Document Control Software

By Sara Ferris

Liquid Machines (Waltham, MA) announced Liquid Machines Document Control for SolidWorks 2008 (starts at US$395 per user), a solution designed to protect CAD information. The product integrates with RMS (Windows Rights Management Services) to allow design data to be shared securely using native SolidWorks files and RMS protection.

“Product design, development and manufacturing are collaborative processes that often involve sharing sensitive files, increasing the risk of information misuse,” said Efrat Ravid, Director of Marketing and Alliances,  SolidWorks Corporation. “Because of the nature of the information being accessed and shared during the product development, it is critical that companies prioritize effective data security and protect themselves from data theft and prevent unauthorized access. Liquid Machines helps our customers rest easy knowing that their critical IP is persistently protected no matter where it travels.”

Liquid Machines Document Control can secure subassemblies, design equations,  engineering constraints, measurements and geometric dimensioning data contained within SolidWorks files. Through the pairing of Liquid Machines and Microsoft Rights Management Services (RMS), SolidWorks users can control access and usage of electronic content.

Users can prevent data from being copied, pasted, and saved in different formats. Access and usage permissions remain with the data throughout its entire lifecycle—as it travels from machine to machine, within and beyond the organization—or if attempts are made to copy or excerpt it. Even derived and mirrored parts maintain the security settings of their original parts. In addition, auditing and reporting features inform content owners of who accessed, or attempted to access, their protected information.

Wood Group Pressure Control has used Liquid Machines to protect its intellectual property since December 2006. “Liquid Machines is a critical component of our information protection program,” stated Scott Kelley, IT Manager, Wood Group Pressure Control. “Their newly released SolidWorks support enables us to extend our investment in Microsoft RMS and persistently protect our most valuable intellectual property.”