Blog: Digital Thread & SSOT | Transforming Product Data Management

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Single Source of Truth: Streamlining Product Data with Digital Thread

SUMMARY

As industries embrace digital transformation, the Single Source of Truth (SSOT) revolutionizes how teams manage product data across its lifecycle. Moreover, SSOT integrates systems through the digital thread, providing a unified framework to ensure data consistency, transparency, and real-time decision-making. This blog explores how SSOT disrupts traditional data management, emphasizing intelligent data flow, contextual access, and decentralized ownership. Additionally, discover how this approach, combined with AI and cross-ecosystem collaboration, enhances innovation, traceability, and efficiency in modern product development.

Digital Thread; SSOT

Disrupting Traditional Data Management with SSOT

In traditional approaches, teams often replicated data across systems to ensure everyone had access to the same information. However, while this method was useful in certain contexts, it is now inefficient in a modern, interconnected world. Therefore, here are a few ways to rethink the conventional view of SSOT:

1. RETHINKING DATA OWNERSHIP AND FLOW

The digital thread allows us to move away from the idea that every department “owns” its own data. In the SSOT framework, data no longer exists in silos – ownership becomes decentralized, while access becomes democratized. Different departments interact with and update data across various systems. However, the digital thread ensures everyone can access the most accurate and updated information.

This concept of “data as a service” breaks traditional boundaries. Thus, in this model, data flows across systems, evolving alongside the product. This shift moves data stewardship to the forefront, with teams focusing on maintaining the integrity of their portion of the digital thread rather than controlling or duplicating data.

2. EMPHASIZING DATA CONTEXT OVER DATA CENTRALIZATION

Another disruptive approach in the digital thread emphasizes contextualized data access over centralized storage. Traditionally, teams viewed SSOT as a central repository where all information was stored. Now, with the digital thread, teams access only the relevant, contextualized data they need. For example:

• A manufacturing team might need access to real-time quality control data from the shop floor (via an MES system), while the engineering team needs updates from the design environment (via a PLM system). The digital thread allows each to access the latest relevant data without overwhelming them with unrelated information.

• Data remains distributed across systems, but it’s contextualized for each user, eliminating the need for a massive, monolithic database. Overall, this model is lightweight, agile and scalable.

3. BREAKING DOWN THE BARRIES OF SYSTEM INTEGRATION

While digital threads integrate systems like PLM, ALM, ERP, and MES, they must also embrace the fluidity of modern software architectures, like microservices and event-driven architectures. Indeed, one of the most disruptive trends in this space is to treat the digital thread as a dynamic and evolving entity, not just a static pipeline connecting systems.

For instance, consider a digital thread that automatically evolves based on changes in the product lifecycle – adapting to new system integrations, including external partners, suppliers, or even IoT data streams from the product in the field. This enables businesses to extend traceability and visibility beyond their organizational boundaries, facilitating deeper collaboration across entire value chains.

The digital thread emphasizes contextualized access over centralized storage, disrupting traditional data management strategies.

Real-Time Intelligence without Data Duplication

One of the most profound shifts brought by SSOT in a digital thread strategy is the transition from historical reporting to real-time intelligence. Historically, data duplication and batch processing resulted in decision-making based on past data. However, in a world where products are increasingly software-defined and customer expectations for speed are high, decision-making must be based on live data.

This shift disrupts how businesses have traditionally operated. Instead of analyzing past performance, the digital thread powered by SSOT allows for real-time decision-making:

• Manufacturers detect quality issues as they happen and make immediate adjustments.

• Engineers push software updates to products in the field while tracking hardware dependencies to ensure seamless functionality.

• Compliance officers access real-time data across product lifecycles to ensure regulatory adherence without waiting for post-mortem audits.

This represents a major departure from traditional data management strategies, where delays between data collection, processing and decision-making were accepted as standard.

AI integration within the digital thread enables predictive insights and proactive decision-making.

Leveraging AI for Enhanced Traceability

One of the most exciting disruptions in SSOT within the digital thread is the incorporation of Artificial Intelligence (AI). AI models recognize patterns and predict failures based on data flowing through the digital thread. For instance:

• AI analyzes patterns in product updates and testing data to predict which software changes might cause hardware compatibility issues, allowing proactive intervention.

• Natural Language Processing (NLP) automatically generates traceability reports across systems, identifying discrepancies or gaps in data that might otherwise go unnoticed.

By leveraging AI, the digital thread transforms from a passive framework to an active decision-support system, guiding users toward smarter, faster actions. The digital thread not only ensures accessible data but also ensures teams act on the right data at the right time.

Cross-ecosystem integration is the future of the digital thread, allowing seamless collaboration across value chains.

Embracing Ecosystem Integration

Lastly, we must recognize that the digital thread and SSOT are not confined to internal systems alone. In the future, the most successful implementations of SSOT will involve cross-ecosystem integration, where companies can seamlessly share and trace data across their supply chains, customers, and even regulators.

This, in turn, will allow for:

• The creation of Digital Product Passports (DPPs), where every product’s lifecycle is fully documented and accessible to all relevant stakeholders – enabling sustainable product development and responsible end-of-life management.

• Real-time collaboration with suppliers to ensure that quality issues, regulatory updates, or design changes are reflected across all parties involved in the product’s lifecycle.

Digital Thread Strategy

In the digital thread strategy, Single Source of Truth is not about replicating or storing all data in one place – it’s about creating a unified framework that ensures real-time visibility, integrity, and contextual access to relevant data. As such, by shifting from data replication to dynamic data flow, businesses can break down silos, increase efficiency, and respond in real-time to the challenges of modern product development.

Moreover, as companies continue to integrate and collaborate across increasingly complex ecosystems, the digital thread – and the SSOT that powers it – will become essential for unlocking the next level of innovation, efficiency, and traceability. The key is to embrace fluid, intelligent and connected data systems that move beyond traditional approaches and foster true collaboration in the digital age.

Empower Your Digital Thread with AroTrace

Discover how AroTrace can empower your digital thread implementation by seamlessly connecting your PLM, ALM, ERP and other systems into one framework. Elevate your product development process with advanced traceability, real-time data access and AI support.

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Karan Arora
Karan Arora

Chief Technology Officer

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