HOT NEWS!!
New for 2008 - OnLine Tekla Structures Software Training

Each year we find ourselves having to ‘sell’ annual maintenance renewals. I have never fully understood the reluctance to pay for this service, as most companies gladly pay 20-35% per year for accounting and/or other software upgrades, yet they resist when it comes to maintaining the ‘real’ tools of their trade.

Studies show that companies and individuals who take advantage of annual maintenance, and who regularly invest in training, are the ones who gain a huge productivity increase over those who do not. Buying software is a continuous investment, not a one-time event. In fact, if you make only an initial purchase every few years, you run the risk of not only ending up with flat productivity but also facing a productivity loss with each new purchase.

Companies who take full advantage of the latest versions of Tekla Structures tend to find themselves at the forefront of the industry. Every year Tekla invests more than 30% of revenue in R&D geared towards higher productivity for users and increased collaboration between and across disciplines. By adding new features, Tekla offers you a new way of working; improving existing features enables you to do much more; being up to date with the latest version makes your project compatible from bid to completion.

To further increase our value proposition for those customers ‘on maintenance’ for 2008 we are offering 12 month unlimited access to our soon to be launched Dowco E-Learning Tekla Structures Training.

We expect to have a beta version available before January 31st , 2008. The first release of the on-line training will include basic training modules (including quizzes-tests). Access to this Dowco E-Learning site will be password protected. As an introduction to this new service, all Dowco customers on valid 2008 maintenance contracts will have unlimited access to the site and basic training material for the 2008 maintenance year. The creation of additional training material (advanced etc) will be ongoing and introduced throughout the year.

Dowco Customers not on valid maintenance contracts in 2008 may also have 12 month unlimited access to the basic training modules for a fee of $3500 CAD (+ taxes) per year. Note however, that training content will be based on most recent versions of Tekla Structures.

Tekla head office have given Dowco permission to offer this service (on-line training) globally. We expect to have a global launch some time Spring 2008.