Enterprise software fails when it asks you to choose. Forge doesn't ask. Connect it to what you have, run it in parallel, and expand coverage only where it makes sense. Rip-and-replace is optional — not required.
Most Forge deployments follow four phases. You control the pace.
Attach Forge to your existing systems via the built-in adapters. Forge reads your CMMS work order history, your ERP stock levels, your SCADA sensor feeds, and your PLM design revisions. Nothing is written back yet. Your existing systems keep running exactly as they do today.
This phase takes under 15 minutes with the setup wizard. The output is a live ForgeMachine graph pre-populated with historical data from your existing stack.
With Forge connected and reading, you can directly compare what your existing systems tell you versus what Forge is telling you — for the same machine events, the same faults, the same parts. This is where the gaps in your current stack become visible.
Common findings: fault classifications that don't match, parts that were consumed but not recorded, repeat failures that were each treated as first occurrences. You decide what matters.
Extend Forge into the areas your existing tools don't reach well. ForgeOps capturing fault-to-dispatch latency. ForgeMaint tracking first-time fix rates. ForgeCAD linking design changes to maintenance outcomes. These are the Forge-native capabilities that your CMMS, ERP, and SCADA weren't designed to provide.
You don't need to retire anything to do this. Forge adds coverage. Your existing systems keep running in their lanes.
Over time, some of your existing tools become redundant. The CMMS work order module that requires three manual entries to log a repair. The spreadsheet someone maintains to track repeat failures. The paper schematic binder in the maintenance room. Replace those. Keep everything else.
There's no mandate to consolidate. If Maximo is deeply embedded in your organisation, keep Maximo. Forge will keep reading from it and writing context back into your machine graph.
Each adapter is read-first. Forge learns from your existing data before it produces anything new.
SOLIDWORKS / Creo / NX
CAD authoring
Your engineers keep using them. Forge ingests the files.
ForgeCAD reads STEP, IGES, and native formats. Every imported part enters the Forge graph with full revision history — without asking engineers to change tools.
IBM Maximo / SAP PM / Oracle EAM
CMMS / EAM
Forge reads your existing WO history on day one.
The ForgeHub adapter pulls historical work orders, asset records, and maintenance schedules. ForgeMachine immediately has context — fault history, PM intervals, component replacements — from data you already captured.
SAP / Oracle ERP
Procurement and inventory
ForgeProcure reads your on-hand stock and vendor catalogue.
Before Forge raises a PO, it checks your ERP for on-hand quantity, open POs, and approved vendors. If stock is sufficient, no PO is raised. If not, the draft PO is pre-populated with your existing vendor and part number.
Siemens Teamcenter / PTC Windchill
PLM / PDM
Forge doesn't touch your PLM vault.
ForgeHub subscribes to design change events from your PLM system. When a revision is released, Forge propagates it downstream: machine job queues, maintenance procedures, procurement BOMs — without requiring a separate change notification workflow.
Hexagon / Cognex / KeyenceVision
Metrology and inspection
Inspection results enter the Forge digital thread.
ForgeMachine accepts SPC and CMM results from your existing metrology systems. Measurement data is linked to the originating design revision and GD&T callout — closing the loop between what was designed, what was manufactured, and what was measured.
Ignition / Wonderware / FactoryTalk
SCADA / HMI
ForgeMachine reads your existing sensor data.
Forge connects via OPC-UA or REST to your existing SCADA layer. You don't re-wire your PLCs. ForgeMachine subscribes to the same tags your HMI already reads — and adds the machine graph, fault classification, and maintenance dispatch on top.
Forge adds a connected layer on top of your existing investments. None of these require replacement.
Typical enterprise software deployment
Forge deployment
Connect Forge to a single machine on your floor. Watch what it does with a fault. Compare it to what your existing systems recorded. That's the whole evaluation.