What do Infrastructure Users Need?
The needs of infrastructure are challenging. There is a need to manage a broad spectrum of diverse information while allowing multi-disciplinary teams to collaborate and use best-of-breed tools in their projects.
Infrastructure users need an environment where GIS and CAD functionality are fully integrated, allowing users to work seamlessly across lifecycle phases. Users require a fast, user-friendly design environment tailored to their job functions so they can perform at maximum efficiency.
Also critical is inherent 3D modeling. A more lifelike, intuitive environment for users, 3D infrastructure models are becoming the new base map with infrastructure assets of all types populating and extending this geometry. This allows users to fully model and visualize the real world, whether working with full urban planning scenarios or considering clearance issues with overhead power lines.
Because proprietary systems, data stores, and languages create information silos that hold critical data hostage and impede efficient workflows, infrastructure calls for systems that adopt standards that help users exchange data easily, rapidly, and without expensive conversion costs.
GIS for Infrastructure
Bentley’s GIS products fulfill the needs of infrastructure GIS users in a highly productive environment based on MicroStation. MicroStation backs the GIS features of Bentley Map with precision accuracy, high-productivity design, full 3D modeling and visualization, high quality plotting and publishing, and more. Bentley Map is a robust desktop GIS for mapping and infrastructure applications in its own right and also provides the foundation for our industry solutions.
Our unique GIS architecture offers flexibility in modeling, data persistence technology, and the use of open languages. It allows users to work connected, disconnected, or standalone as required for their workflow. Bentley Map capitalizes on Oracle Spatial, offers a choice data stores, adheres to standards, and offers a powerful, open way to customize and configure applications via XML Feature Modeling (XFM). The same philosophy and technology are applied throughout our server, desktop, and mobile products.
Bentley is a principal member of the Open Geospatial Consortium (OGC) and is actively adopting OGC Standards including WMS, WFS, GML, and CityGML. We also offer interoperability with a variety of industry geospatial formats at the desktop or server level and as always, DWG and PDF support is provided. Bentley Map can also publish information to Google Earth.