This is 2024. This is the year of smarter technologies, the year of AI, and the year of efficiency at scale.
Unless you are one of the hundreds of tech companies still using Oracle Agile Product Lifecycle Management (PLM).
If you are, you live in a world where data and processes cannot be easily connected to other solutions. A world where manual workarounds create errors and slow down time to market. A world where employees spend more time looking for data instead of acting on it. A world where valuable tribal knowledge is lost every time an experienced employee leaves or retires.
Whether or not you’re ready to admit it, Agile PLM is already causing you pain. The platform is not receiving new upgrades and lacks advancements to integrate new tech.
And at this point, it will also cause you to lose out on the next big wave of efficiency gains from AI. Meaning the pain is about to compound.
Moving away from Agile is therefore an essential strategy for maintaining competitiveness and efficiency in an era where value chain management, supply chain optimization, and cloud integration are key.
This is a vital wake-up call for those still on Agile to look at the stark reality: staying on a stagnant platform is a risk that organizations shouldn't take.
Agile PLM's outdated interface, with its lack of flexibility and extensibility, has aged out of today's competitive market. Propel Software has a UI that Agile users will love—with the enhancements Agile could never provide. See for yourself.
A UI You Already Know and Love
When you’ve had up to 20 years to grow accustomed to an interface, it’s understandable that you’d feel comfortable with it, maybe even happy with it—and reluctant to change. It works for you.
I get that. That's why these users should look for familiarity as they move to the cloud in order to fix the problems outlined above.
Adoption is critical. It's important employees want to use the solution. Otherwise, you've exchanged one problem for another.
But have you ever worn out a piece of everyday tech like your headphones or your electric toothbrush, went to purchase a newer item, and were pleasantly surprised to receive the next iteration? Basically, a product that performs the same functions but with notable improvements that make your daily life better.
That’s why the Propel Software platform is the obvious choice for Agile users who want to migrate to a new platform. The UI is designed for the needs of fast-moving product companies—with users, administrators, and IT departments all rejoicing in the improvements to their daily lives. And the reason I know this is because I helped build both.
I know about the needs of today’s customers, and that what we’ve built at Propel is better for companies currently using Oracle Agile.
Familiarity Leads to Greater User Adoption
In any migration, there will be comparisons, no doubt. However, if end users can get their work done more efficiently, it’s a win.
Luckily, the user experience of Propel Software simplifies the transition from Agile while offering significant enhancements. Just like your new headphones or toothbrush, it feels like upgrading to a newer version of a familiar product. Intuitive and improved.
It's not about replicating the old system—that limits the value of moving from an older on-premise application to a modern cloud PLM solution. It’s about offering enhancements that make the transition smoother and more appealing to your users.
For instance, Propel's PLM solution boasts a tailored user experience (UX) that’s extensible and composable, meaning highly configurable. The no-code/low-code drag-and-drop elements allow users to create their own pages, dashboards, reporting tools, and more, using customizable templates and training modules—all without writing a single line of code.
These features are intended to make it simpler for users to create and automate custom processes for closed-loop product governance, including in-app notifications to ensure real-time cohesive collaboration for cross-functional needs.
Propel also supports a role-based user interface allowing customers to configure Propel to different user communities. This is especially important for external partners such as suppliers and contract manufacturers.
These advancements are crucial for businesses to keep up with the rapid pace of new product introductions, including complex processes such as change management and regulatory compliance.
With all these enhancements, businesses can manage their entire value chain, from concept and design to marketing and field service, with greater efficiency and profitability.
The challenge of user adoption is always present when it comes time for technology transformation. But by moving to a system that benefits from 20 years of additional UI research compared to Agile, you're not just changing the environment; you’re bettering your users’ daily lives.
For even more assurance, here are a few tips to help your users with the move.
3 Tips for a Smooth Migration
1. Assemble Your Power Team
A successful transition begins with the formation of an adept team. Your team is the driving force behind your migration, so select them with care.
It’s essential to include:
An Executive Sponsor: This individual serves as the vital link between the upper management and the project team. Their role is to ensure alignment with the company's vision, facilitating the project team's understanding of the organizational objectives and expectations, while also communicating the project's progress and timelines to the executive team.
A Project Champion: This person spearheads the entire project, overseeing daily tasks and acting as the primary contact point. They are tasked with gathering project requirements, identifying key internal and external collaborators, and leading project planning, strategy, and implementation.
Key Business Stakeholders: This diverse, cross-functional assembly should represent the interests of all departments affected by the project. By including at least one member from each impacted team, this group offers crucial insights into departmental requirements and the project's potential effects on each team.
2. Work From a Wish List
Some of our customers started their transition by essentially replicating their previous Agile workflows and business processes in Propel to avoid user rejection. This is possible, of course, but it’s just one approach.
Most of our customers who transition from Agile find more success by re-architecting the solution to solve key product gaps or to automate data and process flows. Consider that the Propel PLM system is connected to quality management (QMS) and product information management (PIM) on the same platform. Coming from a system like Oracle Agile that can be difficult to integrate with cloud solutions, this level of connection opens up huge opportunities to automate, streamline, and collaborate on a single-source product record, ensuring a more efficient and cost-effective lifecycle. Not to mention simpler seamless integrations with other enterprise solutions such as ERP and CRM.
Try asking users what improvements they wished for in Agile and configure Propel to realize those aspirations. This approach is likely to enhance user adoption significantly—and make your IT team very popular with ex-Agile users.
3. Right-Size the Project
When it comes to an Agile transformation, you need flexibility; you should be able to start anywhere and go anywhere. That's why we have tailored approaches to guide users through the transition based on your company’s specific needs:
Lift & Shift
If you're ready to completely cut and run from Agile all at once, Propel can help you with a "Lift & Shift" approach, supporting you through a total transformation. We provide strategies for managing all process enhancements and collaborate with stakeholders to tailor workflows and specific requirements. With previous customers who’ve opted for this method, Propel’s team helped them achieve Go-Live with full data migration in just 14 weeks on average.
Side-by-SideIf you would prefer a more gradual migration, you can maintain your current Agile system while simultaneously establishing a connection to transfer data to Propel in real time, allowing for a seamless transition at your pace. Perhaps you could start by augmenting your Agile PLM with the robust capabilities Propel has built that aren’t addressed by Agile, such as enhanced product commercialization and product quality processes.
Lastly, to start with your best foot forward, it should go without saying that you should consider incorporating all the latest features released by Propel. But the important thing is to keep upgrading as new features get released.
In stark contrast to Agile, who announced they will not be releasing any more upgrades, Propel rolls out new features and capabilities at least three times a year. This means your feedback can actually be incorporated into the platform design, and your specific needs can be met without creating a complicated fix made of custom code that can easily break.
Conclusion
With Propel, businesses can make better decisions with end-to-end visibility—a necessity for meeting increasingly urgent demands for higher product quality and faster time to market. Companies can’t afford to maintain static Oracle Agile product collaboration to cannot meet the demands of the modern market, holding onto a promise of an Oracle cloud solution that has yet to become a reality.
A UI that Agile users will embrace combined with the capabilities of a cloud-based PLM solution is the golden ticket for wary legacy users, who are more likely to adapt quickly to enhanced workflows and improved product development processes.
Transitioning from Oracle Agile PLM to Propel's advanced PLM solution isn’t just about staying current; it's about moving faster than competitors. It's about unlocking the value of your product data by ensuring information and process flows are seamless across the entire company, something that only a cloud-native PLM software can accomplish.
It’s a strategic decision to live up to the needs of the 2024 market and beyond.
See for yourself the familiarity between the Propel and Agile PLM platforms. Request a product tour now.
Click to read Part II, on the features and benefits Agile PLM users will find familiar (and improved) in Propel.
