Dropbox as effective PDM tool

Finding a good solution for PDM in small agile product development environments can be an expensive and complex proposition. In our latest development effort, we had a team of four engineers and designers sharing a SolidWorks database in remote locations. In order to determine the most efficient and cost-effective file sharing solution, ZIP Associate, Michael Hess compared a number of options including email, FTP, Dropbox, PDM and a Cloud Server. We decided to use a shared folder in Dropbox that synchs the data on local computers. Once the database became significant in size we noted several challenges using Dropbox in this manner. After understanding the idiosyncrasies with Dropbox and SolidWorks, we were able to set-up some simple guidelines that allowed us to use Dropbox effectively as a product data management tool for the team. if you are interested in learning more about our comparison and key learnings, please feel free to email and request our white paper entitled "Managing SolidWorks CAD Data in Small, Collaborative, Distributed Teams".