In 2014, PROCAD surveyed some 150 German mid-sized enterprises from a variety of industries and asked them how they exchange their technical documents. The survey focused on finding out the extent to which companies are already using modern data exchange platforms and on exploring the reasons for their reluctance.

More than half of the respondents still uses outdated solutions in their exchange of technical documents with customer, partners, and suppliers. The results of the survey come as somewhat of a surprise given the fact that exchange platforms have long been embraced by consumers.

These numbers show that many of the data exchange solutions on the market today are not equipped to meet the requirements of the industry. When it comes to the solutions they do use – whether its email, FTP, CD-ROM, or thumb drives – companies are missing the very features that lie at the heart of professional collaboration: traceability of activities (17.4%), data access at any time and from anywhere (11.9%), and the integration of third parties (9.6%).

“Most companies have a very clear idea of what they expect of a platform for the exchange of technical documents and are aware of the shortcomings of their current solutions. It usually doesn’t take much to tip the scales in favor of replacing outdated data exchange solutions with modern solutions that meet their performance and security needs. This is a field that presents many opportunities and mid-sized enterprises should be sure to embrace them,” sums up Sarah Müller, product manager at PROCAD.

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