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What's going on? No more FM Desktop?

32 REPLIES 32
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Message 1 of 33
SDave1
4739 Views, 32 Replies

What's going on? No more FM Desktop?

I just received a FedEx stating that Autodesk is "no longer making the AutoDesk FMDesktop software product commercially available."

What's up with that?
32 REPLIES 32
Message 2 of 33
jaynesworth
in reply to: SDave1

Dave, any more news on this?
Message 3 of 33
Anonymous
in reply to: SDave1

I'm curious as well if anyone has any more news on this...

jaynesworth@west-bend.k12.wi.us wrote:
> Dave, any more news on this?
Message 4 of 33
odoshi
in reply to: SDave1

I've heard the same...
Mike Caruso
Autodesk Certified Instructor 2014
AutoCAD/Civil 3D Autodesk Certified Professional 2014, 2015, 2018
www.whitemountaincad.com
Message 5 of 33
jawisa
in reply to: SDave1

We are currently loking to move to FM Desktop and are concerned about this. Please keep us informed when info is available.

Thanks

James Wisa
Message 6 of 33
SDave1
in reply to: SDave1

I have still not heard anything official. One e-mail from one person (after I sent numerous questions to numerous people over there) that told me that Autodesk was implementing some cut backs and would no longer actively sell or support FMDesktop.

So....the end of FMDesktop as far as I can see.

I was seriously worried when I heard that this product was moving to Autodesk and expressed those fears at the time. Of course everybody assured me that all would be wonderful at Autodesk and I fell for it. Now, after spending a year or so getting a number of clients convinced that this was the product for them I know have had to tell them all that I was wrong.

I think the worst part is the complete lack of communication. Who sends out a one line FedEx and then doesn't bother to explain or provide any additional information. I was getting a little tired of the complete lack of sales support that was provided but even this surprised me.

I set up trial versions of the system for 4 different clients so they could see the product at work in their facility and gave 7 other presentations and proposals. All this was for current (and valuable) customers. 5 of these customers were ready to set up their facilities in FMD this year. This really pisses me off. You people at FMD should be ashamed of how you have mishandled this - I hope you all made big money when you sold out to Autodesk. Now you can enjoy that cushy severance package while your former "valued clients" scramble to find a new solution and to try to salvage our relationships with our own clients, bosses, etc.
Message 7 of 33
Anonymous
in reply to: SDave1

There's obviously been no official word, but... I was given something to
ponder; when I was speaking with some folks last week about my concerns
on the product, they were of the opinion that the features might be
moved into another product to reduce the sheer volume of software
packages being offered. ~shrug~ I'm not sure which product this might be
a good fit in, but, I'm certainly curious now if that's the way things
will play out.
(there were evidently some pointed comments made by Carl Bass at AU
about how they just have too many products and need to merge and prune
them. I don't know exactly what was said, as I wasn't there)

I've invested quite a bit of time and effort and some money to try to
learn and pilot test FMD, so I really really hope it's not all for
naught, that I might still be able to apply that experience elsewhere.
:-/



Cheers!


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

SDave1 wrote:
> I have still not heard anything official. One e-mail from one person
> (after I sent numerous questions to numerous people over there) that
> told me that Autodesk was implementing some cut backs and would no
> longer actively sell or support FMDesktop. So....the end of FMDesktop as
> far as I can see. I was seriously worried when I heard that this product
> was moving to Autodesk and expressed those fears at the time. Of course
> everybody assured me that all would be wonderful at Autodesk and I fell
> for it. Now, after spending a year or so getting a number of clients
> convinced that this was the product for them I know have had to tell
> them all that I was wrong. I think the worst part is the complete lack
> of communication. Who sends out a one line FedEx and then doesn't bother
> to explain or provide any additional information. I was getting a little
> tired of the complete lack of sales support that was provided but even
> this surprised me. I set up trial versions of the system for 4 different
> clients so they could see the product at work in their facility and gave
> 7 other presentations and proposals. All this was for current (and
> valuable) customers. 5 of these customers were ready to set up their
> facilities in FMD this year. This really pisses me off. You people at
> FMD should be ashamed of how you have mishandled this - I hope you all
> made big money when you sold out to Autodesk. Now you can enjoy that
> cushy severance package while your former "valued clients" scramble to
> find a new solution and to try to salvage our relationships with our own
> clients, bosses, etc.
Message 8 of 33
Allerian
in reply to: SDave1

We all knew this would happen. Although I've seen countless products bought up and destroyed by Autodesk, I really thought this time would be different. Twenty years I've been a customer and at this point, I can't see a reason to spend any more money with Autodesk.

Its one thing to remove the dealer relationship and discount structure - charging a loyal customer insane prices for AutoCAD and Revit. It is entirely another to annouce to an industry that you're buying up a new, powerful FM product and then to slowly destroy it with neglect and indifference.

This pair of videos came my way and they illustrate perfectly how Autodesk sees themselves. Get your high boots on before you watch:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PzSePhyp93w
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6q0lVE8HM98
Message 9 of 33
SDave1
in reply to: SDave1

"neglect and indifference" yep - pretty much sums it up!
Message 10 of 33
Anonymous
in reply to: SDave1

Another product built from FM Desktop code back in Version 5 or 6...

If you had to leave FMD...this might be an option. Edited by: Discussion_Admin on Feb 20, 2009 1:22 PM
Message 11 of 33
Paco6945
in reply to: SDave1

MicroMain is a development partner of AutoDesk and has a comparable product named MicroMain FM. FM Desktop and MicroMain FM have a common heritage and, although we have heard rumors that AutoDesk would drop FM Desktop, we were not aware that they have done so.
Edited by: Discussion_Admin on Feb 20, 2009 1:21 PM
Message 12 of 33
pajamabob
in reply to: SDave1

I did not think this is a solicitation site, but looks like MicroMain is making it one. Use Caution with MicroMain!!!



Here are a couple of things you should know:



1. FMDesktop is not yet dead. I can’t go much further than this, but if it dies, I will be the first to tell you.



2. The future of FMDesktop is in limbo for a short time, details at a later date.



3. The MicroMain stuff is a very old, very early version of the FMDesktop application. It is about eight year old technology. It has only about half the horsepower of FMD and cannot deal with ACA and Revit drawings. No dynamic labeling, hatching, or any of the usable features you have come to know in FMD.



4. MicroMain has some “less than equitable” business practices and the best of their sales partners left a long time ago.



Keep your eyes and ears open with regard to FMDesktop, you may hear some news in a few weeks. As for MicroMain…I would avoid their FM solution altogether. Their CMMS stuff is pretty good, but get all of your deals in writing!
Message 13 of 33
Karen7894
in reply to: SDave1

After hearing the rumors that Autodesk was dropping FMDesktop, I contacted my reseller who confirmed that the FMDesktop product was going away. If it is "not dead yet", as you say, Autodesk should be contacting their customers and resellers, because there seems to be alot of misinformation floating around. We are prepared to begin the search for a new product to replace FMDesktop and like many others, are not going to wait until it comes out of "limbo."
Message 14 of 33
SDave1
in reply to: SDave1

I find it a little unsettling that you are able to bad mouth MicroMain but you can't provide any details regarding a claim you make that is exactly contrary to the e-mail I received from Autodesk. Since you mention nothing about Autodesk I can only assume that your less than enlightening flame filled post is foreshadowing some announcement about how you are now going to rescue FMD from the evil Autodesk empire and move it another better and brighter pasture where it will, undoubtedly, be able to run free and flourish.

I'll admit that I'm not impressed with some of the business techniques employed by Micromain, most notably the fees they charge resellers. But I will say this, they did not sell out to a company that came to treat the software like an ugly stepchild AND they seem more than happy to provide support and information to their users and resellers. Autodesk has not.

So I am guessing that you will soon unveil your grand scheme and we will all be asked to forget how you folks have largely ignored us over the last couple of years, deciding only to chime in on this topic when a competitor dared to offer an alternative solution.

Yes, you have a better FM solution but your CMMS option sucks. Yes, Micromain's FM solution isn't a good as yours but their CMMS option is great and the total package offers more. Most importantly, they support and stand behind their product rather than hide behind their big corporate desks and expect people to put up with their lack of support simply because they are part of the might Autodesk family.

Your post is 2 months late, says absolutely nothing and servers only to bash a competitor. I just find it completely ironic that you came to this thread simply to discredit another company's business practices.
Message 15 of 33
jwulf
in reply to: SDave1

I think the post above by pajamabob was reassuring enough. I don't need details at this moment - I only need to know that FMDesktop will not die. A few weeks is not too long to wait, but we will need to know something soon so we know how to market to potential customers, how much to invest in the existing product for current customers, etc. If weeks turns into months, then I will see the need to look elsewhere.
Message 16 of 33
pajamabob
in reply to: SDave1

Folks - there is no one on this planet that cares more about FMDesktop than I do. I am working as hard as I can to provide the product, its customers and associated partners with a path forward. The reality is that these things do not always move at the pace we would like to see.

While I can make no promises as to the ultimate conclusion of current efforts, I can tell you that there is a sincere effort by all the appropriate parties to do the right thing for the FMDesktop community.

I will update as best I can and as appropriate.

Thanks you all for your continued commitment...


Message 17 of 33
RTCADMAN2
in reply to: SDave1

Bob;

I don't often post, but I have heard from my reseller that this is an issue. As you know, I have alot of time and effort invested in developing this program @ our site. I really expected bigger and better when I heard Autodesk was interested in the product. I have found it to be a very useful tool and truly hope you find a way to maintain the integrity of this valued software. Please keep us all posted.

Thanks;
Rick
Message 18 of 33
Paco6945
in reply to: SDave1

sdave1: I appreciate your post, but I'm not sure what you mean when you mention the fees we charge resellers. We don't charge resellers any fees except a percentage of the license cost. I think that is identical to Autodesk and most software companies.

Several years ago, we required that a reseller purchase two copies of our software (at a significant discount) in order to be a reseller -- which could then be resold, but that requirement was eliminated some time back. Contact us if you need clarification of our reseller program.
Message 19 of 33
jon_in_texas
in reply to: SDave1

Any news?? this was back in Feb....
Message 20 of 33
Anonymous
in reply to: SDave1

Well, according to the Autodesk site, *they* won't be updating it any
longer... http://autodesk.com/fmdesktop

I suppose we have to draw our own conclusions about what *might* be
going on behind-the-scenes at the moment:
"2. The future of FMDesktop is in limbo for a short time, details at a
later date."
"working as hard as I can to provide the product, its customers and
associated partners with a path forward. The reality is that these
things do not always move at the pace we would like to see.
While I can make no promises as to the ultimate conclusion of current
efforts, I can tell you that there is a sincere effort by all the
appropriate parties to do the right thing for the FMDesktop community."

But, my *guess* is that there won't be anything to report until at least
February of 2010 (from the adesk site: "Standard product support and
Subscription benefits will continue to be available through January 31,
2010.")


I'm sure Bob will post an announcement somewhere as soon as there is a
resolution, but, I assume nothing will move quickly enough for us
customers twiddling our thumbs.

~fingers crossed~


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

jon_in_texas wrote:
> Any news?? this was back in Feb....

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