Company Submits XML Schema for A/E/C Project Communication For Industry Review
Exton, PA - August 12, 1999 - Bentley Systems, Incorporated (Exton, PA) today announced that it has developed the initial specification for aecXML -- an XML schema for project and business-to-business communication for architecture, engineering and construction (A/E/C). The preliminary specification is now ready for industry review and comment, and Bentley is actively seeking cooperation with other interested parties before submission to the Microsoft BizTalk Framework later this month.
aecXML is a framework of XML-based schemas to facilitate communications between and among the various constituents involved in the A/E/C process, including: architects, engineers, contractors, owner/operators, estimators, consultants, materials suppliers, building product manufacturers, and others. aecXML uses the XML-standard revolution to remove the current barriers to exchanging A/E/C-specific information in electronic business-to-business conversations.
Keith Bentley, CEO of Bentley explains: "aecXML is an extension of, rather than a replacement for, today's software and databases. Those tools individually function well and are fine-tuned for their domains. What's necessary is a vocabulary for exchanging their important A/E/C facts and figures between systems. For example, aecXML is not intended to be a format for transferring CAD drawings, but rather a technique for expressing what's in them. In theory, with a well-defined and universally accepted aecXML schema, two companies using completely different software systems could exchange meaningful project data. That's the general appeal of XML, and the reason we're so excited about the possibilities for aecXML."
Yoav Etiel, Bentley's senior vice president of marketing, says, "Business-to-business communications happen all day every day on hundreds of thousands of active A/E/C projects around the world in the $3.2 trillion construction marketplace. Similar communications also happen daily in the millions of existing buildings, plants, and facilities that are operated and maintained around the world. Today, those communications are mostly conducted with phone calls, faxes, and drawings, which in the world of the Internet seems grossly inefficient. The worldwide A/E/C marketplace absolutely needs an aecXML standard to automate its businesses, and I'm very proud that Bentley has taken the lead to initiate the process of its creation."
The aecXML schema conforms to Microsoft's (NASDAQ: MSFT) BizTalk Framework (www.biztalk.org) and is designed to incorporate and extend cXML (www.cxml.org), the Commerce XML standard developed by Ariba (NASDAQ: ARBA) and others. aecXML adds to these e-commerce foundations the keywords and attributes necessary to describe the components and properties of the various aspects of a building's design, construction, and operation. For example, an aecXML formatted message could request a search for a particular type of sound-control insulation, and a different aecXML formatted message could be used to find a local contractor capable of installing it.
McGraw-Hill [NYSE: MHP] Construction Information Group president Norbert Young says, "Our powerful brands - F.W. Dodge, Sweet's Group, Architectural Record and Engineering News-Record, provide the information the industry needs. As the preeminent source of project news, product information and industry analysis, we recognize the promise aecXML holds for improving productivity and facilitating e-commerce. Architects, engineers, contractors, manufacturers, and owners will all be able to benefit from an industry standard for project communication over the Internet."
Richard Faris, executive vice president of Primavera Systems, the leading developer of integrated project-management software, says, "Primavera is pleased to join Bentley in announcing support for establishing XML specifications for the A/E/C industry. aecXML will invigorate A/E/C software products with new capabilities for sharing information such as project status among Web-based applications." Faris continues, "Our hope is that all A/E/C software developers will join this industry-focused effort. Once an industry-approved XML schema has been agreed to, we will integrate the standard into Primavera Project Planner and Expedition."
Daryl Magana, CEO and Founder of BidCom, Inc. concurs: "As the building industry's first Internet outsourced business-to-business service, BidCom's vision has always been to promote a collaboration standard through the use of XML. We believe that this aecXML specification will help further eliminate communication inefficiencies, ultimately enabling customers to improve their business processes and their bottom line."
Bentley encourages other software companies, construction firms, academic institutions, building product manufacturers, information publishers, and anyone else with an interest in contributing to an industry-wide aecXML schema, to get involved early in this process to exchange ideas. To facilitate this exchange, Bentley has formed the aecXML Working Group and asked Jerry Laiserin to act as its interim executive director. Jerry Laiserin is one of the most respected consultants, analysts, and commentators about information technology for the A/E/C marketplace. Laiserin is a contributing editor at Architectural Record, a member of the editorial advisory board of CADENCE magazine, and author of AEC Tech News. He chairs the American Institute of Architects' (AIA) Center for Advanced Technology Facility Design, serves on the Executive Board of the International Facilities Management Association's (IFMA) Computer Applications Council and on the Steering Committee of the Association for Computer Aided Design in Architecture (ACADIA), and is a Director of AIA/New York Chapter, where he chairs the Electronic Communications Task Force.
Says Jerry Laiserin, interim executive director of The aecXML Working Group: "In the networked economy, the more you share information, the more value you create. aecXML is the key that will unlock the value of shared information throughout the global A/E/C marketplace. I applaud the boldness and vision of the industry leaders who have stepped forward today to support the launch of aecXML, and I look forward to a productive dialogue with all those who will share in this process."
The aecXML Working Group will meet to review and coordinate the work of Bentley and other contributors, with a goal of submitting aecXML V 1.0 to meet Microsoft's September 1st, 1999 deadline for inclusion in the initial rollout of BizTalk. The aecXML specification will ultimately be submitted to other interested standards bodies for formal acceptance.
Dave Weisberg, publisher of A-E-C Automation Newsletter, states, "This is big, big, big news. Finally! The construction industry can surely benefit from aecXML for project communications, can significantly reduce the costs of project transactions and can increase project productivity." He continued, "We are glad to see that Bentley is taking the lead - not only in laying the technical groundwork, but in establishing a forum for comment by others in the industry."
Further information about the aecXML Working Group will be presented at The Proactive Engineering Symposium in Philadelphia, PA (http://www.bentley.com/biuc/ ), on September 29 - October 1, 1999. More information can be obtained at www.aecXML.org (this site is currently under construction and is hosted at www.bentley.com/aecXML until August 20, 1999).
More on Bentley
Bentley Systems, Incorporated is a worldwide leader in engineering software. The Bentley Continuum(SM) is the company's comprehensive engineering IT strategy comprising products, services, and strategic affiliations. The company now serves over 300,000 professionals in building/plant engineering, geoengineering, and manufacturing engineering. With revenues now over $175 million annually, Bentley has advanced from the number three to the number two software provider in the A/E/C market, according to Daratech.
Bentley's MicroStation(R) and ModelServer(R) enterprise engineering modeling (EEM) products, together with high-quality, interoperable engineering applications provided by strategic affiliates, are used at over 70 percent of the largest U.S. engineering firms. Bentley is also the leader in project engineering, providing file sharing, management of change and project roll-back through ProjectBank(TM) (which is being delivered to Bentley SELECT subscribers this quarter). These products form the software foundation of the world's infrastructure such as landmark buildings, roadways, industrial plants and machines. The Bentley SELECT technology and service subscription program now reaches nearly 200,000 users. Bentley's MicroStation was among the first software products to read and write the AutoCAD DWG file format from Autodesk [NASDAQ: ADSK].
For more information on Bentley, please contact the company at 1-800-BENTLEY, +1 610-458-5000 (Americas), +31 23-556-0560 (Europe, Middle East, Africa), +61 3-9699-8699 (Asia/Pacific), through E-mail at jen.mcwilliams@bentley.com or through www.bentley.com. The Bentley Wire automatically delivers company press releases through E-mail within minutes of being issued. To subscribe, click www.bentley.com/news/bwire.
Bentley, MicroStation, and ModelServer are registered trademarks; ProjectBank, ProjectWise, and MicroStation/J are trademarks; and Bentley SELECT and Bentley Continuum are service marks of Bentley Systems, Incorporated or Bentley Software, Inc. AutoCAD is a registered trademark of Autodesk, Inc. Other brands and product names are trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective owners