Bentley Systems, Incorporated today announced that the City of
Alpena, Michigan, has joined Bentley's Municipal License Subscription
(MLS) program. This community of 11,000 on Lake Huron's Thunder Bay
will use its new MLS to help it implement road, water, sewer, and
other infrastructure projects, as well as to build a 21st century GIS.
Bentley's MLS offers municipalities all the software they need to
design and manage all their infrastructure for a fixed annual fee
based on population. The breakthrough program enables them to improve
productivity and reduce administrative costs by outfitting their
entire mapping and engineering organizations with fully integrated
software for GIS and engineering workflows. This leads to improved
services and more efficient government.
Said Steve Shultz, assistant city engineer for Alpena, "Our
engineering department has long used MicroStation, GEOPAK,
MicroStation GeoGraphics, Bentley Water, Bentley Wastewater, and
WaterCAD to design and manage the city's infrastructure with
EarthTech, our sewer and water management contractor. However, in
smaller cities such as ours, each extra piece of software has to be
extensively justified and its efficiency tracked. This has limited our
ability to build out the Bentley software functionality we would like
to have in our technology toolbox.
"With our new MLS, we can access all the software we need for a
very attractive price with no procurement hassles. Already, we have
benefited from access to new software packages such as Bentley Fiber,
which we expect to deploy shortly to support the building of a fiber
optic network."
Continued Shultz, "We are also planning to deploy Bentley
Geospatial Management so that we can interact with our subcontractors
more effectively and share data with the County in the future.
Although not all the software used by those we interact with is
Bentley software, Geospatial Management is able to handle all file
types, including ESRI SHP files. As a result, we are expecting a huge
increase in productivity as files and projects are exchanged or shared
across different organizations."
Bentley's MLS program provides municipalities with unlimited
access to a comprehensive portfolio of integrated GIS and engineering
software for all of their infrastructure, including:
-- Public works - roads, bridges, water, sewer, and storm
-- Land development
-- E-government
-- Light rail design
-- Community broadband
-- Water and wastewater treatment plant design
-- Urban planning
-- Cadastre management
-- Public safety
-- Municipal building design
-- Mapping and 3D modeling
Because the program's fee is fixed, Bentley's MLS guarantees
predictable software costs and budgeting. In addition, it removes the
administrative burden of complex software licenses, shortens
procurement cycles, speeds project starts, and ultimately leads to
more efficient government.
Said Shultz, "With our MLS, not only are we able to cap our annual
software costs, but we also can start new projects and complete them
more quickly and cost effectively. For example, we plan to deploy
SewerCAD to help document our sewer network. Once this is digitized,
we will be able to do away with expensive and difficult-to-manage
paper trails. All those developing and managing the sewer network will
be able to access the network data and edit it in real time. We expect
this to reduce costs and save a lot of time."
For more information about Bentley's MLS program initiative and
software or to contact a Bentley representative, visit
www.bentley.com/MLS.
About the City of Alpena
Incorporated in 1871, the City of Alpena overlooks Lake Huron's
picturesque Thunder Bay. The wood, cement, and heavy machinery
industries of Alpena stemmed from a long industrial heritage that
started with logging in the 1800s. Besides these industries, Alpena
offers to the public an abundance of businesses, along with a
community college and a regional medical center. Throughout the 8.93
square miles that make up the City of Alpena are many inviting
residential areas and recreational activities for its more than 11,000
residents and visitors to continuously enjoy. For more information,
visit www.alpena.mi.us.
About Bentley
Bentley Systems, Incorporated provides software for the lifecycle
of the world's infrastructure. The company's comprehensive portfolio
for the building, plant, civil, and geospatial verticals spans
architecture, engineering, construction (AEC) and operations. With
2005 revenues of $336 million and more than 2000 colleagues around the
world, Bentley is the leading provider of AEC software to the
Engineering News-Record Top 500 Design Firms and major owner-operators
and was named the world's No. 2 provider of GIS/geospatial software
solutions in a recent Daratech research study.
To receive Bentley press releases as they are issued, visit
www.bentley.com/bentleywire. For more information, visit
www.bentley.com. To view a copy of Bentley's May 2006 Annual Report
online, go to www.bentley.com/May2006annualreport.
Bentley, the "B" logo, Municipal License Subscription,
MicroStation, GEOPAK, MicroStation GeoGraphics, Bentley Water, Bentley
Wastewater, WaterCAD, Bentley Fiber, Bentley Geospatial Management,
and SewerCAD are either registered or unregistered trademarks or
service marks of Bentley Systems, Incorporated or one of its direct or
indirect wholly-owned subsidiaries. All other trademarks are the
property of their respective owners.
