An Interview with Ilona Eirich and Carsten Dietze-Selent
Hey there, have you heard the news? There's an exciting new e-book available about SAP PLM (Product Lifecycle Management).
Today, I had the privilege of speaking with two of the authors, Ilona Eirich and Carsten Dietze-Selent.
Carsten, the head of PLM and Engineering at SAP, and Ilona, who manages the PLM Cloud Acceleration team, have both ventured into the world of book authorship for the first time. Let's dive into their experiences and insights on their journey of becoming authors.
Sina: How was it to write a book about SAP PLM? Can you share some highlights from your experience?
Ilona: I’ve always wanted to write a book, it’s an item on my bucket list. Writing a book about SAP PLM, a topic which is very dear to me, was an amazing experience. We wanted to provide a comprehensive guide for both beginners and experienced professionals in the field. It was a challenging task to condense our knowledge into a concise and informative format, but we were determined to make it accessible and valuable for readers .
Carsten: Absolutely! It was a unique opportunity to share our expertise and insights with a broader audience. We aimed to cover various aspects of SAP PLM, including its benefits, implementation, and best practices. Collaborating with the group of authors was a rewarding experience, and we are proud of the result. We also had great support from colleagues throughout our entire organization, be it for input, setting up an end-to-end example or their feedback on individual chapters or topics.
Sina: Which chapter did you enjoy writing the most, and why?
Ilona: Personally, I found the chapter on Collaboration to be particularly interesting. It is designed to foster effective communication and cooperation across the extended enterprise. This capability streamlines collaboration efforts, helping organizations manage product data, documents, and processes across global development, manufacturing, and external business partners. It essentially simplifies and enhances the collaboration process with easier data exchange, effective coordination of project tasks, transparent processes, and real-time information. Many customers start their journey with Collaboration, and I’m very happy I was able to not only write about it, but actively contribute to it by suggesting ideas for improvement which I discovered throughout the writing process, and which were taken up by our development team.
Carsten: If I had to pick, I would say I enjoyed writing the chapter on Specification Management the most. Specification Management is a foundational data management topic which allows companies to capture, maintain, and share product specifications in real-time with all stakeholders across various departments, such as research and development, operations, and procurement. This ensures that everyone involved in the product life cycle has access to accurate, up-to-date specification data as it integrates with the internal and external network through Collaboration, the chapter Ilona described earlier. I find the complex dynamics of Specification Management very interesting, and this chapter allowed me to delve deeper into an area I'm passionate about.
Sina: Now that the book is complete, are you proud of the outcome?
Ilona: Absolutely! We poured our knowledge and passion into this book, and we are proud of what we have accomplished. Our goal was to create a valuable resource that would empower readers to leverage SAP PLM effectively. We hope it will serve as a guide that inspires innovation and drives successful PLM implementations.
Carsten: I couldn't agree more. The positive feedback we've received so far has been encouraging. We believe that this book will help readers gain a deeper understanding of SAP PLM and its potential to transform businesses.
By the way, we have rebranded our solution from SAP Enterprise Product Development to SAP Product Lifecycle Management. We believe this change represents our commitment to making our PLM solutions more accessible and easily recognizable.
Sina: Carsten, Ilona, I want to extend my gratitude for taking the time to share your experiences as authors of the SAP PLM E-Bite. Your dedication and expertise have undoubtedly made this resource an asset for anyone interested in SAP PLM, no matter if you’re a beginner or already an expert yourself.
To anyone out there: If you're looking to dive deeper into the world of SAP PLM and learn directly from our experts, I highly recommend checking out their book. Visit https://hubs.la/Q02lp0bX0 to get your copy. Happy reading!
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