Digital Water Works, a global innovator of digital twin solutions for smart wet infrastructure, has announced a strategic investment in the firm by Bentley Systems
The investment allows Digital Water Works and Bentley to bring superior infrastructure digital twin solutions to municipal and investor-owned water and wastewater utilities worldwide.
Digital Water Works’ strategy is to implement its own integrating applications around best-of-breed commercial off-the-shelf (COTS) software such as Bentley Systems’ OpenFlows and iTwin offerings, which Bentley will license directly to Digital Water Works’ customers.
The software partnership is not exclusive; Digital Water Works will continue to collaborate with other software vendors and engineering and technology consulting firms. As part of the investment, Bentley will be entitled to appoint two directors to the Digital Water Works board.
Combining real-time intelligence with spatial analytics, digital twins enable pervasive simulation of water distribution and sewer collection systems with immersive visualisation and analytics visibility of decision support results for operational performance monitoring and efficiency optimisation, powered by artificial intelligence.
Digital twins also enable work and asset management (both discrete and linear assets), reliability-centred maintenance with bad actor and root cause analysis, and risk-based strategic lifecycle asset management to optimise life-cycle costs, extend infrastructure useful life, and prioritise, manage and deliver capital improvement projects.
Digital Water Works founder and CEO Paul F. Boulos said: “We’re pleased and honoured to receive this strategic investment from Bentley.
“Their global footprint and product leadership in infrastructure digital twins for the power, oil and gas, transportation, and mining sectors are extensive, and our collaboration for the broadened application of their experience and solutions portfolio will greatly benefit the water industry and deliver tremendous value to our customers.”
Boulos said that the infrastructure digital twin product suite would be rolled out in phases during the next five to ten months, and that “Next month, we will launch an early adopter programme for progressive water and wastewater utilities and engineering firms who want to help with the product design plans and then beta-test the software.”
Bentley Systems CEO Greg Bentley added: “Bentley Systems’ investment in Digital Water Works signifies our recognition that a specialist ‘digital integrator’ entity will play an indispensable role in helping infrastructure owners to take full advantage of digital twins’ potential.
“And given his track record towards digital advancement for the world’s wet infrastructure utilities already, there could be no one more effective than Dr Paul Boulos in leading their engineers and engineering firms, through Digital Water Works, to realise the unlimited opportunities now opened up by digital twins.”
