SteepGraph at Aras ACE 2026
We sponsored ACE 2026 and presented with MIT Lincoln Laboratory on running complex R&D programmes inside Aras. Here is what we talked about, and what we took away from it.
- Event
- Aras ACE 2026
- Organised by
- Aras Corporation
- Dates
- 13–16 April 2026
- Location
- Miami, FL, USA
- Our role
- Sponsor & Speaker
What we presented
Conference session
Engineering at Scale: MIT LL's Project-Centric PLM Journey with SteepGraph IPMS
MIT Lincoln Laboratory runs a dynamic portfolio of federally funded R&D programmes where execution, compliance and visibility are mission-critical. The session covered how MIT LL adopted our Integrated Project Management System to turn Aras Innovator into a governed project and programme layer — replacing fragmented schedules in MS Project, deliverables in SharePoint and status in slide decks with one live structure. It walked through modular rollout across planning, execution, reporting and task management; multi-level WBS, baselines, deliverable tracking, Kanban boards and action item management; the role of Rabbit tools in maintainability and data governance; and the lessons learned, including what the team would do differently.
- Speaker
- Enrica DePascale, Strategic Project Manager, MIT Lincoln Laboratory
- Speaker
- Rade Zrilic, Sales Head, North America, SteepGraph
- Delivered
- Tuesday 14 April 2026
Event Highlights
What we talked about
- Our theme this year was “Power to the People” — we provide power to our customers through our solutions and PLM expertise, and our booth ran a device charging station so visitors could pick up some literal power alongside the conversation.
- Aras Rabbit — our AI-powered suite across six studios, from solution design to AMS, built around first-time-right delivery.
- IPMS — running programmes inside Aras rather than in Excel and slide decks, as shown in our MIT LL session.
- An InnovatorEdge-based mobile solution, presented at the Tech Summit on Partner Day.
- Our frameworks — data migration with 60% timeline reduction, configurable integration to SAP, Oracle and more, and test automation cutting manual effort by half.
- Industry Solutions on Aras — AeroLean, AutoLean and PharmaLean, pre-configured for supplier processes with go-live in eight weeks.
About Aras ACE 2026
ACE — the Aras Community Event — is Aras Corporation's annual user conference, bringing customers, partners and the product team together for keynotes, customer sessions and technical practice. The 2026 edition ran 13–16 April in Miami under the theme "Welcome to the Era of Adaptive Intelligence", opening with Partner Day and a Tech Summit before three days of keynotes and customer sessions. SteepGraph sponsored the event and co-presented with MIT Lincoln Laboratory.
What we took away
- The digital thread has to reach beyond PLM to be worth anything. Connecting lifecycle data across systems is what makes AI-driven innovation possible rather than aspirational.
- Agentic engineering moved from concept to architecture. The question is no longer whether agents belong in PLM, but how workflows get redesigned around them.
- Generative AI is running in production at scale. AISIN's automotive session reframed the conversation around governance and trust rather than feasibility.
- Customers are presenting complexity, not features. PMI, BAE Systems and Duncan Aviation all spoke to hard operational realities — the register our MIT LL session was in.
Filed under
- Aras Innovator
- IPMS
- Aras Rabbit
- Adaptive Intelligence
- Industry Solutions
- Conference
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