From SmarTeam to 3DEXPERIENCE: A Migration Roadmap

SmarTeam has served as a dependable PDM system for decades, but it can no longer meet the demands of today’s connected product development environment. With SmarTeam nearing end of support, organisations face challenges such as compatibility limitations with new CAD versions and integrations, increased risk of server or component failures, high maintenance costs and limited scalability, and a lack of real-time collaboration between teams and suppliers.

The 3DEXPERIENCE platform, on the other hand, offers a future-ready PLM ecosystem that enhances collaboration, reduces total cost of ownership (TCO), and enables secure, cloud-based data access.

With SmarTeam nearing end of support, organisations face challenges such as:

• Compatibility limitations with new CAD versions and integrations
• Increased risk of server or component failures
• High maintenance costs and limited scalability
• Lack of real-time collaboration between teams and suppliers

Unlike traditional PDM systems, the 3DEXPERIENCE platform delivers a unified environment where all stakeholders—engineering, design, manufacturing, and business—can work together in real time. Key advantages include:

• Web-based access from any device, anytime, anywhere
• Seamless collaboration with suppliers and customers
• Built-in AI analytics and semantic search capabilities
• Integrated apps for design (CATIA), simulation (SIMULIA), manufacturing (DELMIA), and project management
• Cloud scalability to reduce IT overhead and improve security

By connecting product, process, and business data within one digital thread, organisations gain faster innovation cycles and improved traceability across the entire product lifecycle.

SteepGraph’s migration platform supports three primary strategies:

• Big-Bang Migration – Transfers all data in one go, ideal for medium-sized datasets and when a clear cutover date is defined.
• On-Demand Migration – Migrates selected data or active projects first, allowing phased adoption of the new system.
• Continuous Migration – Maintains both legacy and new systems simultaneously during evaluation or integration with downstream systems.

Each approach includes built-in validation, ensuring data accuracy, traceability, and alignment with 3DEXPERIENCE’s engineering structure.

The ETL automates extraction, transformation, and loading (ETL) of data from SmarTeam into the 3DEXPERIENCE environment. Using configurable rules, it ensures all CAD, BOM, and non-CAD data are accurately mapped and linked to the right objects and relationships. The framework also supports:

• Attribute and metadata mapping
• Cross-link management between multiple object classes
• Custom schema extensions for organisation-specific attributes
• Support for multi-revision and multi-format data

For customers transitioning to the 3DEXPERIENCE Cloud, SteepGraph offers both direct cloud migration using Dassault Systèmes’ Transition Assistant and a proven two-step approach—first migrating on-premises, then to the cloud.

SmarTeam is reaching end-of-life, and continuing on an outdated platform increases risk, cost, and operational disruption.