Bentley Systems has signed on to a new international effort aimed at advancing digital twin technology.

The NSW state government also joined in as an early member of the Digital Twin Consortium, launched this month by founding members, Ansys, LendLease, Microsoft and Dell.

The new group is aimed at creating a global ecosystem of users who are accelerating the digital twin market, bringing together industry, government, and academia to drive consistency in what it calls the vocabulary, architecture, security, and interoperability of digital twin technology.

Bentley Systems brings strong infrastructure experience to the effort, with a long track record of providing software and digital twin cloud services for infrastructure projects. The company has invested heavily in digital twin technology across the board, including the acquisition last year of 3D mobile mapping innovator Orbit GT.

In a release, Bentley says its collaboration with Digital Twin Consortium and its global ecosystem of digital twin users underscores its commitment to advancing an open-source platform for digital twins.

“We believe that no one vendor will be able to satisfy the myriad requirements and potential applications of digital twins that will emerge over the next five years,” said Adam Klatzkin, vice president, business development of iTwin Services for Bentley Systems.

“No one knows what a digital twin is going to be five years from now, but it is a safe bet that it will be connected to more systems than is possible today,” he said. “It is important for organizations to take an open approach when they are selecting digital twin technologies to work with. Open wins.”

Another digital twin maker, Sydney-based Willow Technology, has also come on board along with 35 other organisations lending their support at the launch of the new organisation.

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