UPDATED

In summary, BricsCAD is triply cost-effective:
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BricsCAD Platinum is priced 4x less than AutoCAD, and 1.5x less than AutoCAD LT
BricsCAD runs on Linux, which is free
BricsCAD and Linux have lower hardware demands than AutoCAD and Windows, and so run effectively
on older computers
MAXIMIZING COMPATIBILITY
Like all responsible capitalist corporations, design firms look to reduce their expenses, and so prefer
the lowest-cost system that produces the highest profits with the fewest expenses — measurable
and unmeasurable. I listed some of the measurable expenses above.
The #1 unmeasurable expense comes from difficulty in using a software system. In the case of CAD,
this can mean difficulty of the user interface, links to external programs, and absolute compatibility
with the industry standard, AutoCAD. For this last reason, design shops employ at least a few seats
of AutoCAD.
Autodesk tries to make sure that AutoCAD stays ahead of the competition, whether through technology
or through marketing. For example in marketing, when in the mid-1990s IntelliCAD began
threatening sales of the 10x more expensive AutoCAD, Autodesk launched a campaign that effectively
warned customers away from the upstart. (In the campaign, Autodesk claimed that AutoCAD LT
was the only low-priced CAD package that was 100% DWG-compatible with AutoCAD. The problem
with the claim at the time was that it was not entirely accurate, for AutoCAD LT in those days could
not deal with all the entities created by AutoCAD.)
For many years, Autodesk put huge resources into leap-frogging AutoCAD ahead of the competition,
making the “100% Pure DWG” situation even more true. In recent years, however, Autodesk has
slowed its pace, curiously enough; as of AutoCAD 2014 onwards, the flagship software has gained
only a few new functions each year, and the file format remaining unchanged for more five years,
as of this writing.
Nevertheless, most design firms have at least one license of AutoCAD on the chance that drawings
from clients might not reproduce correctly in IntelliCAD or BricsCAD. This is like firms saving money
by standardizing on the free Libre Office package, yet maintaining a license of Microsoft Office to
ensure compatibility with files created by the de facto standard in office software.
Open Design Alliance. The industry counterweight to Autodesk is the Open Design Alliance. The
ODA was established in the late 1990s to document Autodesk’s DWG format, which has been kept
proprietary through a lack of documentation. Today, the organization has 1,200 members and
provides APIs that allow members’ software to read and write AutoCAD DWG, MircoStation DGN,
Adobe PDF files, and other popular file formats, such as Revit RVT files. The organization also
158 BricsCAD V17 for AutoCAD Users