Collaboration. One of the primary values the 3DEXPERIENCE platform brings to the enterprise user to address all aspects of product development. But what about the need for collaboration between companies? The Original Equipment Manufacturer (OEM) and Supplier interaction has followed an upward trend and this trajectory will likely continue. To address this situation, ENOVIA has begun developing a new aspect of the 3DEXPERIENCE platform allowing it to be used as a “Collaboratiove Hub” between companys to share data more efficiently. We call this a “hub” because the platform supports multiple “Extended Collaboration”.
To understand the intended functionality, we must first look at the way collaboration is happening today. There are basically two methods of collaboration being practiced:

1. Distribution based Collaboration (without using the 3DEXPERIENCE platform)

In this methodology, OEMs and Suppliers create packages of data to be shared. These packages are exchanged through email, basic file sharing and file sharing tools such as SharePoint. Any related governance and issues regarding the packages are generally managed by email, phone calls and video conferences.

2. Integrated Collaboration (using the 3DEXPERIENCE platform)

In this advanced methodology, the OEM shares data in a collaborative space (CS) of the 3DEXPERIENCE platform. No data is actually copied at this point. The Supplier is assigned restricted access rights to the OEM’s collaborative space. The Supplier simply exports data required to work in their own environment. Once a deliverable from the Supplier is ready, they deliver the updated data and the OEM integrates the data into the product structure. Governance and issues are managed within the collaborative space and directly associated to the data.
This second methodology is, of course, our focus with the introduction of the Collaboration Hub. To support this methodology, two use cases have been established to define the initial development of the tool. Both of these use cases are based on the following key concepts supporting the hub architecture:

Main stakeholders - A group of participants from the company that own the platform. They share content needed in the collaboration. They invite participants of other stakeholders.
Stakeholders - A group of participants, usually from same company, representing the Supplier that has been invited to the Collaborative Hub.
Participant - 3DEXPERIENCE platform user belonging to one stakeholder.
Content - Any data that is shared or created in the Collaborative Hub. It is visible from all stakeholders.
Governance - 3DEXPERIENCE services initialized at Collaboration creation. Participant gain access to these applications once they have been invited into a Extended Collaboration. 

The first use case describes the steps to initiate a new Collaborative Hub. The current release on the public cloud (23xFD03) introduces the support of this use case. In this use case illustrated below, we explore the scenario of an OEM working with a single supplier. The supplier has two stakeholders who will be collaborating with the main stakeholders. A main stakeholder, the OEM Collaboration Manager, creates the various features of the Extended Collaboration noted in the steps. Governance is managed through the dashboard sharing specific applications with the stakeholders.

In the second use case illustrated below, the Collaboration owner, a main stakeholder within the OEM governs the document and 3D data provided by both the OEM and the supplier throughout the lifecycle of the collaboration.

Here is a short video that shows how the Extended Collaboration is created along with the resulting environment...