3 Do’s and Don’ts of OpenBOM Trials

OpenBOM is a digital thread cloud-native platform that helps you to manage product information and connect to contractors and suppliers. It includes product data management (PDM) and product lifecycle management (PLM) capabilities together with features and functions to manage inventory, vendors, RFQs, and purchase orders. OpenBOM is flexible and helps manufacturing companies manage their product data in a variety of ways.

Why OpenBOM Provides 14-day Free Trial?

While SaaS businesses and applications are notoriously famous for providing free trials, you won’t find free trials available on most of the websites of PLM companies. The reason is very simple and related to the few characteristics of SaaS software such as

• Ability to set up accounts for trial and easily manage the free trial process
• Ease of setup and functionality allows showing the value immediately
• Providing meaningful personalized support during the trial

At OpenBOM, we’ve been thinking about how to help a broad group of companies to improve the way they manage product information and offer something that is fundamentally different and yet much easier than existing Excel spreadsheets and legacy PLM software.

Here are the main reasons why OpenBOM provides free 14-day trials:

1. OpenBOM multi-tenant platform allows creating a fully functioning account in a matter of minutes, configures tools, and offers a way to start a trial with a minimum effort
2. OpenBOM out of the box CAD add-ins, files and spreadsheets import tool allows easy and quick test software and get instant and powerful results.
3. OpenBOM integrated online support is available for everyone to get meaningful help and advisory for OpenBOM trial accounts.

How to Plan Your OpenBOM Trial?

OpenBOM offers a free trial, which is a great way to try out the software and see if it’s a good fit for your company. However, over time we collected a bunch of best practices and recommendations for all companies that are starting OpenBOM free trial. In my list below, I want to focus on the top 3 Do’s and Dont’s related to OpenBOM trials.

Top 3 Do’s

Here are my best recommendations about how to get the most out of your OpenBOM trial. It will help you to focus on what needs to be done and avoid painful moments and learning curves. As part of the process, focus on fundamentals, test a small scope, and get yourself familiar with the system. If you have a specific scenario you want to test, discuss it with our support team.

1. Check fundamentals and data management capabilities 
2. Run a smoke test with small sample data set
3. Get an impression of user experience 

Top 3 Don’ts

As much as the OpenBOM trial is a very easy process, there are some red lines that I don’t recommend stepping over during the trial. These processes are extremely time-consuming and without proper training won’t give you the desired results.

1. Don’t import your entire legacy data set
2. Don’t attempt to test all possible and impossible user-cases, only focus on simple use cases helping to demo important function
3. Don’t try to finish the entire implementation and get ready for production during the trial 

OpenBOM Trial F.A.Q.

Can we extend a trial?

Although, to test basic OpenBOM functions you need 2-3- days, sometimes things can go wrong. In this case, the answer is yes, you can extend your OpenBOM. You cannot do it automatically and you will have to talk to our sales team via online support account to get your account trial extended.

Am I limited in functions?

Despite common misconceptions that trial has limited functionality, it is not true. OpenBOM gives you fully functioning software that can be used right away. If something doesn’t work, please contact support- we will help you.

How much data can I load during the trial?

Although you’re not limited in data size, at OpenBOM, we reserve the right to limit or slow down your account if we identify excessive use of OpenBOM capabilities.

Can I bring my data to the trial?

Actually, you must and it is highly recommended. However, we don’t recommend bringing all the data but starting from a small test project or assembly.

Conclusion

OpenBOM provides an easy way to learn about some of OpenBOM’s capabilities, features, and functions. Although OpenBOM doesn’t limit you during the trial, we focus on specific easy and out-of-the-box functionality you test during the trial. Don’t try to boil the ocean and finish the implementation during the trial. You will overload yourself with the learning process and won’t be able to explore the entire data and process management capabilities of OpenBOM.

REGISTER FOR FREE to start a 14-day free trial and learn how OpenBOM can help you.

Best, Oleg