Is this a discussion? CAD files have always been a problem for repositories because of all the links and references inside CAD drawings. Getting them converted to still work can be a major PITA.

Document Management: Is It Still Valid? I think that it is an interesting question for someone who, like myself, is trying to make a living of it! Here are some thoughts on that:
Earlier, certain industries had a massive and obvious need for document management. Life science companies struggle with drug submissions and engineering companies with complex CAD drawings, to mention but a few. These problems are well-known, so there are plenty of (high end, specialized) solutions to assist – and these companies do have document management solutions running.
As time has passed other industries have gotten the same kind of needs - if not because of new compliance requirements from laws and regulations, then from the mere quantum of documents. The need for document management is therefore still there, but on a new background. But does that make document management still valid? Well, at least document management has become a commodity.
Document management in this new context has a new challenge. The individual users do sometimes not have quite such an obvious carrot or stick to drive their usage of the document management system.
Therefore, the – now commoditized – document management functionality must be presented in a more interesting, modern, or subtle way – as it is done many E2.0 applications. So even if some might challenge the validity of document management as a stand-alone discipline, the core of document management is still valid - in this new context!

What is needed is CAD managment software that can work with SharePoint so that AutoCAD and Bentley can seemlessly check files in and out. The problem is with XREF and drawing management capabilities. Most DMS's don't know how to handle CAD files with XREF's. At AutoVue (Oracle), we have to deal with this all the time. We have a partner that can help with this, SWORD Group, out of the UK.

Go to: http://www.sword-ctspace.com/section/view/500

Their CADtop and Fusion products are built for SharePoint, Documentum, Filenet, and Oracle UCM. Check them out. We've used them before and they are quite good at what they do.

The access of product-related and order-related reliable data in real time is a major subject for companies. Product-Lifecycle Management and Document Management Systems can help. I have seen many companies which got both solutions (PLM and DMS). And of course they had an ERP System as well. But that's the point. Divisions are little information islands because the "company software zoo" is not connected in an optimized way. There is no chance to gather and archive arbitrary information in conjunction of business process even against the background of compliance!!
A PLM system is often used only by engineering departments and sometimes connected with the ERP-System. But at this point the value added chain ends.
DMS systems are often required from the commercial department and it can get connected to ERP systems also but of course it is not focussed to work with complex CAD data or to deal with typical PLM tasks like Engineering Change Request, Engineering Change Order, Supply Chain Management, Product Issue Tracking etc. So if a software is able to deal with the complexity of PLM it is only a tiny step to deal with simple documents as well and the rest is a sophisticated strategy.