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What's going on? No more FM Desktop?

32 REPLIES 32
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Message 1 of 33
SDave1
4746 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 21 of 33
SDave1
in reply to: SDave1

Paco, that's not what I was told. When I talked to your reseller manager she mentioned a substantial upfront fee. I had spent months convincing two of my clients that Micromain was the right product for them and then I found out about the fees so we went to plan C (plan A had been FMDesktop - so much for my plans). Needless to say I wasn't very impressed with Micromain after that.

Feel free to contact me directly (dave at indoorweb.com) if you think I have my facts wrong.
Message 22 of 33
CherylGrimes2742
in reply to: SDave1

Any additional news. I have been told by my reseller that Autodesk has no replacement product or transition path to other existing product.
Message 23 of 33
Anonymous
in reply to: SDave1

Nothing solid enough for me to bank on yet.

I heard rumors they're building a replacement in-house from scratch (I
think I recall them starting to do that in the past, before acquiring
FMD), but, I haven't seen any proof, it's all just hearsay.

I know they've had some layoffs, so I wouldn't hold my breath for quick
development on any new product lines at the moment, just focus on
beefing up where they're already established.

Again, all my opinion and a little bit of rumor... we're all pretty much
in the dark for the moment and I'm sure we will remain so for another
year at least.


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

TAKE THE SALARY SURVEY BY JUNE 30th, 2009
http://www.augi.com/surveys/salary2009.asp

CherylGrimes2742 wrote:
> Any additional news. I have been told by my reseller that Autodesk has
> no replacement product or transition path to other existing product.
Message 24 of 33
Guzowski
in reply to: SDave1

That is correct. Autodesk has discontinued the production of FM Desktop as of January 2009. They do not have a replacement product nor do they plan on creating one in the future. They are pointing customers to Revit which is extremely difficult.


Jim Guzowski Edited by: Discussion_Admin on Aug 17, 2009 3:57 PM
Message 25 of 33
Dave.Carlson
in reply to: SDave1

I am sending this note through several channels because it addresses several concerns. If you know of another person who you think should see it, please pass it on to them also. Thanks!

August 18, 2009

A little more than a year ago, I began to look for a Facilities Management solution. After a bit of research I settled on FM Desktop software from Autodesk. As a long time user of AutoCAD, (AutoCAD II with ADE 3 in January of 1985) I had every confidence that this was a good decision. I was impressed with its ease of use and the reports that it could generate along with a drawing of the affected areas. I also liked the methods by which items such as fire extinguishers could be highlighted.

I examined several paths toward implementing FM Desktop and chose to begin the process by implementing Revit Architecture. There were many reasons for choosing this path and the ability to pass data from Revit to FM Desktop was one of the more significant ones. Another strong reason was that I could to use my existing AutoCAD drawings as a starting point. To date, I have entered a significant amount of building and occupant data into Revit. (7 buildings, 14 levels.)

The early promotional materials touted Revit as part of a “Building Lifecycle Management” system. That is a better definition of what I am looking for. Our buildings are built and now need to be managed for maintenance and occupancy.

Earlier this year, I learned that FM Desktop would no longer be available. There was some speculation on the discussion group as to what would be its replacement in the future, but there was nothing definitive. I also started looking for alternative methods from among the software and tools available from Autodesk.

Although the majority of my previous experience is in the mechanical design arena, I do have some experience using AutoCAD Map 3d and Map Guide to build a facility management application. However, I am reluctant to throw away my time invested in Revit in order to re-create similar data in Map. I have also used high-end MCAD software and am well aware of the many advantages of having 3 dimensional models such as the ones I have developed in Revit.

I also investigated the RDB Link tool that is available on the Autodesk Labs site. It looks like it has great potential but I have been reluctant to build too much dependence on this tool since it is a technology preview and expires on September 30th. What is the probability that this functionality will be built into the next version of Revit, and does this make sense as a potential method of building more Facility Management capabilities into Revit?

Several side notes:

I was excited to learn of a new file format “.adsk” that I was told would allow me to move data from one Autodesk application to another, specifically from Inventor to Revit. I downloaded the Inventor LT trial software and modeled a concrete bench as an experiment. I was unsuccessful in transferring that model into Revit and received an error message stating that the model was not of the correct work flow.

I have also downloaded the Inventor Fusion technology preview and am very impressed with the user interface and ease of use. I am hoping that some of this functionality makes its way into AutoCAD as well as Inventor.

I bring these items up to demonstrate that I am not afraid to try new things and am willing to approach problems from several different angles to get the results that I am looking for.

Where do you suggest that I go from here? I would prefer to have an Autodesk solution, but if there is none, I will have to look elsewhere.

Sincerely,

David Carlson
Project Engineer
Workplace Planning, Headquarters Operations
Donaldson Company, Inc.
Bloomington MN
dave.carlson@donaldson.com
www.donaldson.com
Message 26 of 33
robincapperrcd
in reply to: SDave1

Dave, Your situation is the kind of nightmare anyone implementing long term platform based solutions fears. The problem is facilities last longer than any software platform but, other than bankruptcy or the like, you rely on the vendor honouring that commitment.

Autodesk's handling of FM Desktop since acquisition and during its long lingering death has been appalling. This company spouts endlessly about life-cycle management but can't offer a viable solution to clients who committed to managing life-cycles with a platform they purchased, promoted and then abandoned.

I'm not a FM Desktop user but could have been in your shoes. In short, it sucks.

Also see http://rcd.typepad.com/rcd/2009/08/autodesk-fmdesktop-rip.html

Robin

AEC Collection & BIM 360 | Windows Surface Book & HP Z6 Workstation | Android Mobile

RobiNZ CAD Blog


Message 27 of 33
AndyNH
in reply to: SDave1

First, I appreciate that AutoDesk is allowing this discussion thread to continue.

I'm interested in hearing about other CAFM products too. Where's a good CAFM forum? Is it AutoCAD Facilities Management forum? Are any FMD forums still active?

Thanks Edited by: Discussion_Admin on Aug 19, 2009 2:28 PM
Message 28 of 33
Anonymous
in reply to: SDave1

autodesk fm
http://discussion.autodesk.com/forums/forum.jspa?forumID=110
augi fm & fmdesktop
http://forums.augi.com/forumdisplay.php?f=513 (note, I moderate this
forum, and am in the process of moving it from forums by fmd component,
into a single fmd forum, but, I'll keep at least one open with the
existing questions in it).
FM forum
http://www.fmforum.org/
My Facilities Net
http://my.facilitiesnet.com/groups/default.aspx?GroupID=2

I'm not sure if the FMDesktop User Group International forum is still
up, as I've not been able to access that from here at work for some reason?
http://fmdugi.org/eve

I think that about covers it. There isn't much discussion much of
anywhere. Most folks with a lot of CAFM knowledge are consultants and
they're not giving away all of their knowledge in a public forum (with
good reason, I suppose).

Cheers!


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


andrew.p.houghton@hitchcock.org wrote:
> First, I appreciate that AutoDesk is allowing this discussion thread to continue.
>
> I'm interested in hearing about other CAFM products too. Where's a good CAFM forum? Is it AutoCAD Facilities Management forum? Are any FMD forums still active?
>
> Thanks Edited by: Discussion_Admin on Aug 19, 2009 2:30 PM
Message 29 of 33
Steve_Johnson
in reply to: SDave1

> First, I appreciate that AutoDesk is allowing this discussion thread to continue.

> Edited by: Discussion_Admin on Aug 19, 2009 2:28 PM

LOL @ irony!

Steve Johnson
http://www.blog.cadnauseam.com/
Steve Johnson - blog nauseam - ClassicArray
Message 30 of 33
rcbyooper
in reply to: SDave1

Hello

Check out facilicad at www.facilicad.com. I worked with that software with a very large manufacturing client. Can't go into details on this forum, but you can email me at rbeck@up.net

FMlink at www.fmlink.com

Cheers,
Message 31 of 33
mapcad
in reply to: SDave1

As an alternative to the now discontinued FM Desktop you may want to check out faciliCAD. They are currently offering a 30% discount on software as a competitive upgrade solution for FM Desktop users. In addition to their existing product line, faciliCAD has recently released a new product called Web Manager. Web Manager gives the client realtime access to their data and drawings through the internet and intranet. It does not require the republishing of dwf files every time data in the database changes.

-Val
Message 32 of 33
Anonymous
in reply to: SDave1

Well, here's an announcement from Autodesk...

http://news.autodesk.com/portal/site/autodesk/?ndmViewId=news_view&newsId=20100114005109&newsLang=en

http://www.fmsystems.com/fmdesktop/

Looks like Autodesk won't be taking a 'build their own' approach,
they're going to, instead, partner with FM:Systems and let them do it.

"""Building upon a shared goal to bring the benefits of BIM to the
operations phases of a building’s lifecycle, the two companies will now
work together to integrate BIM data from Autodesk software products,
such as Autodesk Revit Architecture, with FM:Systems’ facilities
software to support enhanced building operation and maintenance."""

There's a conference call in a couple of hours, and I might get the
opportunity to ask some questions...

Wanderer wrote:
> Well, according to the Autodesk site, *they* won't be updating it any
> longer... http://autodesk.com/fmdesktop
>
>
> 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.")
>
>
> Melanie Perry
> ***not all who wander are lost***
> http://augi.com/autocad
> http://mistressofthedorkness.blogspot.com
>
> jon_in_texas wrote:
>> Any news?? this was back in Feb....
Message 33 of 33
Anonymous
in reply to: SDave1

During the call, my question about RMEP compatibility was answered right
away, thanks!
They say the aforementioned FMSystems developments will work with the
other Revit platforms as well, not just architecture.

(my concern stemmed from some of the FMDesktop vertical caveats
mentioned at the bottom of these posts:
http://mistressofthedorkness.blogspot.com/2007/04/free-and-updated-autodesk-products.html
and
http://mistressofthedorkness.blogspot.com/2007/10/autodesk-launches-fmdesktop-71-product.html
)

I'm sure Shaun Bryant and Robin Capper will probably blog the other
details we picked up.

Cheers!

Melanie

Wanderer wrote:
> Well, here's an announcement from Autodesk...
>
> http://news.autodesk.com/portal/site/autodesk/?ndmViewId=news_view&newsId=20100114005109&newsLang=en
>
> http://www.fmsystems.com/fmdesktop/
>
> Looks like Autodesk won't be taking a 'build their own' approach,
> they're going to, instead, partner with FM:Systems and let them do it.
>
> """Building upon a shared goal to bring the benefits of BIM to the
> operations phases of a building’s lifecycle, the two companies will now
> work together to integrate BIM data from Autodesk software products,
> such as Autodesk Revit Architecture, with FM:Systems’ facilities
> software to support enhanced building operation and maintenance."""
>
> There's a conference call in a couple of hours, and I might get the
> opportunity to ask some questions...
>
> Wanderer wrote:
>> Well, according to the Autodesk site, *they* won't be updating it any
>> longer... http://autodesk.com/fmdesktop
>>
>>
>> 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.")
>>
>>
>> Melanie Perry
>> ***not all who wander are lost***
>> http://augi.com/autocad
>> http://mistressofthedorkness.blogspot.com
>>
>> jon_in_texas wrote:
>>> Any news?? this was back in Feb....

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