Future-Proof Your Engineering: Migrate from SOLIDWORKS ePDM to 3DEXPERIENCE

• Why companies are moving beyond ePDM — the real-world pains and drivers.
• The 3DEXPERIENCE advantages: Unified Product Structure (UPS), the digital thread, and cross-functional collaboration.
• Cloud versus on-premises 3DEXPERIENCE — how to choose the right deployment model.
• Migration strategies: big bang, phased, or on-demand.
• Best practices for securing data integrity, reducing manual errors, and accelerating migration timelines.
• A demonstration of the cloud-based Migration Widget, with ETL tracking in real time.

Engineering managers, PLM managers, PLM owners, IT managers, solution architects, PDM/PLM administrators and digital transformation leaders.

• KZ

  Kalpesh Zalavadia

  COO, Founder · SteepGraph Systems

  LinkedIn
• JE

  Jeff Erno

  Technical Fellow · Dassault Systèmes

  LinkedIn

How do you handle version history during migration? Will we retain all past revisions and approval records?

Yes. All historical revisions, metadata and references from ePDM can be extracted and preserved. The SteepGraph ETL platform migrates revision history into 3DEXPERIENCE, maintaining full traceability, so customers don’t lose past approvals or audit trails.

Can custom properties and user-defined metadata from ePDM be mapped and preserved in 3DEXPERIENCE?

Absolutely. Custom properties and UDFs are mapped to the appropriate attributes in 3DEXPERIENCE. Where no direct field match exists, the ETL tool provides configurable mappings, ensuring no critical design or product data is lost.

What’s the strategy for managing broken references in legacy SOLIDWORKS files?

The ETL framework runs automated pre-checks to detect missing, broken or circular references before migration. These are flagged, corrected and validated in test runs, so the final go-live is clean and reliable.

How does your ETL tool handle linked drawings and assemblies spread across multiple vaults?

The tool consolidates data from multiple vaults, re-establishes parent–child references and keeps assemblies intact. This reduces manual effort and minimises migration risk.

How do you transition ePDM lifecycle workflows to the 3DEXPERIENCE lifecycle?

Workflows are first analysed and simplified. Then lifecycle states from ePDM are mapped into 3DEXPERIENCE to maintain continuity — often giving customers the chance to streamline and modernise approval steps.

Between big bang, selective and continuous migration, which approach do customers favour most, and why?

Smaller organisations prefer big bang for simplicity and speed. Larger enterprises usually adopt selective or continuous migration, managing risk by focusing on active projects first and phasing in adoption smoothly.

Do you use Dassault’s Transition Agent during migration?

Yes. We work with Dassault’s Transition Agent wherever it is required, so our approach stays fully compatible with Dassault’s standards. On top of that, our ETL framework adds capabilities — data cleansing, validation and automation — that make the migration smoother, faster and less risky.

When customers ask which deployment model is best (cloud or on-premises), what criteria should they consider?

Key factors include security requirements, IT maturity, regulatory needs and infrastructure preferences. Many now choose 3DEXPERIENCE Cloud for faster deployment, automatic updates and scalability, while on-premises remains preferred where strict data control is essential.

Can 2D objects such as PDFs and CAD drawings, stored as part specifications, be migrated even if they are not organised under a UPS structure?

Yes. You can use UPS for migrating non-3D data, including such specifications.

How are Toolbox and Routing components managed during migration — what happens if they were already migrated and appear again in an on-demand migration?

The SteepGraph migration tool recognises Toolbox and Routing components and prevents duplication. Components migrated earlier are detected and skipped, so only new or updated data is transferred to the 3DEXPERIENCE platform.

Was the Migration ETL widget demonstration showing migration to 3DEXPERIENCE on-premises or cloud?

The demo showed migration to a 3DEXPERIENCE on-premises environment. The ETL widget supports both on-premises and cloud deployments, so customers can choose the approach that fits their IT strategy.