CIMdata 2025 PLM Market & Industry Forum Concludes Successfully in Shanghai
On April 18, 2025, CIMdata 2025 PLM Market & Industry Forum (China) was successfully held in Shanghai. Around the theme of “Model-Based Systems Engineering: Optimizing Systems of Systems”, Mr. Peter Bilello, President & CEO of CIMdata, and Ms. Christine Longwell, CIMdata’s Director of Research, shared the state of 2024 global PLM market, the latest development trends, and cutting-edge research on MBSE industry. Dr. Huang Pei, CEO of e-works, shared the latest development and technological trends of the Chinese PLM market in 2024 and provided translation throughout the event.
According to CIMdata’s forecast, the global PLM market was up 9.6% in 2024, higher than the expected growth of 8.6% last year.
PLM Market Remains a Positive Momentum
The latest CIMdata PLM Status & Trends Survey shows that PLM applications mainly focus on “traditional” PDM aspects. The vast majority believe that PLM is worthy of continuous investment. 90% of enterprises’ PLM budgets remain unchanged or increasing, which was 76% in 2018. Peter Bilello, pointed out that the global PLM market is continuously growing and creating value for enterprises.
Peter pointed out that with the rapid development of AI technology, the integration of AI into the product lifecycle is poised to dramatically reshape engineering & design practices. He stated that the value of AI lies in augmenting, not replacing, human ingenuity. It is worth noting that while enjoying the convenience brought by AI, humans must be responsible for the content generated by AI.
He further emphasized that the key areas of change include automation & optimization, collaboration & efficiency, skills, and personalization & customization.
Regarding MBSE, he said that systems engineering is evolving from paper-based processes to the use of updatable and manageable digital artifacts. Although MBSE has been practiced in multiple industries, it is still in the early stages of application as a whole. Among them, the aerospace & defense, infrastructure, and high-tech sectors are exploring its application value first. At present, MBSE mainly focuses on the concept design and development phase. However, in downstream lifecycle stages, relevant application cases have also begun to emerge, demonstrating broader application potential.
He emphasized that in the future, linking higher fidelity physics-based modeling, simulation and AI with requirements and architecture models will significantly accelerate MBSE adoption. At the same time, the construction of open platforms & data/model interoperability are key factors in promoting the success of MBSE.
Global PLM Market Grows by 9.6% and Reaches $79.5B
According to CIMdata’s forecast, the global PLM market was up 9.6% in 2024, reaching $79.5B, higher than the previous year’s expected growth of 8.6%. Specifically, the cPDm sector volume reached $25.5B (a 9.0% increase); the software and services sector grew steadily; the tool sector volume reached $52.8B (a 9.8% increase); the significant growth of EDA & S&A led the growth of the tool sector; the digital manufacturing sector reached $1.04B (an 8.5% increase) ——breaking the $1B mark for the first time.
Ms. Christine Longwell, CIMdata’s Director of Research, pointed out that with major enterprises getting through the subscription transformation, the CAD market had a strong year. The cPDm market also experienced higher-than-expected growth, with marked strength in the consumer industries amid weakness in automotive.
In 2024, the S&A market witnessed notable M&A——Siemens acquired Altair, and Synopsys acquired Ansys. In addition, there were approximately more than 200 M&A in the PLM market in 2024. Most of them were quick and small-scale.
Christine pointed out that the performance of the PLM market exceeds expectations, largely due to the increasing maturity of the subscription model, with AI stimulating users to adopt platform technologies. However, the economic uncertainties brought about by American trade policies throughout the forecast period add variables to the market. In terms of industry ecosystem evolution, software agents are accelerating their transformation into service providers, and the wave of M&A will continue to reshape the market landscape and rewrite the competitive landscape of leading enterprises in the industry.
Chinese PLM Market Maintains Single-Digit Growth
According to e-works’ estimates, the growth rate of the Chinese PLM market remained at a single-digit level in 2024, with the market volume increasing to $4.26B, a 7.8% increase compared to $3.95B in 2023. In the next five years, the compound annual growth rate of the Chinese PLM market is expected to be 9.5%, and the Chinese PLM market is projected to reach $6.72B by 2029.
Dr. Huang Pei, CEO of e-works, pointed out that the Chinese PLM market is accelerating the exploration of AI technology applications. Multiple PLM vendors are achieving more efficient and intelligent user experiences by integrating with large language models such as Deepseek. At the same time, financing in the Chinese PLM market remains active, mainly concentrated in the EDA and CAE fields.
Dr. Huang introduced the top ten hotspots in the field of digital technologies for product innovation, including embodied intelligence and humanoid robots, the integration of AI with product innovation processes and R&D tool software, digital twins, configuration management of complex products, cloud CAX/cloud PLM and the subscription model, platform-based and mobile applications, DFX software applications and 3D structured processes, applications of MBD /MBE /MBSE, mechatronic design, intelligent maintenance services, etc.
He also put forward ten suggestions for the PLM vendors. For example, expand digital thread solutions and application practices; integrate digital twin technology to reshape customers’ R&D innovation capabilities; actively promote the development of MBD and MBSE technologies; DFX is an important direction for PLM productization; expand business areas from discrete to general process industries; attach great importance to marketing as traffic is crucial; lead customers to the cloud and shift to the subscription model; enhance engineering consulting capabilities and become partners in enterprise transformation; PLM vendors need to embrace open innovation and, more importantly, go global; establish a rational view of financing, as listing is a means, not a goal, etc.
According to CIMdata’s forecast, the global PLM market was up 9.6% in 2024, higher than the expected growth of 8.6% last year.
CIMdata 2025 PLM Market & Industry Forum (China)
PLM Market Remains a Positive Momentum
The latest CIMdata PLM Status & Trends Survey shows that PLM applications mainly focus on “traditional” PDM aspects. The vast majority believe that PLM is worthy of continuous investment. 90% of enterprises’ PLM budgets remain unchanged or increasing, which was 76% in 2018. Peter Bilello, pointed out that the global PLM market is continuously growing and creating value for enterprises.
Mr. Peter Bilello, President & CEO of CIMdata
Peter pointed out that with the rapid development of AI technology, the integration of AI into the product lifecycle is poised to dramatically reshape engineering & design practices. He stated that the value of AI lies in augmenting, not replacing, human ingenuity. It is worth noting that while enjoying the convenience brought by AI, humans must be responsible for the content generated by AI.
He further emphasized that the key areas of change include automation & optimization, collaboration & efficiency, skills, and personalization & customization.
Regarding MBSE, he said that systems engineering is evolving from paper-based processes to the use of updatable and manageable digital artifacts. Although MBSE has been practiced in multiple industries, it is still in the early stages of application as a whole. Among them, the aerospace & defense, infrastructure, and high-tech sectors are exploring its application value first. At present, MBSE mainly focuses on the concept design and development phase. However, in downstream lifecycle stages, relevant application cases have also begun to emerge, demonstrating broader application potential.
He emphasized that in the future, linking higher fidelity physics-based modeling, simulation and AI with requirements and architecture models will significantly accelerate MBSE adoption. At the same time, the construction of open platforms & data/model interoperability are key factors in promoting the success of MBSE.
Global PLM Market Grows by 9.6% and Reaches $79.5B
According to CIMdata’s forecast, the global PLM market was up 9.6% in 2024, reaching $79.5B, higher than the previous year’s expected growth of 8.6%. Specifically, the cPDm sector volume reached $25.5B (a 9.0% increase); the software and services sector grew steadily; the tool sector volume reached $52.8B (a 9.8% increase); the significant growth of EDA & S&A led the growth of the tool sector; the digital manufacturing sector reached $1.04B (an 8.5% increase) ——breaking the $1B mark for the first time.
various segments in the global PLM market in 2024
Ms. Christine Longwell, CIMdata’s Director of Research, pointed out that with major enterprises getting through the subscription transformation, the CAD market had a strong year. The cPDm market also experienced higher-than-expected growth, with marked strength in the consumer industries amid weakness in automotive.
Ms. Christine Longwell, CIMdata’s Director of Research
In 2024, the S&A market witnessed notable M&A——Siemens acquired Altair, and Synopsys acquired Ansys. In addition, there were approximately more than 200 M&A in the PLM market in 2024. Most of them were quick and small-scale.
Christine pointed out that the performance of the PLM market exceeds expectations, largely due to the increasing maturity of the subscription model, with AI stimulating users to adopt platform technologies. However, the economic uncertainties brought about by American trade policies throughout the forecast period add variables to the market. In terms of industry ecosystem evolution, software agents are accelerating their transformation into service providers, and the wave of M&A will continue to reshape the market landscape and rewrite the competitive landscape of leading enterprises in the industry.
Chinese PLM Market Maintains Single-Digit Growth
According to e-works’ estimates, the growth rate of the Chinese PLM market remained at a single-digit level in 2024, with the market volume increasing to $4.26B, a 7.8% increase compared to $3.95B in 2023. In the next five years, the compound annual growth rate of the Chinese PLM market is expected to be 9.5%, and the Chinese PLM market is projected to reach $6.72B by 2029.
The growth trend of the Chinese PLM market from 2019 to 2024
Dr. Huang Pei, CEO of e-works, pointed out that the Chinese PLM market is accelerating the exploration of AI technology applications. Multiple PLM vendors are achieving more efficient and intelligent user experiences by integrating with large language models such as Deepseek. At the same time, financing in the Chinese PLM market remains active, mainly concentrated in the EDA and CAE fields.
Dr. Huang Pei, e-works CEO
Dr. Huang introduced the top ten hotspots in the field of digital technologies for product innovation, including embodied intelligence and humanoid robots, the integration of AI with product innovation processes and R&D tool software, digital twins, configuration management of complex products, cloud CAX/cloud PLM and the subscription model, platform-based and mobile applications, DFX software applications and 3D structured processes, applications of MBD /MBE /MBSE, mechatronic design, intelligent maintenance services, etc.
He also put forward ten suggestions for the PLM vendors. For example, expand digital thread solutions and application practices; integrate digital twin technology to reshape customers’ R&D innovation capabilities; actively promote the development of MBD and MBSE technologies; DFX is an important direction for PLM productization; expand business areas from discrete to general process industries; attach great importance to marketing as traffic is crucial; lead customers to the cloud and shift to the subscription model; enhance engineering consulting capabilities and become partners in enterprise transformation; PLM vendors need to embrace open innovation and, more importantly, go global; establish a rational view of financing, as listing is a means, not a goal, etc.
Group Photo of CIMdata 2025 PLM Market & Industry Forum
