San Rafael, Calif. / Exton, Pa. — At a joint press
conference, Autodesk, Inc. and Bentley Systems, Incorporated, two leading
providers of design and infrastructure software, announced an agreement to expand
interoperability between their portfolios of architectural, engineering, and
construction (AEC) software. Autodesk and Bentley will exchange software
libraries, including Autodesk RealDWG, to improve the ability to read and write
the companies’ respective DWG and DGN formats in mixed environments with
greater fidelity.
In addition, the two
companies will facilitate work process interoperability between their AEC
applications through supporting the reciprocal use of available Application
Programming Interfaces (APIs). With this agreement, the companies aim to
improve AEC workflows by enabling broader reuse of information generated during
the design, construction, and operation of buildings and infrastructure, and by
enhancing the ability of project teams to choose among multiple software
sources.
Interoperability has emerged as a critical issue for users
of design and engineering software. A 2004 study by the U.S. National Institute
of Standards and Technology found that users bear direct costs of almost $16
billion annually from time wasted due to inadequate AEC software
interoperability. By virtue of this agreement, and the interoperable offerings
that it will enable, AEC firms will be free to employ software tools of choice
from either Autodesk or Bentley to accept or submit either DWG or DGN files. By
improving fidelity of work shared between the two file formats, users will be
able to focus on being creative and getting work done, rather than being
constrained by file-compatibility considerations.
Through supporting the reciprocal use of their available
APIs, Autodesk and Bentley will enable AEC project teams to combine products
from both providers within integrated workflows. For instance, a design team
could use a mixture of Autodesk and Bentley software, such as Autodesk’s Revit
platform and Bentley’s STAAD and RAM structural products, and simulate and
analyze their designs or manage project information using Autodesk NavisWorks
software or Bentley’s ProjectWise.
“Autodesk recognizes that many customers use our products in
mixed environments, and this agreement will help to better support these
firms,” said Jay Bhatt, senior vice president, Autodesk AEC Solutions. “As part
of our commitment to provide technology that improves productivity and
efficiency across the AEC industry, we’re pleased to enter into this agreement
with Bentley Systems – Autodesk’s largest development partner – and together
help customers design, build, operate, and maintain the world’s infrastructure.”
“Bentley and Autodesk share a goal of enabling the creation
and operations of better-performing infrastructure,” said Greg Bentley, CEO of
Bentley Systems. “Realizing that our mutual users bear unnecessary costs
resulting from lack of interoperability, we came together to finally make
information reuse the norm. By raising its sights beyond file format issues,
the resource-constrained AEC community can better serve us all.”
For more information, visit
www.bentley.com
and
www.autodesk.com.
