When searching for affordable information technology solutions, architecture engineering and construction firms often find bargains in niche products, such as general computer utilities or shareware programs. A variety of general-use and specialty design products are available for little or no charge. But some firms are finding they can also save money on traditional big-ticket items such as computer-aided design and Web collaboration software.
In the computer-aided design market, AutoCAD and Microstation remain the most widely used products, but several vendors offer low-cost alternatives. Autodesk's own AutoCAD LT, along with CADopia's IntelliCAD, IMSI's TurboCAD and Intergraph's SmartSketch, can each be had for several hundred dollars a seat, compared with several thousand for the marquis products. A scaled-down version of IntelliCAD can even be downloaded for free at www.Cadopia.com.