CLARIFICATION—POSTED MARCH 4, 2005: The “Alias” mentioned in this news item is officially known as Alias, Limited of Cheshire, UK (with an office in Portland, Oregon). Alias, Limited creates software for the design of process and power plants. We are NOT referring to the “Alias” software company whose official name is simply Alias, formerly known as Alias Research. It makes a variety of animation and design software products, including the Oscar-winning Maya. We are sorry for any confusion caused by not stating this clearly in the original item. Bentley recently announced that it has licensed Alias’ ISOGEN software for automated piping isometrics, and will include ISOGEN in Bentley Piping. This move is interesting for the plant design software industry on more than one level.
First of all, it confirms once again that just about everybody in plant design relies on Alias’ ISOGEN. Of the big three in plant design (AVEVA, Bentley, Intergraph) only AVEVA does not incorporate the Alias product. Many smaller, specialized plant design software vendors also incorporate or resell ISOGEN. Many end users who have a mix-and-match approach to their plant design software also incorporate stand-alone versions of ISOGEN and other Alias products.
Second, it should put some worry into Bentley’s competition. I think there is more to this deal than Bentley's compulsive need to extract its users from all things Intergraph. I've seen this movie so many times I can recite lines from it in my sleep. When Bentley strikes a partnership deal like this one, it is prelude to acquisition. It wouldn't surprise me a bit if in less than six months Bentley announces the acquisition of Alias. It is no secret in the industry that Alias’s founders are willing to cash out and retire.
Third, adding ISOGEN to Bentley Piping strengthens Bentley’s new DigitalPlant initiative. The overarching goal is to provide a software suite that moves plant design from a strictly file-based approach to a data approach in baby steps. In the past, Bentley’s ProjectWise managed plant design at the document level. Now Bentley has integrated the eWarehouse suite into its product line, and is offering users the ability to move on to handling data at the component level. Having ISOGEN data inside Bentley Plant allows the company to offer a more complete information management solution.