In an exclusive interview with DailyCADCAM, Mr. Tom Greaves, COO of Kenesto, shared insights about the company and its software. Kenesto is a secure, cloud-based product document management solution designed for CAD engineers, offering storage, sharing, CAD file viewing, and more. It has become an innovative tool for design professionals, regardless of the CAD software they use.
Mr. Greaves discussed how Kenesto overcomes the challenges faced by design professionals in document and file management, simplifying their document environment, reducing expenses and increasing efficiency. Kenesto’s products, its differentiation from PDM and PLM solutions, security measures, partnerships in India, strategies, and more. Here is the complete interview.
Can you tell us more about yourself, Mr. Tom Greaves?
I have been fortunate to participate in the remarkable progress of engineering and construction software for more than thirty years as a market analyst, sales and marketing executive, and founder of a media company. My immersion began at the Sloan School at MIT in 1990 where I wrote my thesis on the evolution of the 2D design market. Today I am chief operating officer of Kenesto.
Could you share the story of Kenesto? How was it founded, who were the founding members, and how did the idea for starting Kenesto evolve? What challenges did you aim to address with Kenesto?
Kenesto was born from the ashes of a failed Israeli startup funded by Hasso Plattner Ventures and others. Engineering software entrepreneur Michael Payne who was a co-founder of PTC (NASDAQ: PTC); SolidWorks (acquired by Dassault Systѐmes (DSY.PA)), and SpaceClaim (acquired by ANSYS (NASDAQ: ANSS)) rebranded the venture as Kenesto and pivoted the company to focus on cloud-based document management.
What products does your company offer? Can you explain what Kenesto Cloud Product Document Management is?
Kenesto has two main offerings: our cloud-based document management solution and PDFBilT, our application for managing multi-sheet construction PDF documents. Kenesto’s cloud-based document management solution emulates a mounted disk in an engineering office, but the data is stored as a single-source-of-truth in the cloud. All versions of all files are kept in perpetuity and the sophisticated file locking mechanisms and file sharing protocols prevent users from overwriting each other’s work.
How does Kenesto PDM differ from other solutions like SOLIDWORKS PDM or other CAD PDM systems and services like Dropbox? What are the benefits of using Kenesto over other PDM and PLM solutions?
Kenesto requires less management overhead than enterprise PDM solutions and is considerably less expensive to license and operate. Kenesto serves small- and medium-sized enterprises whose engineering teams are hands on managing their design data. Unlike consumer-grade file management solutions such as Dropbox, Box, and Google Drive, Kenesto supports robust file locking and does not rely on synchronizing multiple, local versions of the truth. Kenesto also includes a task management and workflow engine to allow collaboration and a 3D viewer to allow non-CAD users to easily share information.
With most CAD software now offered on Cloud, how does Kenesto support this scenario? How does Kenesto work with other CAD software providers that already have cloud storage facility?
Kenesto supports multiple CAD file formats with rigorous file locking and version management. Only a small handful of CAD applications are native cloud applications.
Does Kenesto support all 3D CAD software, including MCAD, ECAD, and AEC solutions? Can Kenesto facilitate sharing documents with people outside the organization who may not have a Kenesto license?
Kenesto supports nearly all CAD file formats, at least the ones with file extensions. External users can be provisioned with a limited view-only access through an email link without requiring a Kenesto license.
How does Kenesto ensure the security of client data on the cloud? What measures are in place to keep data safe?
Kenesto data is stored encrypted in the cloud. File meta data is stored on separate cloud service. Kenesto relies on Amazon for data backup and security. Additional security features include the option to encrypt locally cached files as well as geofencing and restriction by IP addresses.
Is Kenesto offered on a subscription basis? What would you say to SMEs about the cost-effectiveness of Kenesto’s services?
Kenesto is only offered by subscription. The solution is priced aggressively to be competitive with consumer-grade solutions and is far less expensive than enterprise PDM solutions. Kenesto value is quite compelling — the cost of a single incident of user overwriting another designer’s work typically dwarfs the cost of Kenesto license.
How is training provided to new users, and what kind of customer support does Kenesto offer?
Kenesto includes web-based onboarding services and documentation as part of its offering. Dedicated support resources can be reached through the Kenesto website and email.
How is Kenesto’s presence in India, and what are your plans for expanding and reaching more companies there? Additionally, what are Kenesto’s future plans?
We are delighted that Kenesto is ably represented by Impetus InfoSolutions starting this year. We wish Impetus every success in expanding the base of potential users and we’re impressed by their technical and marketing prowess and ambitions.
Kenesto will continue its journey to deliver robust, cloud-based document management solutions at scale and is constantly working to harden and improve its core offerings.
I extend my gratitude to Mr. Tom Greaves, COO of Kenesto, for the insightful discussion. Special thanks also to Kenesto’s India OEM Partner/Distributor, Impetus Infosolutions, and Mr. Nachiket Wagh, Founder of Impetus Infosolutions. For more details about the product, feel free to reach Mr. Nachiket at nachiket@impetusinfo.in or call +91-99009 00446, +91-86699 90283.
If you have any questions about Kenesto or DailyCADCAM, please leave a comment below or contact us via email at sachin@dailycadcam.com. We are more than happy to provide answers and further information.
– Sachin R. Nalawade | Editor, DailyCADCAM | Contact Number: +91 8806214040
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