be recorded directly in the system as problem reports. This creates a feedback channel that seamlessly transitions into the change management process, enabling companies to continuously and systematically improve their products.
The approval and implementation of an engineering change are now clearly separated, allowing complex changes to be planned and executed more flexibly. Change orders can be divided into smaller work packages, processed in parallel by different teams, and released in stages. This reduces lead times and significantly accelerates the change process.
Assigning project-specific substitutes
In Project Office, substitutes can now be appointed for each project member. They receive the same project-specific rights and full access to the relevant tasks. This ensures that projects continue to run smoothly in case a project member is absent.
Other new features simplify working with Office and PDF documents. Via the new Microsoft 365 Link, OneDrive files can be created directly as documents in CONTACT Elements and vice versa. With the new Advanced PDF Viewer, users have access to extensive PDF viewing and annotation options.
Traceability in manufacturing
Production or quality managers can now comprehensively track the history of every product and batch: from the production steps completed and materials used to the employees involved and process parameters recorded, such as machine data. This ensures complete transparency at all times.
Solving customer problems faster
Companies can now manage service contracts with their customers centrally in CONTACT Elements for IoT. When a customer opens a ticket, the service team has quick and easy access to all existing service agreements as well as the available service budget. This enables customer problems to be resolved more quickly and increases customer satisfaction. In addition, users see directly where services have been provided that exceed the scope of the contract and need to be billed separately – the basis for effective claim management.
When coordinating service assignments, service managers benefit from usability improvements in the Service Planner. Staff deployments can be intuitively extended and shortened via drag-and-drop, and the system supports scheduling by dynamically suggesting suitable time slots.
CONTACT Elements 2026.2 is now available for customers and partners to download.
