ZweigWhite CEO Mark Zweig will make a rare webcast appearance Tuesday, December 11th at 2PM EST for "Injecting New Life Into Your A/E or Environmental Firm." Mark will share insights from the 2012-2013 Successful Firms Survey which captures 400 performance metrics in today’s most successful A/E & Environmental firms. Andy Yeomans, Director of Business Development for Systems Advisors Group, will then explain how their firm is helping A/E & Environmental firms implement best practices in areas like A/R collections, business development, and resource management.

The webcast will showcase ERP strategies and systems that can help any A/E or environmetal consulting firm.

Autodesk, the San Rafael, Calif., cloud-based design and engineering software manufacturer, and Topcon Positioning Systems, a manufacturer of precision positioning solutions, today announced they have signed a letter of intent under which both companies will collaborate to allow products within Autodesk’s design and construction software portfolio for Building Information Modeling (BIM) to more efficiently interact with Topcon’s on-site field positioning hardware. This collaboration is designed to allow building and civil infrastructure construction customers to form a tighter, more seamless workflow that will increase on-site worker productivity, enhance field safety, and improve quality control.

Autodesk has announced the company’s first full-featured, cloud-based CAD software, Autodesk Fusion 360 — its first full-featured design software available only as a cloud service. It is downloadable as Mac or PC apps.

While Autodesk has been branching out into free mobile applications for the consumer market such as AutoCAD WS and its 123D line, this is the company's first professional cloud app that integrates both industrial design and engineering capabilities.

Autodesk will be offering a beta version of the software soon and intends to release the full version in the first half of 2013. Pricing is not yet available.

"The next generation of design tools are here to empower you and the next generation of engineers," said Autodesk CEO Carl Bass at the company's Las Vegas Autodesk University trade show.

At Autodesk University, Autodesk previewed a beta version of a new cloud-based road optimization service for Autodesk Infrastructure Modeler software. The new road optimization service, the first in a series of cloud-based services the company plans to deliver as part of Project Mercury, will help civil engineers and designers create more cost-effective and efficient road and highway designs by optimizing and automating engineering calculations and designs, helping to speed project delivery and reducing costs. The road optimization service and other Project Mercury solutions will be available in 2013, and will include new technology and Autodesk’s existing infrastructure solutions including the Autodesk Infrastructure Design Suite.

Las Vegas - Autodesk FormIt, the first 3D solid modeling application for the iPad was released today by Autodesk at its Autodesk University trade show. Area, volume, location can all be recorded in the FormIt app. It is connected to the San Rafael, Calif., software manufacturer's Autodesk 360 service which allows it to add real world data such as location and gross area on the iPad. It is building specific and location aware. It is a free application available from the iTunes store.

AMSTERDAM, Netherlands – Nov. 13, 2012 – Bentley Systems today announced that it has acquired EuResearch, provider of Microprotol – a leading software application for the design and analysis of pressure vessels and heat exchangers. With this addition to its portfolio, Bentley extends its world-class AutoPIPE product suite to span comprehensive pipe stress analysis for improved productivity and quality, with rigorous performance simulation capabilities for streamlined design, analysis, fabrication, and commissioning of pressure vessels and their associated pipework. Users in engineering and fabrication firms will benefit from the faster delivery of improved designs, and owner-operators will achieve safety and process improvements that enhance returns on investment. Microprotol users include the largest and most safety-conscious engineering, procurement, and construction contractors (EPCs), plant owners, consulting engineers, and manufacturing firms.

AMSTERDAM, Netherlands, Nov. 13, 2012 – Bentley Systems today announced that it has acquired SpecWave software, a solution that helps architectural, engineering, construction, and operations (AECO) professionals author and configure structured text content, including engineering specifications and related codes and standards. SpecWave makes specifications an integral aspect of information modeling, creating text objects to be change-managed by Bentley’s eB Insight – facilitating and enforcing enterprise, project, and owner standards, and delivering documents that are rigorous, controlled, and connected throughout the project and asset lifecycle, to save time and improve quality and performance.

LAS VEGAS, Nevada, U.S.A. – Trimble Dimensions 2012 – Bentley Systems and Trimble today announced a strategic alliance to further the connection between the virtual and physical environments for infrastructure projects. This alliance will establish a new benchmark for construction and operations quality, efficiency, and safety. Working smarter, together, and employing advanced information mobility innovations, the exchange of physical and virtual data can now be more easily leveraged by engineers and contractors to reduce project risk while increasing overall productivity.

Assemble Systems, a SaaS (Software as a Service) BIM software developer and Autodesk University Silver Sponsor, is offering a one-time-only opportunity for AU attendees to win their own environmental BIM visualization hardware. Called a BIM C.A.V.E. (computer-aided virtual environment, a phrase coined by the Texas A&M University school of construction management), the technology consists of a high-powered graphic workstation and multiple, large-format screens. This suite of hardware can be mounted in a board room, construction trailer, or design pin-up space.

Esri released ArcGIS for Windows Mobile 3.1, coinciding with the release of Trimble Positions field collection software. The Trimble Positions software suite extends the ArcGIS for Windows Mobile application and software developer kit (SDK) with support for high-accuracy Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) mobile GIS data collection.