1 - Introduction

There is little doubt that the design of every infrastructure project today involves the collaboration of many individuals and organizations across multiple disciplines. It is with this context that we have developed Bentley Cloud Services to facilitate successful project outcomes for you and your organizations. Bentley Cloud Services helps you produce better designs by facilitating collaboration, interoperability, standardization, and skills development. For an organization and enterprise, Bentley Cloud Services provides greater insight and control over project design, deliverables and the people working on them. In the sections that follow we look at some of the capabilities and services that are delivered today, with more being added every week, with Bentley Cloud Services to help you achieve even greater project and personal success.

2 - The Basics

The core premise of Bentley Cloud Services is to facilitate successful project outcomes through common capabilities and shared services across desktop, mobile, server and cloud. To enable this, Bentley has utilized Microsoft’s Azure cloud service to connect uniformly and consistently with and across users, projects, and enterprises. To enable the value and your success on Bentley Cloud Services it is imperative that users register for a complimentary CONNECTED account, sign in when using your CONNECT Edition products and associate your design models with a ProjectWise Project. Let’s take a look at why you should do this…

2.1 - The User Advantage

Today the CONNECT Edition Product user gains five major advantages by signing up and in, namely:

• A Bentley Profile 
• Access to personal LEARN material, paths and history
• Space on the Cloud to share files from desktop to mobile and other users
• Accurate tracking of time spent against products and projects
• Timely product related news, automatic product updates and notifications

Each CONNECTED user is provisioned with a CONNECT Center on the Bentley Cloud Services site. This portal provides you access to each of these services and more. See the section on CONNECTION Client Sign In for more details on how to access this and other Cloud services.

CONNECT Center 

2.2 - Automatic Updates

One of the key capabilities of CONNECT Edition products is the ability to receive update notifications and initiate updates directly from your desktop for all versions within the same generation of the product line. Users no longer need to sign into Software Downloads to look for updates of their product but will now be able to check for updates and receive notification of updates from within their products.

2.3 - The Organization Advantage

The value of Cloud Services just starts with the CONNECTED User advantage. Of course, users and organizations work together on projects. If an Organization chooses to register their projects with Bentley, those projects now become ProjectWise Projects. With CONNECTED users and ProjectWise Projects, the ability for project-centric analysis, dashboards on who is working on the project where and how much, shared documents, deliverables status and more are now available through the ProjectWise Portal.

The ProjectWise Project Advantage

ProjectWise Projects Page on Bentley Cloud Services Website

Today ProjectWise Projects provides four major advantages for ProjectWise Project Organizations:

• View project activity by site, application, and user
• Gain insights into the users who are working on your projects and their effort
• Manage your ProjectWise Projects and other Services
• Access to all of the Project Services as well as the Technology Previews

At this level, enterprises that have CONNECTED Users working on ProjectWise Projects with their CONNECT Edition products become CONNECTED Enterprises. Information that was once disjointed or unavailable is now placed in context with Key Performance Indicators brought to the forefront to help our accounts improve project performance. All that from just signing in as a CONNECTED User and associating work with ProjectWise Projects.

The CONNECTED Enterprise Advantage

You can get more information on Bentley Cloud Services by subscribing to the Bentley Cloud Services Community 

3 - Key Concepts

3.1 - Bentley Profile

This is a single sign in to all Bentley web pages and Cloud services. If you don’t have one already, you should create a Bentley profile. This will let you:

• sign in to all Bentley websites
• submit and manage service requests if you have a technical problem
• ensure you receive advice when new versions of CONNECT Edition products are available
• update you when new product training materials are available
• give you access to Cloud Services

3.2 - ProjectWise Projects

Once you are a CONNECTED user your organization’s administrators should register a ProjectWise Project. This is a way of keeping track of everything you and your team members do within that project. A ProjectWise Project doesn’t contain your project data, it is simply a universal common ID to link together all activity within a project. It also contains information such as Name, Number, Industry, Asset Type, Location etc.

The first time you open or create a file, you will be prompted to select a Project. All activities relating to that file will be associated with the project.

3.3 - Bentley Cloud Services

This is a range of services for learning, file sharing, project sharing, transmittals, project analytics and more. Some of the key components you will use as a part of Cloud Services include –

• CONNECTION Client – small desktop application installed with the application that manages your sign in
• Project Chooser – a dialog box which lets you choose projects to associate your files with
• CONNECT Center – web page where you can manage your Bentley profile and access learning content
• ProjectWise Portal – web page where you can manage your projects and launch cloud services
• Subscription Services Portal - web page where site administrators can monitor, report, administer, and submit issues for their organization

4 - The Details

To take advantage of the values of CONNECTED users must be registered and signed in, ProjectWise Projects must be available and CONNECT Edition/Service products must be used to associate product work with ProjectWise Projects. Let’s look at how to do each of these items.

4.1 - Register as a CONNECTED User

In order to access the Personal Portal, or to sign in to the CONNECTION Client you must be a CONNECTED user that is associated with an Organization in User Management. There are 2 ways to register:

4.1.1 CONNECTION Client Sign In Window

If you have installed any CONNECT Edition/Services product then you have installed a CONNECTION Client. This client shows up as an icon on your taskbar.

Double-click the icon or Right-Click>Open on the icon to expose the CONNECTION Client Sign in Screen.

CONNECTION Client Sign In

Select the Register Now button on the window to show the Create Profile Window shown below. Provide the details for your account paying particular note to your Work Email and Profession (Role). The former will impact the users that will be considered part of an organization and the latter will impact services and notifications you receive that will be particular to your role. Completing this screen you will be sent to the Bentley IMS profile page to set a password and other information as you desire.

Create your profile

Profile Creation

4.1.2 Bentley IMS Website

You can also log in directly from the Bentley website from https://ims.bentley.com. Doing this will send you to a sign in web page as shown below where once again you can select the Register link to enter your profile information as password as in the CONNECTION Client case previously mentioned.

Sign In Web Page on Bentley Website 

4.2 - Sign In as a CONNECTED User

Once you have registered as a CONNECTED User and are properly associated with an Organization (see previous section) you can proceed to sign in. Sign in can be performed from one of three places:

4.2.1 - CONNECTION Client Sign In Window

If you have installed any CONNECT Edition/Services product then you have installed a CONNECTION Client. This client shows up as an  icon on your taskbar.

Double-click the  icon or Right-Click>Open on the  icon to expose the CONNECTION Client Sign in Screen.

CONNECTION Client Sign In

Enter the same email you provided in your registration and your password. 

4.2.2 - Product CONNECT Widget Sign In

Each CONNECT Edition product has a new CONNECTION Widget in the frame of the product window. Most products have this widget on the upper right or status bar of the window.

 

Select the widget dropdown and choose the Sign In command to expose the CONNECTION Client Sign In window. Follow the direction as provided above for the CONNECTION Client.

4.2.3 - Web Site

You can also log in directly from the Bentley website from https://ims.bentley.com. Doing this will send you to a sign in web page as shown below where once again you can sign in.

Sign In Web Page on Bentley Website

Once signed in from any of these places you will be signed in for all services.

4.2.4 - Forgot Your Password?

If you don’t recall your password simply select the “Forgot Password?” link on the sign in window and your password will be reset through email.

4.3 - Register a ProjectWise Project

A fundamental requirement of Cloud Services is the creation of projects. Only Account Administrators, Co-Administrators, Group Administrators, or CONNECT Services Admins are allowed to create projects. Contact your account administrator or co-administrator to assign you rights to add projects yourself. See the Managing User Rights Section below. Projects are typically added to the Bentley registry for your company through any of the links on the ProjectWise Portal, CONNECT Center or Project Chooser Dialog window.

4.3.1 Register Project from ProjectWise Portal

The CONNECTION Client shows up as an  icon on your taskbar.

Right-Click select the icon  and then select Links>Personal Portal then click the + sign in the Recent Projects tile to register a new project or click the magnifying glass then the Register a Project button as show below.  Hint, you can also navigate to the Project Portal from your CONNECT Edtion > Assign Project to Workset dialog in your desktop product.  Select “Register Project” to add a new project.

Projects Selection Web Page on Bentley Website

 

Select “Register a Project” to add a new project. See the section “Managing User Rights” if you do not have the rights to add a project.

New Project registration screen

 

The project attributes should be entered accurately to obtain the greatest value from Cloud Services. 

This same screen is accessible directly from the Cloud Services ProjectWise Portal through the Project Dropdown on the top of the ProjectWise Portal window by Selecting +New.

Register a New Project through the Project Portal Dropdown

 

4.3.2 Register Project from CONNECT Center

The CONNECTION Client shows up as an  icon on your taskbar.

Right-Click select the icon  and then select CONNECT Center to expose the CONNECT Center. Select the + sign in the ProjectWise Projects Tile to Register a New Project. See the section “Managing User Rights” if you do not have the rights to add a project.

Register a New Project through the CONNECT Center Link

4.3.3 Register Project from the Project Chooser Window

The project Chooser window is accessible from the File menu command. To register a new project select the +Register Project link on the upper left of the Project Chooser.

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Register a New Project through the Project Chooser Link

 

4.3.4 Managing User Rights

User rights in an organization are administered by the site administrator or co-administrator in your company. This is typically the main contact for your company at Bentley. This user can assign you the CONNECT Services Admin role through the User Management Portal https://usermanagement.bentley.com . Select the Manage button on the top of the window and search for a user. For more information on user roles see Managing Roles.

                                

User Management Portal

Select the user and click “Modify Roles” to expose the roles window. Scroll down and select “CONNECT Services Admin” to allow a user to add and manage projects.

Set User Rights through User Management Portal

4.4 - Assign a Project to your Work

The last remaining critical step to reap the benefits of Bentley Cloud Services is the step of assigning the project files with a specific ProjectWise Project. If you are signed in all Products will automatically display the Project Chooser when you start a new model or open a pre-CONNECT version of a project. The Project Chooser is also accessible from the Bentley Cloud Services menu command in these products.

Simply select a project to be associated with your work. See the Project Chooser documentation for more details on the various capabilities of this window. All use of this file in the current product will now be associated with this ProjectWise Project.

5 - In Summary

Bentley CONNECT Edition products enable a whole new world of connectivity helping facilitate better project outcomes by providing users with timely insights, consistent project settings, and easier project collaboration capabilities. Organizations benefit from greater visibility and control into their projects with key performance metrics accessible from a single portal. CONNECT has and will continue to be a major investment at Bentley. We encourage you to dive-in and leverage the capabilities, share in your experience on our Bentley Communities site and reap the current and future value of the Bentley Cloud Services experience. Please visit the Bentley Communities site to learn more:

Bentley Cloud and Web Services

6 - Bentley Cloud Services FAQ 

What benefits do I get from having a Bentley Profile?

The key benefits for a Profile are access to learning content about your software, the ability to track software usage on your projects and the ability to share files with others and with your mobile devices. More benefits will be added in future as we add more cloud services.

Can I work offline without an internet connection?

Yes. If you are not online, the software will work as usual and you can run without signing in or selecting projects. When you reconnect and next open your file, you can assign it to a project at that point.

No projects appear in my Assign Project list, what should I do?

First, click the Refresh button at the top of the dialog box. If there are still no projects, click on the Register Project button at the top left of the Assign Project dialog box. This will take you to a webpage where you can register a project.

How do I get permission to register a project?

If you do not have permission to register a project, ask your Account Administrator or Co-Administrator to give you the CONNECT Services Admin role in your Bentley Profile.

I do not see the project I created in the Assign Project list?

Click the Refresh button in the Assign Project dialog box.

Do I have to associate files with ProjectWise Projects?

While it is strongly recommended you do so, you are not required to associate your file with a project. However, you will only get the benefit of software usage tracking in your project if you associate your files with a project. If you don’t associate a file with a project at first, you can do so later using the Associate Project command. We will continue to add new cloud services in the future which will use the project association to provide helpful reporting to you and your colleagues.

Are my files now stored in Bentley Cloud Services?

No. Your files are saved on your local hard disk or network drive as usual. If you are using ProjectWise to store your files, they will continue to be stored there. The only change is that the ID of the ProjectWise Project is now stored in your file so the use of the file can be associated with the project. The ID is a randomly generated complex 32 character string of characters, it does not disclose any information about your project.

Do I have to sign in to use the software?

Yes, you have to sign in to activate your Subscription Entitlement Service product.

What information is Bentley storing about my files and projects?

Bentley is not storing any information about your files nor the files themselves. We are only storing basic information about your project including name, number, industry, asset type, and location. When you run the software using a file that is associated with a project, usage information is stored so that you can track which software is used when, on a given project. Bentley is not able to see the name of the user using the software, only the unique machine name is stored for licensing purposes. This is unchanged from previous versions of the software. Your information is kept confidential to you and your organization.

How secure is the Project and Profile information stored by Bentley?

All project and usage information is stored using encrypted data sent to and stored in the Microsoft Azure cloud platform. This is a highly secure environment used by millions of companies.

How do I see usage information regarding the software I use on a project?

Software usage reports are available via the Subscription Analytics web page at https://reporting.bentley.com.

Can I track the use of non-Bentley applications on my project?

No. The usage tracked and available to you in the Subscription Analystics reports is only for Bentley applications.

Do I need a license to use cloud services?

You do not need a desktop software license to use cloud services however all services require a Bentley Profile, some services require a CONNECTIONS Passport and other services also require a specific Visa to be added to that Passport. A CONNECTIONS Passport is general access, named user license for using file servers like ProjectWise as well as cloud services. Usually, your organization will purchase a pool of Passports for many users to use.