What actually happened to StruCad?
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Hi Guys,
I noticed a curious comment on the GSU Blog from a 'YrMumsBum', initially I was not inclined to investigate further as the poster's username raised an eyebrow ..... then again maybe it had the desired effect.
Anyway, Mr YrMumsBum said this,
*%(#000080)[Trimble acquires StruCad last december and have got rid of it as it was the only competition to their other 3d package Telka.
I don't see them doing anything different with sketch-up unfortunately.]*
Being curious, I did a bit of searching around and found some interesting statements.
This is the first link I found, StruCad Client Announcement
http://www.acecadsoftware.com/news,475,strucad_client_announcementand the Announcement read as follows,
*%(#000080)[Dear Customer,
On 22nd December 2011, we announced an agreement to sell the StruCad and StruEngineer businesses to Trimble Navigation and Tekla. This transaction was completed on Wednesday 11th January 2012.
Following Trimble’s acquisition of Tekla in July 2011 this puts them in a unique position to bring together technology from two leading suppliers of 3D Building Information Modeling (BIM) software for steel detailing and fabrication. One of their aims is to provide deeper and richer solutions that enable improved productivity for you.
Tekla has confirmed that you will continue to be provided with the same level of customer service that you have been used to receiving from AceCad as the StruCad Technical Support team will be transferring to Tekla, who will also be utilising the AceCad StruCad development team to deliver service releases for the continuity and effective use of StruCad and StruEngineer software.
As part of the agreement, AceCad will be working closely with Tekla as we continue to develop and take to market our StruM.I.S suite to create the best possible solutions for the structural steelwork industry. Over the next few months we will also be transitioning to Tekla any current agreements you have with local distributors once those agreements have come to an end.
We, along with Tekla, believe that this agreement will ultimately benefit our customers, both companies and the steelwork industry as a whole. As BIM processes come to the fore there is a real opportunity for steelwork contractors to play a leading role and we are committed to continue to provide the best solutions available presented by the potential of our partnership.
There will be further communication from Tekla regarding the transition of StruCad and StruEngineer from AceCad.
Below is the contact information you will need for ongoing Technical Support for StruCad/StruEngineer and Sales:]*
What I found interesting was the level of detail in the statement!
The next link that I found of interest was to a PDF Statement from Tekla / Trimble. I attach same, however the following is what it said,
*Our Ongoing Commitment To You
As you finalise your plans for taking up the swap from StruCad to Tekla Structures you may be wondering what will happen next and in the coming months and years. The information below is intended to provide you with a clear and concise way forward as well as outlining our commitments to your organisation going forward.
Once you have signed the agreement with Tekla you are also agreeing to terminate your equivalent StruCad licence before the end of 2012, this is a key part of the agreement and is why Tekla are providing you with a free copy of Tekla Structures.
Initially you will be provided with your entitlement certificate to the software and access to our Tekla Extranet where you can download the recently released Version 18.0, we will also be sending out an installation DVD as soon as we receive them. We recommend you spend some time learning about all the information our Extranet has to offer. Downloads, Hints & Tips, Forums, Learning Material and Extensions all provide you with productivity increases and valuable tools, we also recommend you visit regularly.
By leaving you with access to your Strucad licences for a period to be agreed with your Tekla representative it allows you to transition to Tekla without affecting your current workload and profitability. Ongoing projects can be completed while you get up to speed. Over the years we have trained many StruCad users and are confident that we can make the move as easy as possible for you.
If you have swapped all your Strucad licences to Tekla Structures, we of course realise that you will still need to access old models and projects so we will be providing you with one permanent Strucad Checker licence that allows you to access all the information you will need.
• Open and interrogate models and access all model information.
• Measure between parts and list properties etc
• View and print drawings
• Export data to Tekla and other products utilising industry standard formats such as SDNF, CIS/2 and IFCThis will provide the access you need to legacy data and allow you to continue any changes or extensions to old projects in Tekla Structures.
Tekla’s maintenance program runs by the calendar year and not how you have been used to working with Acecad where the annual maintenance was due on the anniversary of your purchase. During the calendar year we usually deliver one main release and one progress release (18.1 in 2012) there may also be a number of Service Packs during the year too. Your annual contract entitles you to those releases, technical support and the ExtraNet access previously mentioned. All Tekla offices and Resellers hold User Day’s each year and there are also other activities that happen too such as regular webinars
Strucad Checker Licence
The Strucad Checker licence provided at the end of the year will be enhanced from the current configuration provided to add functionality to export data from the Strucad model into a format that can be imported into Tekla and / or other software packages.
The licence will NOT allow you to do any new modelling, drawing production or generation of data such as NC files.
However it will provide you with all the information you need to access legacy information, such as:
• Access to the 3D wireframe environment and tools for measuring, listing properties etc.
• Access to the interactive environment and tools for measuring, listing properties etc.
• Access to the 2D environment including tools for viewing, editing and printing drawings.
• Import and export for analysis (includes SDNF, CIS/2, IFC formats)
• Struwalker export
• MIS linksThis will be provided as a permanent licence.*
This PFD again has some interesting statements that I am currently digesting. I'd value other comment.
Mike
tekla-customer-commitment (1).pdf
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Because SU has no other competitor within Trimble something similar is unlikely to happen to it, but as someone who is very familiar and fond of SU I would find this kind of thing appalling even if I was offered another professional package free o charge.
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I would agree with that. SU does not seem to have any direct competition with existing products at Trimble.
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So SU.9 will be a freebie to incentivise pro licence transfers to Trimbe?
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Who knows what will be a freebie and what not. When Google took over and (later) released version 6, there was a free upgrade to all existing Pro license holders (otherwise prior and after the acquisition, the "normal" upgrade price used to be and has been ~20% of the new license).
Now obviously we do not even know if a SU9 is being cooked already, we do not know what Trimble's pricing (and not even what their product development) strategy will be
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What I have a problem with, is that there has been very little response either here or in any other forums from Trimble. One might think they would be interested in promoting a bit of good will, with the users.
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@cjryan said:
What I have a problem with, is that there has been very little response either here or in any other forums from Trimble. One might think they would be interested in promoting a bit of good will, with the users.
Chris, the deal has to be closed first
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Thanks for the response Mike. But I will suggest that even before I sign a contract on a job, I like to tell my "future" clients that "I'm looking forward to working with them".
Regardless, of the closing date, it looks, as far as I can tell, like a "done deal". (apology's for all the quotation marks).
Honestly, I hope the deal is closed soon, so we SU users can get a better handle on how it will affect us.
Chris
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