Pro/INTRALINK: It's not your parents' Pro/ENGINEER data management tool

Or maybe I should also say that it is your parents' Pro/ENGINEER data management tool. I suppose it depends upon whether or not your parents used Pro/INTRALINK 3.x, 2.0, 1.0, Pro/PDM, or (gasp!) Pro/PROJECT. But before I'm cited for incoherent ranting on the job, let me explain.

Let's take my first statement. People who have used an earlier Pro/ENGINEER data management tool (your parents, perhaps?) will find that Pro/INTRALINK 8.0 has definite improvements in terms of usability, scalability, security, functionality, etc. I outlined several of my favorite differences in a previous blog, and a full list can be found in The PTC Data Management Strategy for Pro/INTRALINK Customers whitepaper. In that sense, no, it's not your parents' Pro/ENGINEER data management tool.

Now let's look at my second statement. One of the key capabilities of Pro/INTRALINK 8.0 is that it truly extends the Pro/ENGINEER data management environment to include non-Pro/ENGINEER users, or, more generally, even non-engineering users. It does this in large part through fundamental changes in the client. With previous Pro/INTRALINK versions, everyone who needed access to the Pro/INTRALINK database had to have the relatively heavy Pro/INTRALINK client installed separately. With Pro/INTRALINK 8.0, the client is simply a web browser. I'll bet that if (for example) your parents have a computer, then it has a web browser on it.

Additionally, the older Pro/INTRALINK client interface wasn't designed for a non-engineering user such as the casual user in purchasing or marketing. This meant that a) those users needed training in a tool whose real capabilities were far beyond what they would ever use, and b) they'd forget what they learned before they ever had the chance to use the tool. But because Pro/INTRALINK 8.0 is a web-based application, the client is far more intuitive and accessible to the non-engineer or casual user. Therefore, it will be much easier to extend the benefits of data management to departments outside of engineering and design because it is more likely that the web-browser interface will be accepted and used by the non-engineering users (such as your parents).

That being said, you probably won't be rolling out your Pro/INTRALINK 8.0 implementation to the family and friends of your product development organization. But you could.

Don't forget to browse the Pro/INTRALINK Advisor Site and the (searchable!) discussion forums for more information.