• Be Employable is Extended Until End of 2010

    The economy may be slowly improving, but we all know it’s still tough out there. Good jobs are hard to find, and to beat the competition to the job you really need to demonstrate your skills advantage that sets you apart. That’s why I am proud to share that Bentley is extending our Be Employable program through December 31, 2010.
     
    Available to unemployed infrastructure professionals, Be Employable provides…
  • Eliminating Risk and Improving Safety with ProjectWise Dynamic Plot

    Can it really be true? It is according to J.P. Gauthier, Superintendent of CADD Systems, at the Toronto Transit Commission (TTC). As a long-time user of ProjectWise InterPlot, J.P. and the team at TTC are no strangers to plot automation efficiency. They are also not strangers to paper.

    It's all true!

    "We submit all of our design reviews to our safety officers as paper plots - because that is their preferred media…

  • Make New Year's Resolutions Now - Don't Wait for January 1st to Plan your Career Development

    For several weeks now, we've been in the throes of 2010 planning here at Bentley, and my team has been asking about professional development opportunities for the coming year. That got me thinking: if training is on the minds of my own team, then lots of you are probably thinking about it, too.

    As the year draws to an end organizations will be completing their annual performance reviews and gearing up for next…

  • OnSite at Be Inspired

    This is something of an anniversary for me. I think my first blog post came from our 2008 Be Conference in Baltimore - although I could be wrong... anyway my next one - this one - is coming from our Be Inspired Best Practices Symposium in Charlotte, North Carolina. So I am claiming an anniversary. :-)

    Be Inspired all kicks off proper (so to speak) Tuesday morning with a 7am Press Briefing. Our CEO Greg Bentley…

  • Have you seen the light?

    I am quite sure you have seen our "Be Connected" site - the home for more than 100 online seminars about real-world infrastructure projects, best practices adopted, and software products used. But have you seen the "all new" ProjectWise V8i (SELECTseries 1) Collaboration System Overview? Or are you still in the dark?

    Check it out. Our ProjectWise System has come a long way in recent years and…

  • Give your Skills a Tune-Up!

    From all the reports I have read recently the training budget is one of the first things to get squeezed when times are hard and yet training remains the cheapest, easiest, and longest-lasting performance boost you can give to any team.

    It's no secret to friends of mine that I am a speed freak. Cars, bikes, whatever; I love to go fast. A passion which has taken me to many a race track to satisfy my need for speed…

  • Are you "Employable"? Now everyone can "Be"

    Register now at www.bentley.com/BeEmployable to receive access to free Bentley software and training. Sharpen existing skills or develop brand new skills in your own time while you search for re-employment.

    About time huh? This economy is horrible. People are losing their jobs left, right, and center. This new offer from Bentley gives unemployed infrastructure professionals new opportunities to increase their…

  • From Amsterdam to Paris…

    The fourth and final Be Seminar concluded on Friday in Paris, and from what I hear, it was nothing short of spectacular! The venue, the attendees, and the software made for quite a do!

    One colleague reported: "The energy was excellent from all attendees ...the fact that almost all presentations were given in French was a total hit!" And the energy of those in attendance wasn't the only reason for celebration;…

  • From London to Amsterdam...

    I am blogging today from my hotel room in Amsterdam - basking in the afterglow of another brilliant Be Seminar, which follows hot on the heels of London and Frankfurt before.

    Every single Be Seminar has built upon the excitement I first experienced in Philly. And I have to say, it's been great to witness our users' excited reactions to the V8i software portfolio. But our users are not alone; the world's media has…

  • From Frankfurt to London – V8i is gaining momentum!

    The celebration continues... After the fantastic launch of V8i, which you can still catch via the Global Live Broadcast Videos I headed off to Frankfurt for the first in a series of Be Seminars held in Europe.

    The excitement of the V8i launch continued today as attendees in Frankfurt witnessed first-hand the industry’s most comprehensive software portfolio ever assembled.

    Frankfurt focused on Bentley…

  • We did it, V8i Launched!

    It’s was more than “just another busy day” for me last Thursday, it was the launch day for the V8i Software Portfolio!  

    The event itself was absolutely amazing, for those of us at Bentley and for many users who turned out to hear the introduction to V8i in person, and for all of the people around the world who tuned in to the global broadcast.

    Keynote speakers included CEO Greg Bentley, CTO…

  • Today's the day... the BIG Launch...

    ...and i am excited. So much work, so many great software products, and a fabulous global broadcast LIVE to the world later today. Are you attending? Greg and Keth Bentley are presenting, along with Bhupinder Singh. Don't miss out!

    We have some excellent stuff for the web too. For anyone to access, at anytime. Learn more about our updated software portfolio here or at www.bentley.com - all new content should…

  • Hurrah for Democracy!

    The Launch of  "ATHENS" is moving steadily closer, and my days are getting busier and busier. Thursday’s launch will be the culmination of a long process of discovery, collaboration, development and delivery for the many people that worked on this release—both at Bentley and among our users.

    Today’s news reminds me that the U.S. has spent the day voting to democratically select its next president…

  • The ATHENS Launch Event

    It dawns on me that I have mentioned the launch event a couple of times without really sharing the details. So if you are wondering why you should join us in Philly on November 6th – either physically or digitally – please allow me to make the pitch.

    Here are my top reasons to join us for the launch event

    1. This is the most eagerly anticipated software release since the V8 Generation began and it…
  • Beta Testers claim “ATHENS” a success

    Back again… and the Athens collaboration story continues.

    In my previous blogs I told you how the Athens’ team gathered their development requirements from users, and then I outlined the core capabilities being added as a result. Today I want to share with you the feedback gained from our uses during their testing phase.

    Sticking with the core capabilities we asked users to tell us “how” and “why” they…
  • The “ATHENS” Collaboration

    Yesterday I shared quite a list of workflow and process barriers that you told us you need to overcome in order to increase productivity. And I left off with a promise to return today to explain what we have been doing about it in the ATHENS software release due out on November 6th.

    So here it is, the list of core capabilities we are leveraging across our new software portfolio including:

    1. Impressive breadth and…
  • Collaborating with you to create better software

    It's been way too long since my digits last danced delicately across my laptop keyboard to knock out a blog entry.

    I blame the "ATHENS" launch planning process that has kept me and my team rather busy. -- Did you know we are launching "ATHENS" next week in Philly?

    Of course it won't be called "ATHENS" when it hits the market -- that was only our codename. You can join us LIVE in Philly…

  • Do you Freecycle?

    I do. I am frugal and proud of it.

    Back in my home county of North Yorkshire i would be heralded as "canny." Some less well spirited folks who mistake frugality for miserly behaviour may even stoop to call me "tight" but they would be wrong. You...

  • Collaboration, like charity, starts at home...

    ...which is why we (Bentley) have agreed with Autodesk to a technology-sharing agreement that will enable an entire population of infrastructure professionals to more easily collaborate on projects by sharing 2d and 3d information for reference and...

  • No preaching, no guilt, just sound practical advice

    "Maybe it's because I am a londoner, that I love the BeeeBeeeCeeee." There's a song in there somewhere...

    Joking aside, I do love the BBC. Really it's a modern-day miracle, succeeding in the face of much commercial competition and adversity...

  • It's natural to work as a team...

    I am a car nut, a certified petrol (that's "gas" to my American bretheren) head. I have Mobil One running through my veins. And until quite recently, I was as happy on two wheels as I was on four. But that all changed one wintery morning when another car took me out at around 60 mph and I parted company from my racey R6 and tumbled head over heels down the outside lane of a 3-lane motorway in West London.
  • 4:58am

    On Friday evening / Saturday morning 28,000 revelers arrived from all over the world to gather at Stonehenge in the UK - a very old stone circle which has stood in the middle of nowhere for around 6,000 years.

    At precisely 4:58am on June 21st...

  • My 'muse' too...

    So there i was, grabbing a morning caffeine shot, when my friend (and colleague) Cathy wandered over. We swapped "hello's" and i bemoaned the fact that i hadnt blogged for a week or more. "Oh! she said. You have writers block?" ...

  • Mind the Gap!

    "‘Footfall’ has long been the retail marketing expression for ‘bums on seats’ – now it may be harnessed as a source of free energy." Or so an article in the Sunday Times claimed yesterday.

    It seems that this all started when some clever souls (please forgive the well intentioned pun) developed some mini-generators and embedded them into the heels of soldiers' boots so that…

  • The Three Rs...

    When I first started school, all that mattered were the three Rs (arrrrs), Reading, wRiting, and aRithmetic; they were the staples of "learning." Today it seems that a new three Rs are on everyone's lips. Reduce, Reuse, Recycle; they are the staples for "living."

    We were motivated to "learn" effectively by the promise of future opportunity. But what motivates us to "live" efficiently? Reduced…