Arena Solutions announced the Fall 2012 release of its cloud-based BOMControl bill of materials and change management software system. "New features simplify and speed the process of creating and managing bills of materials," said Steve Chalgren, Arena's vice president of product management and strategy. "The bottom line for engineering users is savings in time and money." The new PartSaver bookmarklet allows users to update their BOMControl workspace with new item and supplier item (approved manufacturers and vendors for the item) records (and the source relationships that connect those records) while browsing component sites. PartSaver supports several major component sites. Arena has partnered with PingOne to offer a tier-one cloud single sign-on (SSO) solution. Once users log into an SSO system, they will not need to re-authenticate with BOMControl. This simplifies IT overhead for password and user management, especially for larger companies with hundreds or thousands of employees, the company says. Users can extend their company's Active Directory or LDAP (Lightweight Directory Access Protocol) solutions to include authentication into Arena BOMControl. The feature also minimizes typical issues of password synchronization and auditing. In the new Lookup BOM, engineers can obtain base information about parts during the design phase of product development. With a single click of a button, they can review an entire BOM's specifications and compliance information, and download datasheets. Arena has partnered with Octopart for real-time part information. Additional updates in the Fall 2012 release include broader file delivery options to Arena document control users from design partners and supply chain members. The software features more inclusive change request capabilities, and faster and higher export limits. For more information, visit Arena Solutions. Sources: Press materials received from the company and additional information gleaned from the company's website. | 
