General Motors and Microsoft Collaborate on Fast Vehicle Product Development

General Motors Corp. (GM) has announced plans to deploy Unigraphics and IMAN for the Microsoft Windows NT Workstation operating system as part of its Fast Vehicle Product Development Program. This move aims to increase productivity and decrease the total cost of ownership by hosting productivity and project management tools, as well as its global core design tool, Unigraphics, on Windows NT-based workstations. The partnership will enable concurrent design between GM development centers and supplier centers on six continents.

Key Takeaways:

• GM will implement Windows NT-based workstations in 1999 to host productivity and project management tools, as well as its global core design tool, Unigraphics.
• The combination of Windows NT-based workstations, Unigraphics, and IMAN will contribute to meeting GM's time-to-market goals for the vehicle product definition environment.
• Unigraphics is the General Motors corporate system used throughout its global product and manufacturing engineering environment.
• Windows NT is part of the upgrades to GM's worldwide infrastructure, enabling concurrent design between GM development centers and supplier centers on six continents.
• GM's decision to use Windows NT Workstation as its Unigraphics-based platform is an example of the success of the Windows platform in meeting the performance needs of enterprise customers.
• The Unigraphics product has the potential to reduce costs and integrate with existing systems, ultimately providing GM with the tools to deliver its product to market at a faster rate.

Statistics:

• 50% of Unigraphics Solutions' new business in 1998 came from customers using the Windows NT platform.
• ProductVision, the newest product from Unigraphics Solutions, provides all users with easy access to product designs managed in the IMAN product data management system.
• Unigraphics Solutions' software is used worldwide and includes Unigraphics, Solid Edge, IMAN, and Parasolid.
• GM Will begin implementing Windows NT-based workstations in 1999.

Sources:

• PRNewswire, "Unigraphics Solutions Inc. and Microsoft Corp. Announce Plans by General Motors Corp. to Use Windows NT Workstation as Unigraphics-Based Platform".
• Unigraphics Solutions, "About Unigraphics Solutions".
• Microsoft, "About Microsoft".