Electronic Data Systems has created a version of its Teamcenter product lifecycle management software which is designed for use in a standard Windows desktop environment.

Teamcenter Community offers a range of collaborative capabilities which gives users of Windows 2000 and later versions access to product lifecycle information locked up in engineering systems. Staff across a company will be able to access, visualise and collaborate around product information such as computer-aided design models and drawings.

"What this does is to move the world of the engineer closer to the world of the rest of the enterprise," said AMR research analyst Michael Burkett.

With Teamcenter Community, suppliers can log into a common portal from a Windows desktop and access, view and comment on product-related documents. The tool also offers some basic routing and version-control features that will give companies more control over shared product documents.

"The move by EDS is similar to those of rivals such as IBM, " Burkett said, adding that "Teamcenter Community appears to be more tightly integrated with the Windows desktop environment than other PLM products." Teamcenter Community is built around Microsoft Office's SharePoint services and will cost companies about $250 a user per year.

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