THE MAJOR CHALLENGES IN THE 1990S FACING USERS OF COMPUTER-ASSISTED TECHNOLOGY IS DATA MANAGEMENT ACROSS AN ENTERPRISE. IT IS ALREADY COMMONPLACE FOR FIRMS TO HAVE HETEROGENEOUS NETWORKS CONNECTING GEOGRAPHICALLY DIVERSE DESIGN AND MANUFACTURING CENTERS. THIS PAPER DESCRIBES THE APPROACH HISTORICALLY TAKEN TO DATA MANAGEMENT OF COMPANIES WHO ROUTINELY KEEP TENS OF THOUSANDS OF ENGINEERING DRAWINGS AND MODELS ON LINE. THE PAPER ALSO DESCRIBES THE FUNCTIONS AND CHARACTERISTICS THAT THE SYSTEM OF THE 90S MUST HAVE TO CONVERT INFORMATION INTO A CORPORATE ASSET. ISSUES TO BE COVERED INCLUDE DATA SECURITY, CONFIGURATION MANAGEMENT, AND RELEASE CONTROL.