SMARTDRAW IN ENGINEERING:

Finding an Alternative to ABC Flowcharter

Mark Martinelli's background is a varied one - educating himself in the fields of accounting, applied mathematics, engineering and chemistry. He has done everything from statistical analyses and FDA regulatory procedure writing, to authoring an ISO 9001 proce-dure manual and conducting the associated training. In this "other life", Mark used ABC Flowcharter to illustrate and summarize his company's process controls and improve company procedures with symbolic logic diagrams.

These days, Mark is owner of Beeline Security Specialists in St. Louis Missouri, where he still keeps plenty busy. In addition to his general locksmithing duties, Mark spends a good chunk of his time opening and repairing safes, installing integrated Closed Circuit Television, installing small commercial and residential alarms, as well as access control systems.

Not surprisingly, his business frequently requires installation schematics, wiring diagrams, and electronic circuit schematics for proposals and bids. But now that Mark is "the boss", he decided to go in a different direction— so he turned to the Internet in search another and professional business graphics/diagramming program that could offer more value.

"I didn't have to surf the Internet long before I came across SmartDraw," said Martinelli. "I downloaded the trial version, instantly generated an organizational chart and a couple of process flow diagrams, and, as time permitted, began to explore the myriad facets of this software with respect to circuit diagrams, engineering drawings, huge library of symbols, floor plans and landscape designs. The list goes on seemingly without end."

The more he explored the program, the more he marveled at its depth. The organic chemistry symbols, complete library of mathematics symbols…but perhaps most surprising to Martinelli, was the price.

"Here it is, all rolled into one versatile software package, and neither my company's president nor I could believe that it was priced at $199. We purchased an extra downloaded version for him at the incredible price of $99.

"I can't imagine any teacher, engineer, IT pro, professor, research Ph.D, HR type...etc. who would not be amazed at the powerful nature of the program. SmartDraw's versatility, ease of use and complete integration with Microsoft Office^® and PowerPoint^®, make it an unbelievable value."

The only time Mark doesn't use SmartDraw is when he is forced to use other company-mandated programs through his consulting business. But for his locksmithing career, he remains a loyal customer.

"While my overall exposure to other graphics programs has been admittedly limited, I have not been anything less than wholly impressed with SmartDraw. It gives me professional looking presentations while spending minimal time for layout and design."