Today the midmarket accounts for at least $2.5 billion (or about 45%) of the PLM software sold annually, according to AMR. And these numbers don't even include the $5-billion computer-aided design (CAD) segment of the market, where many smaller enterprises often get their start on engineering and design workstations. Among midsized manufacturers, AMR expects 12% annual growth in PLM spending, versus 9% for the PLM market as a whole.

Product lifecycle management enables companies to manage and support all the information surrounding their various products and parts -- from initial design and engineering diagrams to bills of material, manufacturing documents, sourcing details and maintenance data. For midmarket and smaller enterprises, many vendors sell PLM as preconfigured software templates. These templates are geared to vertical industries in which CAD systems are integral to the manufacturing or design process.