Robust, dynamic, easily configurable — hardly words most would use to describe traditional PDM (product data management) or PLM (product lifecycle management). But when Microsoft set out to consolidate and standardize its hardware groups on a core product development platform, its alternative approach — building on top of an open, cloud-based PLM platform and leveraging its expertise in agile methodologies — led to a global deployment completed in record time and packed with more functionality than its previous PLM systems.