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Archibus VS FMDesktop

9 REPLIES 9
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Message 1 of 10
Karen_abel
1141 Views, 9 Replies

Archibus VS FMDesktop

Hi all,
Im quite new to FM and I was wondering if anyone can give me the difference between the 2? Ive heard a lot of great things about both but I was hoping for a mixed feedback.

kabelco@gmail.com
9 REPLIES 9
Message 2 of 10
Karen_abel
in reply to: Karen_abel

btw, is FMdesktop the same as FMsystems?
Message 3 of 10
Anonymous
in reply to: Karen_abel

No, FMDesktop (by Autodesk) is different from FM:Systems (see previous
thread in this forum... Archibus vs FM:Systems)

It's been awhile since I'd looked at FMSystems myself, but, I've just gotten
back from Autodesk University and I believe I heard there are now a couple
things that FMDesktop can do that Archibus cannot... unfortunately, I don't
have my class notes with me.

What type of CAD programs will your facility be interfacing with? If it's
Revit or ADT, FMDesktop can import the space/room information without the
tedious plining.

I haven't used any of these programs in a production environment (darned
bean counters), I had settled on asking for Archibus a couple years back
because there was a really good consulting firm locally who could do all of
the customization of it that we needed... but, in a few weeks I'll be
pitching FMDesktop here... the last released wow'd me.

--
Melanie Perry
***not all who wander are lost***
http://mistressofthedorkness.blogspot.com/

wrote in message news:5418812@discussion.autodesk.com...
btw, is FMdesktop the same as FMsystems?
Message 4 of 10
rtcadman
in reply to: Karen_abel

Melanie;
Was the FMDesktop release you looked @ the first by Autodesk? Have you seen previous versions? Was the new release alot different?. I heard that Autodesk was going to drop the workorder aspect of it. I'm currently running 6.0 and wondering about upgrading. What part of the software "wowed" you?
Message 5 of 10
Karen_abel
in reply to: Karen_abel

WE are currently using ADT for Space inventory. I have seen a lot of great features with FM desktop. But I am wondering if this would be as easy to use as they said it would be.

I am working at a university and they are talking about getting archibus but nothing seems to be happening and its been about 5 years now. My group wants to start something that would be helpful to us right now as far as space allocation, inventory, evaluation and proposals. It looks like FMdesktop might be the way to go.
Message 6 of 10
rtcadman
in reply to: Karen_abel

I guess I should have answered the post while I was at it. We had Archibus here before I came aboard. From what I understand it was a little intimidating. With all the different modules it seemed to try to do it all within one program. As I said, I am running FMDesktop v6.0. In my situation I am not using it for space management. I'm using it for infrastructure management - what valve controls a particular area, where does electricall service for a machine come from, etc. It is a work in progress - as it always will be.
Message 7 of 10
Anonymous
in reply to: Karen_abel

Yes, it was Release 7, the first full version by Autodesk.

I hadn't really seen the previous release in action, just read snippets here
and other places and spoke with Bob in the Autodesk University Exhibit hall
awhile back.

The workorder part is still there in 7. I was interested because I asked and
they confirmed that they can get data from MP2 (which is our current
workorder management system). That's not currently my baby (and believe me,
I want NO part of it), but, the nerd handling it is about to retire.

The part about importing spaces from Revit and ADT... the clean lines and
unintimadating interface. There are a couple toolbars (facility link I
guess) that show up in autocad, easy to swallow, and the web interface looks
like Outlook... navigate on the left, information on the right.

I was hoping one of the classes was going to be a lab, but, it didn't work
out, but, the tools looked pretty straightforward to me. I did see a webcast
a couple weeks before AU that impressed me, many resellers around the
country do them (I signed up for one I heard about through a reseller in
Alabama, then a week later learned one of the resellers here in st. louis
was signing people up for them ~shrug~).

--
Melanie Perry
***not all who wander are lost***
http://mistressofthedorkness.blogspot.com/

wrote in message news:5419711@discussion.autodesk.com...
Melanie;
Was the FMDesktop release you looked @ the first by Autodesk? Have you seen
previous versions? Was the new release alot different?. I heard that
Autodesk was going to drop the workorder aspect of it. I'm currently running
6.0 and wondering about upgrading. What part of the software "wowed" you?
Message 8 of 10
Anonymous
in reply to: Karen_abel

I've seen it pitched quite a few times... the last time was this spring, and
it looked better to me now than it had in the past, but, it was still
intimidating.

That's awesome... I'm not currently doing any space management here myself
and am more concerned about... Zones? (I think they're called) ie, as you
say, which spaces are controlled by which valve, etc. I'm thinking of a
pilot here... which spaces are controlled by Air Handling Unit #??? and put
the Asbestos survey in the same way... the electrical panels and stuff...
man I am NOT looking forward to putting that sort of stuff together because
of the sheer volume of data gathering.

of course... 😉 job security.

--
Melanie Perry
***not all who wander are lost***
http://mistressofthedorkness.blogspot.com/
wrote in message news:5419741@discussion.autodesk.com...
I guess I should have answered the post while I was at it. We had Archibus
here before I came aboard. From what I understand it was a little
intimidating. With all the different modules it seemed to try to do it all
within one program. As I said, I am running FMDesktop v6.0. In my situation
I am not using it for space management. I'm using it for infrastructure
management - what valve controls a particular area, where does electricall
service for a machine come from, etc. It is a work in progress - as it
always will be.
Message 9 of 10
Anonymous
in reply to: Karen_abel

Well, that sounds like it'd work well for you if you're already using spaces
in ADT.

Good luck on evaluating it. Do you have a reseller near you who sells it
that could give you a demo? (I think JUST a couple weeks back one of the
resellers here started selling it, the other one says they will 'in the
future' but, I don't know what that means ;-p)

--
Melanie Perry
***not all who wander are lost***
http://mistressofthedorkness.blogspot.com/

wrote in message news:5419737@discussion.autodesk.com...
WE are currently using ADT for Space inventory. I have seen a lot of great
features with FM desktop. But I am wondering if this would be as easy to use
as they said it would be.

I am working at a university and they are talking about getting archibus
but nothing seems to be happening and its been about 5 years now. My group
wants to start something that would be helpful to us right now as far as
space allocation, inventory, evaluation and proposals. It looks like
FMdesktop might be the way to go.
Message 10 of 10
mark.evans
in reply to: Karen_abel

Kaco,

I'll admit to being a little biased towards FMDesktop over Archibus. I can clear up a couple of items from your thread here.

1. FMDesktop is an Autodesk product. FM:Systems is a separate company, unrelated except that they are an Autodesk development partner to work with AutoCAD.

2. The work order portions of FMDesktop are not going away. We actually are developing new capabilities in the work order system right now.

3. If you are an FMDesktop 6.0 user and had a current maintenance agreement from the previous owners, Applied Spatial Technology, you should have been converted to Autodesk subscription. That would make you automatically eligible to get the new version 7.0 at no cost.

4. Comparing FMDesktop and Archibus is a little like asking car guys why they like one brand over another. It really depends upon your criteria. Big picture: FMDesktop is lower cost, easier to install and use, and has data integration with Revit and ADT. Archibus is more enterprise focused, more highly configurable.

5. If you are already using ADT for space inventory, it's a piece of cake to move that into FMDesktop. And you are already using one of the key features of FMDesktop -- the relationships between equipment and spaces. Wouldn't there be value in extending your equipment topology to the spaces in your inventory? There's a really neat feature in FMDesktop that lets you display the dependencies between equipment and spaces and include that graphic in a work order.

6. Similarly, your facility managers or space planners can do markups in FMDesktop without having to go to CAD. That might help your need for "evaluation and proposals."

If you want to see how easy it is to use, get in touch with an FMDesktop reseller and ask them to import some of your ADT data into FMDesktop 7. Let them prove it to you.

Mark Evans
Autodesk


Mark Evans
Senior Product Manager
AEC Division, Simulation Product Line
Autodesk, Inc.

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