CIMdata PLM Industry Summary Online Archive

29 April 2005

Product News

Bentley Expands ''You Deserve Better'' Program to Civil Engineering Industry

Bentley Systems, Incorporated is expanding to the civil engineering industry its successful "You Deserve Better" upgrade program and Web site ( http://www.bentley.com/ydb ) for AutoCAD users facing forced retirement of their software by Autodesk.

Autodesk's retirement program affects AutoCAD 2000i users and, more recently, AutoCAD 2002 users. It also applies to users of Autodesk Civil Design 3, Autodesk Land Desktop 3, Autodesk Survey 3, and Autodesk Map 5 and 6. Bentley surveyed users of AutoCAD and other Autodesk products and found that 87 percent of the respondents want an end to forced software retirements, and 90 percent of the civil engineer respondents are seeking a site solution that is complete.

"In our surveys of Autodesk users," says Tony Flynn, Bentley chief marketing officer, "the vote was to end retirements or forced upgrades of software because these practices disrupt workflows. Also, civil engineers, in particular, asked for a complete site solution.

"We listened to these users and put together a 'You Deserve Better' upgrade program for civil engineering firms that gives users exactly what they asked for, plus a great deal more.

"We understand that site engineering and land development software is mission critical to these service firms-its use directly affects their top lines and bottom lines. So we are offering a single, complete solution that offers productivity and minimum administration costs. Moreover, our special services and pricing make the transition to Bentley software easy and less costly than the Autodesk alternative."

The survey results made it clear that Autodesk's three-product bundle for civil engineering projects is not what these users need to successfully complete projects. Having to rely upon some combination of Land Desktop, Civil Design, and Civil 3D to handle the various phases of civil projects, rather than being able to use a single, complete solution from field to finish:

•  Forces inefficient, cross-product workflows

•  Makes users learn up to three different user interfaces

•  Increases the likelihood of data loss because of recurrent data translations

•  Increases software administration costs by requiring users to manage and maintain as many as three separate products

All these problems have a direct, negative impact on the cost of doing business and, thus, profitability. Given that many civil engineering firms are small businesses, few can afford the decreased productivity and tripled overhead that result from having to work with three software products to complete projects.

The newly expanded "You Deserve Better" upgrade program, in response to Bentley's surveys, gives these users what they requested and a lot more. It includes:

•  A complete product that covers all phases of civil site projects and exceeds the combined functionality of Autodesk's site design products

•  Streamlined workflows, a single user interface, and a unified data base that ensures data integrity-all because it is a complete product

•  Functionality based on world-class technology adopted by 44 U.S. state departments of transportation (DOTs)

•  Special pricing that beats Autodesk pricing for AutoCAD, Land Desktop, Civil Design, and/or Civil 3D

•  An open, universal solution compared to the Autodesk offerings, including native support of DGN and DWG and read/write support of DWG back to R11

•  An ongoing company policy against retiring file formats or user licenses, in contrast to the regular retirement practices of Autodesk

•  Special services and compatible functionality designed to make the upgrade fast and easy

The program features Bentley's complete site engineering and land development solution, Bentley PowerCivil, which provides site design capabilities for all project phases, and offers civil engineers a flexible 2D/3D environment that features full object modeling, COGO, surveying interface tools, dynamic DTM grading tool, full drainage tools for ponds and pipes, machine interface, and more. It natively reads and writes DGN and DWG, and is based on the top technology of Bentley's GEOPAK, InRoads, and MX product lines-technology adopted by 44 U.S. state DOTs and the world's top engineering firms.

Bonus features, not found in Autodesk products, include support of both DGN and DWG, creation of Adobe PDFs for all project deliverables, free viewers for DGN and DWG, change management, customization for drafting, and more. In addition, Bentley supports not only legacy file formats of Bentley products, but also DWG file formats of current and retired Autodesk products, ensuring an open and interoperable work environment.

The newly expanded "You Deserve Better" program will focus on giving civil engineers the best tools in civil engineering, while facilitating a smooth, cost-effective transition from their Autodesk products. To ensure that the transition to PowerCivil is fast and easy, the expanded "You Deserve Better" program will feature a series of online seminars, special classroom and online training, as well as direct support from Bentley.

Transition Pricing Saves

Beyond the functionality, openness, and policy advantages, the program offers special pricing designed to beat Autodesk pricing. It enables Autodesk-based organizations to upgrade to Bentley PowerCivil for $2995, which includes the software, transition training, and two years of Bentley SELECT. Bentley SELECT is a comprehensive technology and service subscription program that includes flexible subscription options, exclusive licensing privileges, continuous product upgrades, comprehensive direct technical support, discounts on training and software, and more.

For full details on the expanded "You Deserve Better" program, and to find and price your upgrade, get more details, talk to an expert, or download Bentley's free DGN/DWG viewer, go to http://www.bentley.com/YouDeserveBetterCivil .

To test-drive PowerCivil, be sure to attend the "You Deserve Better-Life Beyond AutoCAD" seminar at the Baltimore Convention Center, May 10, 2005, from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. The afternoon will be dedicated to all civil engineers in land development and site engineering using AutoCAD, Land Desktop, Civil 3D, or other Autodesk civil tools. Included will be a first-hand look at the latest top technology in the civil engineering field, presentations from developers and users, a workshop showing how PowerCivil can be used to improve design cycles, and more.

To register for the "You Deserve Better-Life Beyond AutoCAD" seminar, go to http://www.bentley.com/beyondautocad .

The seminar is adjacent to the upcoming BE Conference 2005 ( http://www.be.org ), which is being held May 8-12, 2005. The BE Conference is a once-a-year learning opportunity for Bentley users and their managers offering professional training, technology updates, keynotes, and best practice sharing. At these sessions, attendees better themselves, better their organizations, and better the ways they can improve the world's infrastructure.

Bentley conducted a general survey of more than 2,500 AutoCAD users, and 87 percent of the respondents agreed or strongly agreed with the statement: "I want my software vendor not to disrupt my project workflow by forcing me to upgrade or retire my software."

A follow-up survey of Autodesk users in the civil engineering industry elicited responses from more than 1900 North American users of Autodesk products, including Land Desktop, AutoCAD, and Civil 3D. Users were asked their level of agreement with various statements, and highlights of their responses follow:

•  89 percent agreed or strongly agreed that they want one complete site solution.

•  93 percent agreed or strongly agreed that they want an open solution that allows them to work with all CAD file formats and versions regardless of their clients' CAD or civil applications.

•  93 percent agreed or strongly agreed that they want to easily create PDF deliverables of their projects.

The initial results of Bentley's ongoing survey of Autodesk site engineering software users are available at http://www.bentley.com/sitesurveyresults . More users are invited to add their opinions to the survey at http://www.bentley.com/sitesurvey .

Become a member of the CIMdata PLM Community to receive your daily PLM news and much more.

Tell us what you think of the CIMdata Newsletter. Send your feedback.

CIMdata is committed to your privacy. Your personal information will never be sold or shared outside of CIMdata without your express permission.

Subscribe