Oracle Agile PLM End of Life: Nextern's Migration to Propel (Industry Spotlight Series)

Oracle Agile PLM's countdown clock is real, and the risks aren't just theoretical. Between escalating security vulnerabilities and the pressure to scale, the cost of staying put is climbing fast.

In this session, Caroline Byrd, VP of Regulatory, Clinical and Quality at Nextern, joins Chuck Serrin, VP of Industry Marketing for MedTech at Propel, for a candid conversation about what finally tips the scale on a PLM migration decision. With Nextern planning to more than double its business over the next four years, the stakes were high: select a platform that could handle complex medical device development across the full product lifecycle, support a broad supplier and customer base, and scale without hitting a ceiling. After a rigorous evaluation of PTC Windchill, Greenlight Guru, Grand Avenue, and others, Nextern chose Propel. This session unpacks exactly why, and what it means for MedTech companies still riding out their Agile investment.

Key Takeaways

The Oracle Agile end-of-support deadline is no longer hypothetical

Oracle has announced it will no longer support Agile after 2027, and industry has run out of runway to dismiss it. After years of Oracle signaling this transition, the deadline has become the forcing function that finally tips organizations into action.

11 Agile security vulnerabilities surfaced in one month alone

Remote authentication takeover, unauthorized access to intellectual property, and data modification and deletion were among the vulnerabilities identified in July 2026 alone. These are not minor bugs. They represent active risk to your product data and operations.

Nextern ran a rigorous, requirements-first vendor evaluation

Rather than defaulting to a familiar name, Nextern documented and prioritized its unique use cases across complex device development, a broad supplier network, customer approval workflows, and full lifecycle management. That structured process drove a clear outcome.

Propel won because it matched Agile's configurability while modernizing the platform

Nextern's evaluation surfaced a critical requirement: the new platform had to carry forward the data structure and configuration flexibility that made Agile valuable, not sacrifice it for convenience. Propel delivered on that without forcing a trade-off.

PLM decisions have to be built for where you're going, not where you've been

With Nextern targeting more than double its business over the next four years, choosing a tool sized for the company's past would have been a liability. The right PLM investment needs to grow with the organization and remain upgradable without runaway total cost of ownership.

Modernization is also a talent strategy

Employees expect consumer-grade accessibility at work, and the next generation of hires will gravitate toward companies that offer it. Staying on a legacy system is increasingly a retention and recruiting risk, not just an IT problem.

Want to hear more about Nextern's change story? Watch Caroline's presentation from Propulsion 2026.

Learn More

Ready to map out your own migration path off Oracle Agile PLM?

Explore Propel's Agile PLM migration resources to see how medical device companies — and any product manufacturers — are making the move, what the evaluation process looks like, and how Propel delivers the configurability and scalability Agile users actually need.

About The Industry Spotlight Series

Each webinar in Propel's Industry Spotlight Series welcomes a leader from a specific industry to share what's actually working — and what isn't — in their organizations. The sessions are customer-led, focused on real operational challenges, and designed to give you practical, peer-sourced insights you can put to work immediately.