PTC today announced that it has signed a definitive agreement to acquire ServiceMax from an entity controlled by Silver Lake in a debt-free, cashless manner for approximately $1.46 billion. ServiceMax is a recognized leader in cloud-based, product-centric field service management (FSM) software. The acquisition is expected to strengthen PTC’s closed-loop product lifecycle management (PLM) offerings, extending the digital mainline of product information to downstream enterprise asset management (EAM) and FSM capabilities. Subject to regulatory approvals and other applicable closing conditions, the transaction is expected to close in early January 2023.

“The addition of ServiceMax will enable a key part of PTC’s closed-loop PLM strategy,” said Jim Heppelmann, president and CEO of PTC. PTC’s long-standing PLM capabilities for engineering and manufacturing provide a system of record for the digital definition of any product configuration. ServiceMax will complement this by providing a system of record for monitoring and services after product instances leave the factory and enter customer use. Upon completion of this acquisition, PTC will have the unique ability to complement our complete digital product definition of Computer Aided Design (CAD) and PLM solutions with detailed usage information of our Internet of Things (IoT) solutions and ServiceMax’s complete service history. PTC will be the only company that can provide manufacturers with this comprehensive view at every stage of the product life cycle.”

“ServiceMax and PTC have a long-standing relationship rooted in the common characteristics of our customers, the natural synergies of our products, and a shared understanding of the importance of product data at different stages of the lifecycle, “said Neil Barua, CEO of ServiceMax. “PTC has a strong and consistent footprint of success, and now following the growth and innovation we have achieved during our time with Silver Lake, we are excited that the ServiceMax team will be able to enhance PTC’s digital main line and closed-loop PLM portfolio of service offerings.”

As partners since 2015, PTC and ServiceMax both support manufacturers of complex, highly configured products in medical devices, industrial products, aerospace and related verticals. These manufacturers view field service as a strategic component of their business to maintain product performance, extend product life cycles, improve customer satisfaction, drive revenue growth, and expand profitability.

ServiceMax provides a comprehensive set of cloud-native FSM capabilities built on the Salesforce platform. These functions include managing all information related to the product being served – product description, serial number, service history, etc. – creating and managing work orders, and scheduling and scheduling technicians. ServiceMax’s FSM capabilities are also tightly integrated with Salesforce’s customer Relationship management (CRM) system, linking a deep understanding of the product with an equally deep insight into the customer.

The FSM capabilities of ServiceMax will complement PTC’s entire digital mainline portfolio: Leveraging the product-defined data of PTC’s Creo and Windchill solutions, the technology release capabilities of PTC’s Arbortext software, the service part management capabilities of PTC’s Servigistics software, and the iot and digital twin capabilities of PTC’s ThingWorx solution, And the augmented reality (AR) capabilities of PTC’s Vuforia software. For example, by remotely monitoring connected products with ThingWorx, customers can proactively detect service requirements and automatically generate service orders in ServiceMax. Service technicians can take advantage of 2D work orders in Arbortext or 3D AR work orders created in Vuforia from digital product definition information created in Creo and managed in Windchill. Technicians can also take advantage of a more detailed understanding of service activities to better optimize spare parts inventory with Servigistics.