Bentley Map wants you to migrate to V8i

Bentley has launched a strong campaign to get Microstation Geographics users to switch to V8i, for it is offering special prices and an intensive communication of the benefits that one might find in Bentley Map compared with its competitors.

1. CAD and GIS Integration.
2.  Take advantage of Oracle’s geospatial power.
3. Work either with Spatial Oracle or GIS server.
4. Increase the GIS interoperability.
5. Large capacity for configuration and customization.
6. Map’s tracing without problems.
7. Excellent GIS functionality.
8. Creating and printing maps easily.
9. A recognized product in the market, widely accepted.
10. Promotions available with important offerings.

The users

Bentley is being released for all those users who are happy with their previous versions to XM (v8.9) and did not feel the need to invest or at least money limits them.

• MicroStation GeoGraphics
• MicroStation GeoGraphics J
• MicroStation GeoGraphics 5.7 …Oops!!!! This must be SE
• MicroStation GeoGraphics V8
• MicroStation GeoGraphics V8.1, I suppose that its for also 8.5

The prices

For now they’ve been offered 40% discount on purchasing licenses until July 30 2009. Not so bad but they will have to work hard in communicating and providing assistance to make the leap; but by now it has announced an e-seminar (1 hour) between April and May aided to Geographics’ Hispanic Americans users to see the advantages of Bentley Map . We have also seen an increase in advertising via AdSense, and even in English-language workshops (which are more advanced than Hispanics) they were offering to send a mouse pad to users who register at the seminar.

Apart from the license price, the consulting cost to migrate data, adaptation development, recompiling applications… is complicated.

The uncertain

Not everything is in the purchase of a license; apparently it’s necessary to purchase a SELECT service or at least so says the ad. This is like this, because the implications of moving from a project are simple depending on great advantages the new platform has with wms integration, topology, and sure interface.

But as I said before, the difficulty lies in the data, because rather than being simple via OLEDB mslinks now must be embedded xml and developed applications that would be recompiled … added with the integration that there can be with ProjectWise, Geoweb Publisher, Oracle Spatial, Spatial Cartridge or ArcGIS Server.