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Tuesday, March 3, 2009

Bentley Systems hopes U.S. will carry through on infrastructure spending

One local company that stands to benefit from more spending on U.S. infrastructure is Bentley Systems Inc.

The Exton company has built a $500 million-a-year business providing software to design, build and operate those “shovel-ready” projects we keep hearing about: upgrading roads, bridges, mass transit and water systems.

I visited CEO Gregory S. Bentley recently to talk about what the $787 billion Obama economic-stimulus plan might mean for the company and its 3,000 employees. But it was clear that Bentley Systems hasn’t been waiting for the U.S. to ramp up. It’s grown by expanding globally.

With offices in more than 50 countries, the private company generates more than half of its revenues from outside North America. For example, it has about 100 software engineers in Islamabad, Pakistan. Greg Bentley said the personnel there tend to be more concerned about reliable power service than the sporadic violence.

When the U.S. government opens its checkbook on something, lots of companies step up to try to take advantage. Bentley Systems’ goal is to make sure the software tools that engineers, architects and other professionals use to design 21st-century infrastructure carry its name.

If the Obama administration carries through on its plans to rebuild infrastructure, those professionals are about to get busy. The American Society of Civil Engineers estimates the total cost of repairs and needed upgrades in the U.S. is $2.2 trillion.

“Structures have a finite design life, and we’ve overused that life and exceeded the design capacity,” Bentley said.

The American emphasis may be coming at the right time for Bentley Systems and Autodesk Inc. , the biggest company in this software niche. Autodesk, which last week reported annual revenue of $2.3 billion, indicated that the global slowdown is causing customers to delay or cancel large projects.

Greg Bentley consistently used the word “investment” rather than “spending” in talking about money committed to rebuilding. Clearly, he’s wagering that investing in hard assets will pay off better than the paper assets that have evaporated over the last 17 months.
Posted by Mike Armstrong @ 2:30 AM  Permalink | File Under: Technology | 1 comment
Comments   
  • 0 like this / 0 don't   •   Posted 12:42 AM, 03/04/2009
    Hi, Thank you for the valuable information provided by you. It's of great use. Austin 1 Home Business
    — Austin12


1 comments
About Mike Armstrong
Mike Armstrong, a business editor and writer for nearly two decades, is the Inquirer's business columnist and PhillyInc blog editor. Contact Mike via e-mail or at 215-854-2980
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