App Friday: What is the Fusion Lifecycle App Store?

Welcome to App Fridays! This segment of our blog will showcase Fusion Lifecycle’s App Store. First, some background on this topic. The App Store has been around and available in Fusion Lifecycle for some time. Even in the “before-times” back when it was called PLM 360.

Trivia time: what was the product called before PLM 360? Perhaps we need some giveaways for anyone who recalls…

Now, an App is defined here as one or more Fusion Lifecycle workspaces that solve a business purpose. Engineering Change Management for example contains two common workspaces – Change Request and Change Order – where as Field Service Request is a solo workspace, targeting just that specific need. See also FMEA, or Accident Reports, or Return Merchandise Authorization – the list goes on…

Of course, once installed in your tenant, you can connect the new workspace(s) to other processes inside Fusion Lifecycle, as if you’ve created a new workspace from scratch. You see, that’s the beauty of the App Store. You can hit the ground running with a new process to solve a need. You get more than just a Workspace – any adjacent/dependent workspaces come along, as well as scripts, picklists, and roles needed to function properly. A true turn-key solution.

What’s more, you can modify at will, as this is just a workspace like all the others. Or – and just consider this – you can leave it as is, and you might find it works just fine the way it is. And that’s where this new App Store effort lies – making sure that the Apps in the store are up-to-date, relevant, and use the latest and greatest functionality, scripts, and industry best practices.

I know what you’re thinking – what’s the catch? How much are they? Good news is if you are a Fusion Lifecycle subscriber, you can access the App Store at anytime and install as many as you need. No per-app pricing, just log in, be an Administrator, and browse + install. Once in, just add the new role(s) to your group and begin sampling the App.

So, what’s next? Well, some Apps need updating. There are much needed Apps that are missing, and some that have been taken offline or otherwise gone dormant. We’re waking these up, clearing off the cobwebs, and will showcase them weekly. Tune in and sample these as they become available. As always, feedback is welcome.

– Brian Schanen, PLM Product Manager, Autodesk