Stay Sharp in Digital Engineering

Model-Based Systems Engineering (MBSE) is often viewed as a heavyweight discipline reserved for aerospace, defense, or highly regulated industries. In this episode of Stay Sharp , hosts Juliann Grant and Jonathan Scott challenge that assumption. Joined by Eran Reinshmidt and Safae El Abkari from Dassault Systèmes , the conversation explores how MBSE principles apply directly to fast-moving consume...

In this episode of the Stay Sharp podcast, Juliann and Jonathan continue their digital product series with returning guest Oleg Shilovitsky, Co-Founder and CEO of OpenBOM. With over 25 years of experience in PLM and engineering software, Oleg unveils what truly sets OpenBOM apart—and why traditional PLM systems fail modern manufacturing organizations. From the shift from single-company databases t...

What will digital engineering and manufacturing really look like in 2026?  In this forward-looking episode of Stay Sharp in Digital Engineering, hosts Juliann Grant and Jonathan Scott step back from day-to-day execution and examine the trends, technologies, and curveballs shaping the next phase of the industry.  From AI-driven data enrichment and digital twins moving beyond PLM, to ERP vendors ent...

As 2025 comes to a close, Stay Sharp in Digital Engineering takes a look back at a year of standout conversations, memorable insights, and practical lessons from across the digital engineering landscape. In this special year-end episode, hosts Juliann Grant and Jonathan Scott revisit powerful soundbites from guests who helped shape the show’s most meaningful discussions.  Spanning AI, digital thre...

Episode Summary AI is everywhere, but in engineering and manufacturing, hype often outpaces reality. In this episode of Stay Sharp in Digital Engineering , we unpack what it actually means to be “AI-ready” and why most organizations are struggling to get there. Hosts Juliann Grant and Jonathan Scott are joined by Graham Law , PLM Solution Architect at Razorleaf, to explore the unglamorous but esse...

In this episode, Juliann and Jonathan sit down with John Salyers and Korey Greene of Sea Box, a company transforming standard shipping containers into high-engineering, mission-ready solutions. This is a refreshingly honest look at a PLM journey filled with false starts, side-hustle implementation work, CAD file chaos, revision control challenges, and the realities of deploying PLM in a fast-movin...

In this episode of Stay Sharp in Digital Engineering , hosts Juliann Grant and Jonathan Scott sit down with globally recognized PLM pioneer Dr. Martin Eigner to unpack the evolving landscape of PLM, digital threads, configuration management, and cross-enterprise integration. Dr. Eigner brings decades of research, academic leadership, and industry experience to dissect topics many engineering leade...

Why Data Models Matter in Digital Engineering (Now More Than Ever) In this episode, Juliann Grant and Jonathan Scott dive deep into the growing conversation around data models in digital engineering. With increasing pressure to enable the digital thread , digital twins , and emerging AI capabilities , understanding how data is structured and why it varies across systems is more critical than ever....

In this episode of Stay Sharp in Digital Engineering, hosts Jonathan Scot t and Juliann Grant sit down with Oleg Shilovitsky , CEO and co-founder of OpenBOM , for a candid conversation about why so many engineering and manufacturing companies struggle with product data—and what they can do differently. Oleg breaks down the realities of managing product structure, BOMs, and cross-system data flow,...

In this episode of Stay Sharp in Digital Engineering , hosts Juliann Grant and Jonathan Scott sit down with Razorleaf’s Vice President of Business Development, Derek Neiding , to unpack how manufacturers can start smart when implementing complex digital engineering systems like PLM (Product Lifecycle Management) and MES (Manufacturing Execution Systems) . The trio explores practical strategies for...

In this episode of Stay Sharp in Digital Engineering , hosts Juliann Grant and Jonathan Scott continue their digital product series with Eric Schrader, Chief Product Officer at Propel Software. Together, they explore how Propel’s Product Value Management (PVM) platform expands beyond traditional PLM to unify teams, processes, and data across the entire product lifecycle—from concept to customer. E...

In this episode of Stay Sharp in Digital Engineering , hosts Juliann Grant and Jonathan Scott continue the Digital Product Series with a deep dive into First Resonance, a company redefining how modern manufacturers operate. Our guest, Devin Patel, Head of Solutions at First Resonance, shares how their flagship platform ION—a modular, data-driven factory operating system—helps manufacturers move fa...

In this episode, the team reconnects with Michael Finocchiaro to unpack his research into 300+ startups transforming the digital engineering landscape . From PLM and CAD to industrial AI and adaptive manufacturing, Michael reveals how new technologies, global innovation hubs, and AI-driven design tools are reshaping how products are developed, simulated, and produced. Listeners will gain a data-dr...

In this episode, the Razorleaf team continues the Digital Product Series by spotlighting Propel Software —a next-generation PLM company built on the Salesforce platform. Juliann and Jonathan sit down with Tom Shoemaker , VP of Product Marketing at Propel, to explore how the company is redefining product lifecycle management by unifying engineering, sales, marketing, and service. Tom shares how Pro...

In this episode of Stay Sharp in Digital Engineering , hosts Juliann Grant and Jonathan Scott sit down with Devin Patel , Head of Solutions at First Resonance , to explore how manufacturing companies—startups and established players alike—can rethink the way they build and scale their operations. Devin shares insights on moving away from traditional monolithic systems like ERP and MES toward a mor...

🔍 Episode Overview In this episode, the Razorleaf team unpacks insights from the Global Product Data Interoperability Summit (GPDIS) in Phoenix — one of the industry’s most collaborative events where aerospace and manufacturing leaders come together to solve shared challenges around data, digital engineering, and interoperability. From AI skepticism to digital thread strategy, Juliann, Jonathan,...

In this episode of Stay Sharp in Digital Engineering, hosts Juliann Grant and Jonathan Scott welcome back Steve Nichols, head of Razorleaf Government Solutions, to explore how digital engineering is transforming government contracts and supply chains. From DOD digital engineering requirements to data rights and risk management, they unpack what contractors—especially small businesses—need to know...

In this episode of Stay Sharp in Digital Engineering , hosts Juliann Grant and Jonathan Scott sit down with Mark Borcher from Razorleaf Government Solutions to tackle a rarely discussed but critical topic: retiring legacy business systems . Mark brings nearly two decades of experience in engineering, system integration, and enterprise transformation, and he shares what really goes into shutting do...

In this episode of Stay Sharp in Digital Engineering , we sit down with Frank Patz-Brockmann, Chief Product & Technology Officer at CONTACT Software, to explore one of the most mature yet under-the-radar platforms in the PLM space. Frank shares how CONTACT Software—best known in Germany but lesser-known in North America—has evolved from its early days as "CIM Database" into the highl...

In this special 100th episode of Stay Sharp in Digital Engineering, the team celebrates with a twist—turning the show into a game of acronym bingo! Host Juliann welcomes back Jennifer Ferello, alongside Jonathan Scott and Eric Doubell, for a fast-paced contest to identify 100 acronyms from the world of digital engineering, PLM, and beyond. Expect laughter, a few stumpers, plenty of partial credit,...

In this episode of Stay Sharp in Digital Engineering , hosts Juliann Grant and Jonathan Scott sit down with AI expert Alex Bruskin to cut through the hype and explore the real impact of artificial intelligence on the world of digital engineering. From the history of AI and its convergence of compute power, algorithms, and data — to practical, high-value use cases in PLM, CAD, MBSE, and manufacturi...

In this episode of Stay Sharp in Digital Engineering , we kick off our Digital Product Series with a deep dive into CONTACT Software—a company that has been shaping the digital engineering space for over 30 years but remains relatively unknown in North America. Our guest, Dimitri Baumtrok, Head of International Sales at CONTACT Software, joins Juliann Grant and Jonathan Scott to share the company’...

In this forward-looking episode of Stay Sharp in Digital Engineering, hosts Juliann Grant and Jonathan Scott sit down with PLM authority Michael “Fino” Finocchiaro to unpack how AI, emerging startups, and evolving technologies are transforming the Product Lifecycle Management (PLM) landscape. From industry giants like Dassault Systèmes, Siemens, and PTC to disruptive newcomers, the conversation co...

In Part 2 of our conversation with MBSE expert David Long, we dive deeper into the evolution of model-based systems engineering, tracing its roots, tool development, and growing relevance across industries. You’ll hear how MBSE emerged as a way to improve communication between disciplines, especially between systems and software engineers, and why it's becoming an indispensable part of modern...

In this episode of Stay Sharp in Digital Engineering , hosts Juliann Grant and Jonathan Scott sit down with Fernando Valera, Chief Technology Officer at Visure Solutions, to tackle one of the most complex challenges in modern product development: aligning hardware and software lifecycles through integrated requirements engineering. With decades of experience in requirements management, Fernando of...