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In 2000 the CAD software industries attention swung back to Web enabled CAD as Alibre released Alibre Design, based on Spatial Technology's ACIS, which was the first 3D CAD software able to perform client-server 3D modeling over the Internet (although in Japan, Toyota Caelum's TeamCAD had been capable of 3D modeling across LANs since the mid 1990s, even before the term 'client-server' became popular!).

Autodesk released AutoCAD 2000i in mid 2000 which was their first Web enabled CAD software and provided the ability to output drawings that could be viewed with a Web browser and also enabled some online simple collaboration using Microsoft Net Meeting.

The pressure on manufacturers to reduce new product concept>design>detail>manufacture>shelf time had increased relentlessly throughout the previous decade and in late 2000 Ford showed how much could be achieved with fully integrated 3D CAD software and Internet enabled PDM when it released the Ford Mondeo which had been designed entirely over the Internet using Ford's C3P (CAD CAM CAE PDM) platform in about 1/3rd of the time traditionally required. Ford's success proved that the integration of CAD software, PDM software and the Internet to give engineers and designers the ability to view and collaborate on a single digital "master", not only saved in time and travel expense, but almost eliminated the traditional misfit, mismatch and "nocando" problems inherent in the design and production of a complex product by a globally dispersed manufacturer working with an equally dispersed group of suppliers.

Using "virtual product development" with a digital master 3D assembly of 3D component models replacing clay prototypes, Boeing had succeeded in reducing product development times in the aerospace industry and now Ford had done the same in the automotive industry. At least at the enterprise manufacturing level, the competition had shifted away from the function to function comparisons typical of the major 3D CAD software deals of the late 1980s and early 1990s and had now become a test of how well the vendor could manage the flow of design and engineering data; of which the 3D CAD model was an increasingly smaller percentage.

Picking up on the term PLM "Product Life-cycle Management", which had started as university research into manufacturing databases in the early 1990s and had begun to gain popularity in the industry in the late 1990s, the leading CAD software companies were quick to redefine themselves to the emerging market trend. Suddenly "3D CAD software vendor" was out and "PLM solution provider" was in. The four leading vendors (Dassault Systemes, Parametric Technology, Unigraphics Solutions and SDRC) began the task of realigning their corporate images, marketing and sales processes; "blistering 3D modeling speed", "faster than lightening rendering" and "graphics so real you can feel it" were out and "value propositions", "portfolio management" and "life cycle analysis" were in.

Ford was using SDRC's Metaphase PDM software in its C3P platform and in late 2000 SDRC acquired Metaphase's long-time PDM competitor, Sherpa, to consolidate its PLM image. In addition to strong database and network management, the ability to rapidly view large assemblies of 3D data is a key component of modern PLM solutions and in late 2000 Unigraphics Solutions acquired the leading 3D viewer vendor EAI.