Bentley i-models ‘With Integrity’ in PDF Workflows

Innovations Are Based on i-model-Enabled PDFs and Adobe Digital Rights Management

Bentley Systems, Incorporated, today announced that its i-models (containers for open infrastructure information exchange) are now able to deliver AECO information mobility “with integrity” in PDF workflows by leveraging new agreements with Adobe Systems Incorporated and Bluebeam Software (provider of PDF creation, markup, and editing tools for AEC workflows). As a result, PDF-format deliverables can serve usefully at each stage, even as information is transformed from design to construction to operations, and back again. The agreements:

• introduce i-model-enabled PDFs providing new capabilities for AECO workflows that let users, for example, easily and interactively navigate and query information-rich 3D models and drawings within PDF documents;
• extend the interoperability of Bluebeam PDF Revu and related products with Bentley’s ProjectWise collaboration and work-sharing platform, leading to new opportunities for dynamic review and for secure information mobility;
• enable Bentley to incorporate Adobe digital rights management capabilities in optional services of ProjectWise and AssetWise to further enhance the security of AECO intellectual property such as transmittals, project records, and operational documents shared among stakeholders.

Harry Vitelli, Bentley vice president, Collaboration Products, said, “We are pleased to be working with both Adobe and Bluebeam Software towards the common goal of enabling fit-for-purpose information to be shared in a consistent, controlled, and securemanner across all project disciplines and phases using our i-models and ProjectWise collaboration platform. The agreements and innovative developments we are announcing today enable users to distribute and interact with project-scale models in PDF, to help ensure project quality by synchronizing PDF-based markups dynamically and in correct context, and to protect their critical intellectual property.”

Vitelli continued, “At a time when Adobe has determined that its efforts are best concentrated on important horizontal capabilities, we commend the useful work of Bluebeam in helping us achieve the potential of PDF in AECO. One of our particular contributions at Bentley has been to advance rich PDF use cases, and today’s announcements support the important future for 3D PDF in AECO.

“Our users have very enthusiastically taken advantage of our ongoing commitment to PDF. In fact, of the tens of millions of vital AECO documents our users share in ProjectWise, the PDF format is used for nearly half.”

John Landwehr, senior director of Enterprise Security Solutions, Adobe, said, “We are pleased to support Bentley with our digital rights management capabilities in its Bentley ProjectWise and AssetWise shared service. Now, AECO users will have the same levels of intellectual property protection and rights management features found in health care, financial services, and other highly regulated industries. Bentley’s customers will enjoy features such as revocation of outdated content, watermark changes based on workflow states, or distribution of new versions of PDF and Microsoft Office files, i-models, and mobile packages.”

Landwehr continued, “We are also excited that Bentley will extend PDF to include AECO-specific functionality through its i-model plug-ins for Adobe Acrobat and Adobe Reader. Users will enjoy advanced functionality such as viewing large point cloud data sets, component data query, and hypermodel interaction.”

“Bluebeam and Bentley share the goal of creating better ways for information mobility within AECO through the use of PDF,” said Richard Lee, president and CEO of Bluebeam Software. “For years, Bluebeam PDF Revu, our markup and collaboration application, has enabled digital workflows for Bentley users. And thanks to our cooperation with Bentley, Revu users will soon be able to synchronize their redlines through ProjectWise directly back to the information source, such as MicroStation, OpenPlant, or AECOsim applications. Plus, Bentley’s i-model-enabled PDFs are truly exciting, as they make it possible to interact with project-scale models in PDFs. Today’s announcements establish that PDF will become even more important for AECO.”

i-model-enabled PDFs and i-model plug-ins for Adobe Acrobat and Adobe Reader

Significantly, through the Adobe Reader Integration Key License (RIKLA) Program Bentley has developed new i-model-enabled PDFs and associated i-model plug-ins for Adobe Acrobat and Adobe Reader. These plug-ins are readily downloadable from Bentley’s iWare website at no charge. In addition, Bentley and Bluebeam will work together to support i-model-enabled PDFswithin Bluebeam’s PDF Revu and related products.

Availability

The i-model plug-ins for Adobe Acrobat and Adobe Reader will be available through Bentley’s early adopter program in Q4 2011.