Global Data Sharing and Colaboration

I'm a diehard Pro/E fan working for a company that went fromSolidEdge to SolidWorks about a year ago. Currently we have no PDM.We have two other engineering groups in the world. Japan uses anNEC 2-D system (and was/is planning to move to Pro/E) and Germanyuses Solid Edge. Key reasons that SolidWorks was selected overPro/E for the US group was initial cost and ongoing cost ofownership for the data management side of things.

A project is underway to globalize our engineering - get our threegroups singing from the same hymnal to make beautiful engineeringmusic. We've had a couple of failed attempts in the past and feelwe've learned from our mistakes so we are ready to give it anothergo. I'm optimistic that we can make it happen successfully thistime. Moving to a common CAD platform with one global database anda PDM system capable of managing data at the multiple locations areconsidered key enablers in this move.

It has been said that since the US recently moved to SW, that weshould standardize on that and move forward with SW in Japan andGermany along with a PDM solution.

I have suggested that the criteria used to select SW may not beapplicable for a globalize engineering group and perhaps we shouldevaluate Pro/E vs. SW again before charging forward. Below is anote I sent to my boss a little while back that highlights one ofmy concerns.
Something to consider regarding global PDM, database sharing, andall that.

File size of a SW capper assembly anddrawing caught my attention recently.

200E0078 solid works drawing - 30.8MB

200E0078 assembly model - 16.6MB

For comparison, the top level assemblies and drawings for an SE24sorter are less than 100k each.

The network bandwidth required to transfer the SW assembly andmodel is about 280x (as in 28,000% greater) than the bandwidthrequired to transfer the Pro/E drawing and assembly. Part filedifferences are not as significant - I've seen SW models be largerthan Pro/E and Pro/E files that are larger. Part drawings, howeverare again dramatically different - most Pro/E chuck drawings arebetween 50k and 100k. SW chuck drawings are averaging between 2.5MBto 3MB each - 30x-50x larger for the SW files.

Not whining - just want to be sure we make the right decision forthe right reasons.


In case it isn't obvious, I'm a long-time Pro/E user and if I hadmy choice ...

So, with that background, I'd be interested in knowing whatexperience folks have had with global data sharing andcollaboration. Horror stories, success stories, Pro/E, or SW (or???) are all welcome.

Is SW and Enterprise the right answer for a unified, globalengineering group?SolidworksSolidworks Pdm enterprise Pdm