SPIDA Software’s Brett Willitt and Bentley Systems' Sandra DiMatteo recently interviewed with AECCafe where they discussed the recent acquisition of SPIDA by Bentley, industry challenges, and DigitalTwins.

Bentley Systems Announces Acquisition of SPIDA, Leader in Utility Pole Structure Management

To Extend OpenUtilities’ Grid Resilience Digital Twins to the Last Mile!

  EXTON, Pa. – June 14, 2021 – Bentley Systems, Incorporated (Nasdaq: BSY), the infrastructure engineering software company, today announced the acquisition of SPIDA Software, developers of specialized software for the design, analysis, and management of utility pole systems. Founded in 2007 in Columbus, Ohio, SPIDA offers modeling, simulation, and data management software solutions to electric and communications utilities, and their engineering services providers, in the U.S. and Canada. The integration of SPIDA within Bentley’s OpenUtilities engineering software and grid digital twin cloud services will help address the challenges of transitioning to new renewable energy sources including for electric vehicle charging, of joint usage of utility poles to support broadband networks’ 5G expansion, and of modernizing and hardening the electric grid to maintain reliability and resilience. Grid digital twins can provide utilities with immersive and engineering-accurate geospatial representations of their transmission and distribution assets, combining intelligent network and structural analysis with as-operated 3D and 4D physical reality. Bentley’s OpenUtilities grid digital twin solutions enable operators and power producers to evaluate grid trade-offs and opportunities, now spanning traditional and renewable sources and energy storage, as they provision services to meet demand. Digital twins advance asset health management by converging IT, OT, and ET (engineering modeling and simulations) to leverage infrastructure IoT data sources and predictive analytics for improved safety, performance, and reliability. With the incorporation of SPIDA, the reach of grid digital twins can now extend to the utility pole networks and structures, which deliver the environmentally vulnerable “last mile” of critical infrastructure for vital energy and communications. Leading electric utilities including Ameren, EPCOR, Nashville Electric Service (NES), and Southern California Edison (SCE), engineer the effectiveness and resilience of their overhead systems by applying SPIDA’s software. SPIDA’s utility pole solutions include SPIDAcalc for capturing, modeling, and optimizing overhead transmission and distribution assets for structural loading; SPIDAsilk to analyze cable sag and tension design for physical and ambient properties for precise wire tension and conductor installation; and SPIDAstudio, a cloud-based platform that centrally tracks and manages the asset health and physical condition of overhead systems. “As the rapid expansion of renewable energy sources and greater demand created by electric vehicles increasingly stresses our grid infrastructure, and for 5G-enabled broadband rollout, grids’ utility poles are ‘priceless’ for sustainably advancing infrastructure,” said Alan Kiraly, senior vice president, asset and network performance, Bentley Systems. “We are very pleased to welcome our new SPIDA colleagues to Bentley Systems and to OpenUtilities, and we look forward to further integrating and globalizing SPIDA software, already known as the trusted stalwart for energy distribution engineers in their essential work to improve grid performance and resilience.” Brett Willitt, president of SPIDA Software, said, “Our vision with SPIDA has always been to provide a complete and open solution for maintaining and improving the health and integrity of our users’ power and communication overhead infrastructure assets. Within the Bentley team, we look forward to accelerating grid digital twin solutions, which leverage our industry domain experience and incorporate SPIDA structural analyses. Existing and future SPIDA users can look forward with confidence to leveraging grid digital twins as they upgrade, modify, expand, and manage their overhead systems.” The acquisition of SPIDA Software, which is not material to Bentley’s financial results, will add 26 colleagues in North America. 7 Mile Advisors advised SPIDA’s management and shareholders in the transaction. About Bentley Systems Bentley Systems (Nasdaq: BSY) is the infrastructure engineering software company. We provide innovative software to advance the world’s infrastructure – sustaining both the global economy and environment. Our industry-leading software solutions are used by professionals, and organizations of every size, for the design, construction, and operations of roads and bridges, rail and transit, water and wastewater, public works and utilities, buildings and campuses, and industrial facilities. Our offerings include MicroStation-based applications for modeling and simulation, ProjectWise for project delivery, AssetWise for asset and network performance, and the iTwin platform for infrastructure digital twins. Bentley Systems employs more than 4,000 colleagues and generates annual revenues of more than $800 million in 172 countries.