Capita Symonds Chooses Autodesk’s Flexible Licensing Agreement to Help Further Use of BIM

April 13, 2011 - PRLog -- Farnborough 12 April, 2011 –  Autodesk has announced that Capita Symonds is the latest UK-based, multi-disciplinary consultancy to choose an Autodesk, Inc. MultiFlex licensing agreement enabling flexible and extensive use of a wide range of Autodesk design and engineering software plus training, consultancy and other benefits. This move is part of a company-wide commitment to enhance efficiency and to increase its use of building information modelling (BIM) methods of project delivery.
The decision follows highly positive results from Capita Symond’s initial projects using BIM, a way of working that involves the creation and use of coordinated, consistent information, enabling faster decision-making, better documentation and the ability to better predict performance.  These early projects, which involved full, multi-disciplinary teams using Autodesk Revit platform software, showed that the software and BIM process could potentially bring productivity gains of up to 50%.  
Capita Symonds’ Blackburn office is currently designing St Silas primary school in Blackburn, the first of its type to be designed using the full Revit suite comprising architecture, structures and M&E. Capita Symonds has also detected a growing number of clients either insisting, or strongly recommending, that those tendering for projects should have BIM capabilities.
As Capita Symonds director of research, development and innovation, Richard McWilliams explains, the organisation was using around 20 different software products, all with different licensing arrangements.  “Now we have converted these to universal or MultiFlex licences, which will enable us to increase our use of higher-end products such as Autodesk Revit Architecture and Autodesk Revit Structure as and when we choose, at no further cost.  It’s a great way to support business change, he says.

“We are not just a construction company, but are involved in the complete lifecycle of property and infrastructure.  Because Autodesk software covers the entire spectrum of our work, this new arrangement will further our aim to become a “one stop shop, for clients wanting longer term design, delivery and management services.

McWilliams sees the training and consultancy element of the agreement as key to its success.  This includes one of the Autodesk team working alongside Capita Symonds staff to give guidance and advice on a day-to-day basis for a certain amount of time.  “We believe this aspect of the deal is important as it will enable us to realise the full potential of Autodesk products such as Revit, which are purpose-built for BIM, he says.

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