Robert,
As a provider of Windchill services rather than a customer, I tend to work with clients in need of Intralink 3.4 migrations as a two-step process. The first focuses on just getting the data out of the 3.4 system and into 10.2 in the minimum configurations required to satisfy the migration (ideally, single product/library context, direct port of folder structure, mapping of EPMDocuments, and addressing duplication and other conflicts). The Pro-I Data Migrator is a pretty robust tool and does the job it is designed to do well as long as you're not trying to handle too many data transform/mapping steps with it.
The 2nd item to keep in mind is to think about what are the plans for that data AFTER it is migrated into Windchill. Is this Pro-I 3.4 system supplemental data or from another site being incorporated into a Windchill system that already has been established with data and processes for some time? Or is this a migration of data into a brand new Windchill system fresh OOTB with no configurations? Either scenario has its own drivers, constraints and impact as to not only the path of the migration itself, but post migration steps as well.
Other questions include:
- Do you plan to create and use WTParts for your migrated CAD? If so, do you have a BOM / object linking strategy?
- Do you plan to incorporate more of Windchill's change objects functionality?
- Do you have other modules of Windchill installed besides PDMLink? (ProjectLink, SuMa, PartsLink, CAPA, etc)
- What other pain points from Intralink 3.4 can Windchill help with (Reporting, Access control via contexts and teams, Enhanced lifecycle/workflow control)?
- What CAD tools do you use, and do you have the WGM software required (if not Creo) to support them?
I would comb the SOWs you are receiving to see if that level of future planing is included, because while migrating the data to Windchill is great to get off the unsupported Pro I 3.4 platform, a migration that doesn't pave the way for future use of Windchill's enhanced capabilities leaves out significant gains.
I am not sure where you are in your vendor selection process, but I'd be happy to quote your migration as well, with your data's post-migration future in mind. If you are interested, feel free to send me a direct e-mail at robert.sindelar@eccellent.com with the statistics on your data and we can schedule a call to talk further about your goals with your data. My company (www.eccellent.com) has decades of experience with Windchill migration, configuration, implementation and support and we are very competitive in pricing as well, and I would appreciate the opportunity to make sure you are getting the best possible option for your migration.
