EDM/AutoManager/Meridian

[Anonymous]

I was shocked to have null search results for the above (Subject) keywords.
If this is the case, why is there no discussion in the manager's DG for EDM?
I was going to if any has used AutoManger Meridian.

[Anonymous]

The has been some discussion on document management - it appears your
search criteria simply didn't register a hit. try 'document management'

--
Karl M. Fuls PLS
Member of the Autodesk Discussion Forum Moderator Program

Martin Autensmith wrote:
>
> I was shocked to have null search results for the above (Subject) keywords.
> If this is the case, why is there no discussion in the manager's DG for EDM?
> I was going to if any has used AutoManger Meridian.

[Anonymous]

I've been researching the EDMs thing for quite some time. It's a huge undertaking that I think has been understated in the mags (CADENCE, Cadalyst). When I finally looked past the bells and whistles, it boiled down to was that we simply need version tracking, simple check-in/out, and a way to annotate or summarize what is in a drawing without having to view/open the drawing. We DO NOT need project accounting, plot management, time tracking, web-based access, etc. So it turn out my company has a package called PVCS Version Manager from Merant that our IS guys use when developing custom software. It appears to have everything we need and is much less expensive than some of the CAD specific solutions.

I looked at NFM3, AutoManager, and Merdian. NFM3 and AutoMngr are the low end - not to say they are inferior, just simpler - less powerful out of the box. Meridian appears to have more power out of the box. Although I kept hearing about "installation costs" and "annual subscription costs". No one would nail down installation costs, but Merdian ballparked $400-$600 a seat for VIP with an upgrade cycle of 6-8 months. For us, that was too much money to budget for 30+ users.

My bottom line was that it had to be easy and simple for my users. If it wasn't, and they could bypass it they would (NFM3 and AutoManager), if they couldn't bypass it (Meridian), I
d never hear the end of it.

I'd be interested to know how others have handled this.

[Anonymous]

I think you nailed much of what I sensed in my
initial investigation--behind the sale-vail lies an endless stream of
operating overhead.  Thanks for taking the time.  I will be checking
out PVCS. 

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"pkirill" <
href="mailto:pkirill@kirilldesign.com">pkirill@kirilldesign.com> wrote
in message
href="news:ef66aef.1@WebX.SaUCah8kaAW">news:ef66aef.1@WebX.SaUCah8kaAW...

I've
been researching the EDMs thing for quite some time. It's a huge undertaking
that I think has been understated in the mags (CADENCE, Cadalyst). When I
finally looked past the bells and whistles, it boiled down to was that we
simply need version tracking, simple check-in/out, and a way to annotate or
summarize what is in a drawing without having to view/open the drawing. We DO
NOT need project accounting, plot management, time tracking, web-based access,
etc. So it turn out my company has a package called PVCS Version Manager from
Merant that our IS guys use when developing custom software. It appears to
have everything we need and is much less expensive than some of the CAD
specific solutions.

I looked at NFM3, AutoManager, and Merdian. NFM3 and AutoMngr are the low
end - not to say they are inferior, just simpler - less powerful out of the
box. Meridian appears to have more power out of the box. Although I kept
hearing about "installation costs" and "annual subscription costs". No one
would nail down installation costs, but Merdian ballparked $400-$600 a seat
for VIP with an upgrade cycle of 6-8 months. For us, that was too much money
to budget for 30+ users.

My bottom line was that it had to be easy and simple for my users. If it
wasn't, and they could bypass it they would (NFM3 and AutoManager), if they
couldn't bypass it (Meridian), I
d never hear the end of it.

I'd be interested to know how others have handled
this.