Custom platform development is justified over commercial software configuration in four situations. The problem is too specific: the workflow or integration requirement is unique to the organization’s products, processes, or system landscape and no commercial application addresses it without extensive unsupported customization. The configuration cost exceeds build cost: extensive commercial software configuration generates a high ongoing maintenance burden (upgrade compatibility, vendor support dependency) that exceeds the lifecycle cost of a custom build. Strategic differentiation: the capability represents a genuine competitive advantage that the organization does not want to share with competitors using the same commercial product. Integration complexity: the platform must integrate multiple systems (CAD, CAE, PLM, SAP, test data) in a way that no commercial integration product supports, requiring custom middleware regardless of the application layer.
The EMUG BUILD Framework is EMUG’s five-phase custom engineering platform delivery methodology, standing for: Business case define, User experience design, Implement iteratively, Launch production, and Deliver maintainability. It reduces delivery risk through three mechanisms: business case validation before any code is written (confirming the platform investment is financially justified and requirements are agreed before development begins), iterative delivery with working functionality at each two-week sprint (giving engineering users the opportunity to identify problems with early working software rather than discovering them only at final delivery), and explicit maintainability delivery as a final phase (ensuring source code, documentation, and test suites are handed over in a state that internal teams can use).
EMUG selects technology stacks based on the client’s internal IT capabilities, hosting environment, and integration requirements rather than EMUG preferences. For backend application logic: Python (FastAPI, Django) for data processing, scientific computing, and CAE integration; .NET (C#, ASP.NET Core) for Windows-native environments and deep CAD API integration; Java for enterprise environments requiring JVM-based services. For frontend: React for modern web applications, Angular for enterprise IT governance environments, and PyQt or WinForms for desktop tools requiring native CAD environment integration. For databases: PostgreSQL for relational data, TimescaleDB for time-series engineering data, MongoDB for document-structured engineering data. For hosting: on-premise Windows or Linux servers, Azure (AKS, App Service), or AWS (ECS, Lambda) based on client cloud platform.
EMUG integrates custom platforms with Teamcenter through three mechanisms: the Teamcenter SOA (Service-Oriented Architecture) web services layer for data operations (create, read, update, search across Teamcenter business objects); the Teamcenter TCCS (Thin Client Communication Services) REST API for lighter-weight browser-based integration; and the Teamcenter ITK (Integration Toolkit) for deep server-side integrations running as Teamcenter server extensions. For Windchill, integration uses the Windchill RESTful Services layer for data operations, Windchill RPC (Remote Procedure Call) for server-side integrations, and OOTB Windchill connectors for standard integration patterns. EMUG designs integration architecture to use standard APIs rather than database-level access — ensuring integrations survive PLM version upgrades without requiring rebuild.
Custom platforms in regulated engineering industries must satisfy software-related requirements of the applicable regulatory framework. For AS9100 (aerospace): EMUG establishes software requirements traceability linking each platform function to a documented requirement, maintains a software configuration management system tracking all code versions, and produces test records for each functional area. For ITAR (US defense): platform architecture confirms that export-controlled data never transits non-US infrastructure, user access is controlled through role-based access aligned to ITAR authorization, and audit logs record all access to controlled data. For ISO 26262 (automotive functional safety): for platforms that output data used in safety analysis, EMUG applies the appropriate Automotive Safety Integrity Level (ASIL) software development process requirements to those functional components.
A focused custom engineering platform — a single-function tool such as a product configurator for one product family, an engineering calculation application covering one calculation type, or a design review portal for one product program — takes three to six months to build using the EMUG BUILD Framework. A comprehensive engineering data platform integrating multiple systems (PLM, SAP, CAE, test data) with multiple functional modules takes eight to eighteen months. A full simulation management platform with HPC orchestration and PLM integration takes six to twelve months. EMUG delivers working functionality to engineering users from the end of the first two-week sprint — ensuring that users can see and validate the platform direction from week four of the program rather than waiting until final delivery.
Engineering workflow evolution after platform deployment is managed through the maintainability foundation EMUG establishes in the BUILD Deliver Maintainability phase. Source code is fully documented and structured for readability by internal engineering IT developers who did not build the original platform. An automated test suite covers the core functional areas so that changes can be made with confidence that existing functionality is not broken. Architecture documentation explains how the system components fit together so that developers can add new modules or modify existing ones without needing to reverse-engineer the design. For clients without adequate internal development capability for larger changes, EMUG offers an annual maintenance retainer providing a defined number of development days for platform evolution work.
EMUG delivers custom engineering platforms to automotive OEMs and Tier 1 suppliers (IATF 16949 audit trail requirements, OEM-specific integration standards), aerospace and defense organizations (AS9100, DO-178C software considerations, ITAR compliance), industrial machinery manufacturers (CE marking documentation platforms, ISO 9001 compliance), energy and oil and gas companies (asset data management, inspection management), and engineering services and EPC firms (multi-discipline coordination, client deliverable management). Delivery countries include Germany, France, UK, Netherlands, Sweden, Italy, Spain, Poland, Czech Republic, UAE, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Kuwait, Bahrain, India, China, Japan, South Korea, Malaysia, Thailand, USA, Canada, Mexico, Brazil, South Africa, Nigeria, and Kenya.
