Aras Corp offers enterprise open source software on Microsoft platform

On 23/01/2007, Aras Corp announced a shift in its business model to offer the Aras Innovator Product Lifecycle Management suite as enterprise open-source software built exclusively on Microsoft technologies. The company made the full production-ready software available for download without initial licensing fees, while generating revenue through optional subscriptions for technical support, updates, and consulting services. The move replaced Aras’ previous proprietary licensing approach. Aras Innovator was designed to run on the Microsoft .NET Framework and Microsoft SQL Server, aligning the platform with enterprise environments already using Microsoft infrastructure. The release utilized the Microsoft Community License, which allowed modification and redistribution of the software. The company said removing upfront costs and per-user licensing fees would encourage adoption and allow organizations to deploy PLM capabilities more broadly. The 2007 version, Innovator 8, featured a model-based architecture built on service-oriented design principles. It used XML and SOAP web services to enable customization and integration with other enterprise systems. Aras stated that the technical design allowed companies to adapt the platform to specific business processes without modifying core code, supporting flexible deployments across manufacturing and engineering environments.