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    Overview
    ProductRatingMost Used ByProduct SummaryStarting Price

    Arena PLM and QMS

    Score8.5 out of 10
    N/AArena by PTC is a cloud-based PLM and QMS platform. Arena helps product companies that rely on distributed teams and global supply chains to develop products, ensure regulatory compliance, and respond to customer demands.N/A

    Smartsheet

    Score8.3 out of 10
    N/ASmartsheet is an online project management and collaboration tool. It includes automated alerts, instantaneous updating and sharing across team members, resource management, nested tasks organized in a hierarchy, a Gantt chart view, exportable and automated reports, and integration with email.

    $12

    per month per user (up to 10 users)

    Pricing
    Arena PLM and QMSSmartsheet
    Editions & Modules
    Arena PLM Launch
    Contact Sales
    Arena PLM Enterprise
    Contact Sales
    Arena QMS
    Contact Sales
    Arena QMS Enterprise
    Contact Sales
    Pro
    $12
    per month per user (up to 10 users)
    Business
    $24
    per month per user (3 user minimum)
    Enterprise
    Contact Sales
    Advanced Work Management
    Contact Sales
    Offerings
    Pricing Offerings
    Arena PLM and QMSSmartsheet
    Free Trial
    YesYes
    Free/Freemium Version
    NoNo
    Premium Consulting/Integration Services
    YesNo
    Entry-level Setup FeeRequiredNo setup fee
    Additional DetailsArena's cloud-based PLM and QMS solutions include role-based subscriptions to meet diverse team needs. Their fixed-fee QuickStart™ implementations supports rapid deployment.A discount is offered for annual billing.
    More Pricing Information
    Community Pulse
    Arena PLM and QMSSmartsheet
    Considered Both Products
    Arena by PTC
    Chose Arena PLM and QMS
    As a 20 yr Agile PLM admin and user, it is hard to make a fair comparison. The more I use Arena, the more I am appreciating its depth of capabilities.
    Incentivized
    Smartsheet
    Chose Smartsheet
    Smartsheet has all the basic features of MS Project with a superior collaboration tool. Being cloud-based, it gives user's access from anywhere anytime. Individual engineers and project managers are able to assign tasks and provide updates, improving communication. Project …
    Incentivized
    Key User Insights
    Would buy again
    92%
    Would buy again
    65 Answers
    90%
    Would buy again
    62 Answers
    Delivers good value for the price
    100%
    Delivers good value for the price
    48 Answers
    97%
    Delivers good value for the price
    58 Answers
    Happy with the feature set
    90%
    Happy with the feature set
    64 Answers
    88%
    Happy with the feature set
    61 Answers
    Lived up to sales and marketing promises
    100%
    Lived up to sales and marketing promises
    25 Answers
    98%
    Lived up to sales and marketing promises
    47 Answers
    Implementation went as expected
    92%
    Implementation went as expected
    35 Answers
    96%
    Implementation went as expected
    51 Answers
    Features
    Arena PLM and QMSSmartsheet
    Project Management
    Comparison of Project Management features of Arena PLM and QMS and Smartsheet
    Feature
    Arena PLM and QMS
    -
    Ratings
    Smartsheet
    9.1
    129 Ratings
    17% above category average
    Task Management00 Ratings9.8126 Ratings
    Resource Management00 Ratings10.0108 Ratings
    Gantt Charts00 Ratings9.0109 Ratings
    Scheduling00 Ratings9.8111 Ratings
    Workflow Automation00 Ratings9.2100 Ratings
    Team Collaboration00 Ratings10.0122 Ratings
    Support for Agile Methodology00 Ratings8.981 Ratings
    Support for Waterfall Methodology00 Ratings9.079 Ratings
    Document Management00 Ratings9.2101 Ratings
    Email integration00 Ratings9.0100 Ratings
    Mobile Access00 Ratings8.096 Ratings
    Timesheet Tracking00 Ratings9.762 Ratings
    Change request and Case Management00 Ratings8.169 Ratings
    Budget and Expense Management00 Ratings8.075 Ratings
    Professional Services Automation
    Comparison of Professional Services Automation features of Arena PLM and QMS and Smartsheet
    Feature
    Arena PLM and QMS
    -
    Ratings
    Smartsheet
    7.9
    66 Ratings
    3% above category average
    Quotes/estimates00 Ratings8.144 Ratings
    Invoicing00 Ratings7.537 Ratings
    Project & financial reporting00 Ratings8.760 Ratings
    Integration with accounting software00 Ratings7.332 Ratings
    Best Alternatives
    Arena PLM and QMSSmartsheet
    Small Businesses
    No answers on this topic
    Any.do
    Score8 out of 10
    Medium-sized Companies
    Teamcenter
    Score9.4 out of 10
    KanbanFlow
    Score7.3 out of 10
    Enterprises
    SAP Integrated Product Development
    Score9 out of 10
    Microsoft To Do
    Score7.9 out of 10
    All AlternativesView all alternativesView all alternatives
    User Ratings
    Arena PLM and QMSSmartsheet
    Likelihood to Recommend
    8.2
    (220 ratings)
    9.3
    (146 ratings)
    Likelihood to Renew
    9.0
    (5 ratings)
    9.0
    (24 ratings)
    Usability
    5.6
    (17 ratings)
    9.2
    (17 ratings)
    Availability
    9.0
    (3 ratings)
    -
    (0 ratings)
    Performance
    9.1
    (3 ratings)
    10.0
    (1 ratings)
    Support Rating
    9.9
    (18 ratings)
    8.1
    (45 ratings)
    Online Training
    8.2
    (2 ratings)
    7.0
    (1 ratings)
    Implementation Rating
    8.3
    (2 ratings)
    10.0
    (6 ratings)
    Configurability
    8.7
    (2 ratings)
    -
    (0 ratings)
    Product Scalability
    9.1
    (3 ratings)
    -
    (0 ratings)
    Vendor post-sale
    8.0
    (1 ratings)
    -
    (0 ratings)
    Vendor pre-sale
    9.0
    (1 ratings)
    -
    (0 ratings)
    User Testimonials
    Arena PLM and QMSSmartsheet
    Likelihood to Recommend
    Arena by PTC
    Arena PLM is well suited for part number, BOM and file management. Processing changes (ECNs, ACOs, DCO's, etc.) in Arena is very easy to do and provides great visibility on the status of submitted requests. The ability to communicate with Suppliers and grant them access to files in Arena is extremely helpful. Arena does not appear to be the best suited system for managing software
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Smartsheet
    Smartsheet shines for collaboration. When you have multiple people involved with planning events Smartsheet makes it easy to share and collaborate. For instance, multiple people can be in Smartsheet working at the same time. Also setting permissions for exactly those who need to know is quite easy with Smartsheet. For data analytics and general spreadsheet purposes Excel is better but for project management and event planning Smartsheet is superior
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Pros
    Arena by PTC
    • It provides easy, 'login-anywhere' internet cloud-based access to fundamental PLM functions.
    • It provides secure access control for employees & vendors (but you pay per person for access licenses).
    • Data is effectively 'always backed up' in the internet-cloud.
    • There is an option to attach thumbnail graphics representative of each item and create a Bill of Materials view that also displays the graphics to help provide item recognition for BOM readers.
    Read full review
    Smartsheet
    • Its hard to overstate the value of familiarity. Being able to use a tool that has some familiarity takes away the time needed to train and orient employees on a new tool and allows an organization to hit the ground running.
    • Smartsheet covers most of the basics of a project management tool, the usual tasks, milestones and project viewing options.
    • For data viewing, you get multiple data viewing options including a calendar view (good for marketing teams and those who work around scheduling), Kanban, Gaant etc
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Cons
    Arena by PTC
    • In my opinion, the Help Pages clearly do not realize that a picture is worth a 1,000 words; need illustrations and screenshots!
    • I think the 'Save' button when editing Quality Processes needs to "float" on the active page, not lurking at the bottom.
    • In my experience, the Arena PLM and QMS Training programs need to be revamped to include "real-world" examples and working through examples, not simply reading through a training manual.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Smartsheet
    • Smartsheet set up is similar to Excel, yet when you upload an Excel file, things like conditional formatting are lost. Smartsheet has its own conditional formatting, and you have to reinstate the rules. It would be great if those would apply automatically once a file is uploaded
    • Some Smartsheet management and access rules can take some tweaking to work properly. This may be a case of offering more info to admins so they can apply these better and with more efficiency
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Likelihood to Renew
    Arena by PTC
    We have so much time and effort invested into Arena. The history of approvals, revisions, etc. are necessary for many of our customers. We also have entire device histories recorded. Having to re-create that on another platform would be a feat requiring years of effort. But mostly, Arena just works. It's transformed our business into a much more streamlined system, resulting in a massive cost and time savings.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Smartsheet
    It definitely meets our needs as far as organizing and archiving our tasks and files. As we train more staff to view it, I see opportunities for more improvement, which I am sure this program can handle. I look forward to seeing continued improvement from Smartsheet on their capabilities and functionality.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Usability
    Arena by PTC
    Arena has improved their UI over the years that I've used it to make it more user friendly. Additionally, there is a lot of redundancy within Arena (multiple ways to achieve the same end), which makes it easier to learn.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Smartsheet
    Smartsheet is very easy to learn. However, while I have been able to pick it easily, Microsoft Excel and Project super users that I have trained on Smartsheet get bogged down in the differences and can find it frustrating. Explaining the differences ahead of time and why Smartsheet is being chosen instead of a different software seems to counteract those reactions
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Reliability and Availability
    Arena by PTC
    Seems like when I need to access our workspace for an emergency situation, this is when maintenance is scheduled, just the luck of the draw, I guess, and I just wait until the maintenance is complete, and then can proceed
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Smartsheet
    No answers on this topic
    Performance
    Arena by PTC
    We use a few other software or systems (Silicon expert) and it is seamless to us, pages load quickly and efficiently.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Smartsheet
    No answers on this topic
    Support Rating
    Arena by PTC
    Upon initial observation, Arena Solution appears to possess a rather intricate nature, yet this complexity was effectively navigated during the initial configuration phase with the invaluable assistance of an expert well-versed in Arena, a factor that greatly contributed to our comprehensive mastery and autonomous handling of Arena Solutions thereafter.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Smartsheet
    I give this rating because it fills a niche in the market. MS Project scares many away from proper task management but there are limited tools our there, especially cloud-based that are mobile-friendly. Smartsheet fills this market gap, especially for small to medium-sized businesses. IT is not fair to compare it to MS Project, but fairer to see what gaps it fills.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Online Training
    Arena by PTC
    The On line training was easy to understand and was very efficient for most of our users. We used the training tools to make sure we use all of the features to their fullest and correctly! After a few weeks mos of our users were very proficient with ARENA PLM and were able to work on their own and use mos of the sections and PLM capablilities.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Smartsheet
    No answers on this topic
    Implementation Rating
    Arena by PTC
    Pretty straightforward, from OOB
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Smartsheet
    It's absolutely paramount to take a few minutes to actually play with the software. It's nearly impossible to do anything wrong or make a mistake which cannot be fixed easily. Under the help menu is Live Training option. After you familiarize yourself with the commands, watch the live training for some in depth understanding of how to make the software fit your needs perfectly.
    Read full review
    Alternatives Considered
    Arena by PTC
    Arena is much better than QAD in terms of BOMs and ECOs and Revision Control. We use Arena concurrently with SAP and they integrate very well together, which is nice. The integration team was really helpful in making sure that the SAP to Arena functionality runs smoothly, and when there are any issues, they are very responsive to help make changes to fix the problem that might be there.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Smartsheet
    Jira and Redmine are much more robust and technologically advanced project management solutions. I enjoy using either when managing a very large project. However, I prefer to use Smartsheet for my smaller to medium sized projects. As for Google Drive - I would say that Google sheets and Smartsheet are almost identical in my opinion when it comes to functionality. Personally I prefer to manage smaller projects via Google Drive, but it is a personal preference!
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Scalability
    Arena by PTC
    Arena is easy to customize and therefore easy to scale. Different user groups with access restrictions can be easily created and new training plans can be created to support different user bases. Suppliers can also easily be added or items can be shared with them
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Smartsheet
    No answers on this topic
    Return on Investment
    Arena by PTC
    • Decreased the company's time to market for release of its second generation flagship product.
    • Decreased the turn around on non-conformance reports (NCRs), supplier corrective action reports (SCARs), and corrective and preventative actions (CAPAs).
    • Better organized the company's process maps, DHF, and other regulatory related information so that major audits are completed faster and with fewer findings.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Smartsheet
    • This has really opened up collaboration across teams. A lot less working in silos.
    • It hasn't fully replaced any one tool so it means having to go to another place. Hopefully, we can eliminate a tool or two in the next six months.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    ScreenShots

    Arena PLM and QMS Screenshots

    Screenshot of Arena Bill of Materials (BOM) Management. Indented BOM displaying "in production" item status.Screenshot of Arena Engineering Change Management.  Engineering Change Order (ECO) approval with redlines.Screenshot of Arena Projects. Project schedule with status and progress.Screenshot of Arena Quality. Quality process showing a Corrective Action Report (CAR) with the issue details, affected items, and resolution progress/status.Screenshot of Arena Requirements. Tracks requirements and related product development issues for a complete product picture.Screenshot of Arena Analytics, Arena's business intelligence (BI) tool