Adept

Adept suits engineering and operations teams that need governed CAD and document workflows across an asset-intensive business. Its tiered on-premise licenses cover read-only access through CAD-integrated authoring, while cloud plans trade infrastructure management for asset caps and substantial onboarding fees.

Overview

Adept brings product data management together with broader engineering document management. It manages parts, assemblies, drawings, external references and configurations, while connecting files to workflow states, version history and audit records. That combination is useful when teams need controlled revisions and approvals rather than simply a shared file store.

Deployment is either on customer infrastructure or through Adept Cloud, a managed SaaS platform maintained by Synergis. The on-premise route supports add-ons that are not yet available in the cloud; cloud buyers instead need to weigh asset allowances and onboarding costs. Adept’s support subscription includes 24/7 coverage for critical issues, upgrades, a Customer Success Manager and SSO configuration.

Key features

CAD and document control

Adept integrates with SOLIDWORKS, AutoCAD and Autodesk Inventor, with access through an expandable task pane. It also manages file relationships through check-in, check-out, moves and renames, helping teams keep drawings, assemblies and references aligned as designs change. CAD integrations are a higher license tier, so organizations should match seats to actual authoring needs rather than assume every user needs the desktop client.

Review, markup and security

Designs can be routed for review and approval, with document states, notifications and an audit trail. Users can view and mark up CAD, PDF and Office files without a CAD license, which gives reviewers useful access without requiring full authoring software. Granular user and group permissions, single sign-on, multifactor authentication and encrypted storage support controlled access. Synergis states that data at rest uses Windows BitLocker AES-256 and data in transit uses TLS encryption.

Enterprise connections

Adept Integrator connects with systems including SAP, Oracle, Microsoft Dynamics 365, IBM Maximo, Esri, Salesforce and Oracle Primavera P6. Catalyst, Integrator and PublishWave are on-premise add-ons and are not yet available for Adept Cloud, an important distinction for buyers whose deployment decision depends on those connections.

Pricing

Adept is paid software, with on-premise named licenses starting at $12 a month, billed at $144 per named user/year. The entry Explorer tier is read-only: it includes search and browse, CAD/Office/PDF viewing and markup, metadata, relationships, workflow status, version history and the audit trail. It suits occasional viewers, but not users who need to change metadata or take part in approval workflows.

Reviewer costs $25 a month, billed at $300 per named user/year, and adds workflow participation, metadata editing, and permission-based upload and download. Creator is $68 a month, billed at $816 per named user/year; it adds document check-in and check-out plus personal and shared work areas. Desktop is $82 a month, billed at $984 per named user/year, adding CAD integrations and transmittal automation. These named licenses suit users with dedicated accounts; the more expensive concurrent-license equivalents may suit teams sharing access rather than assigning each seat to one person.

Concurrent on-premise licenses cost $104 a month for Explorer, $131 a month for Reviewer, $164 a month for Creator and $208 a month for Desktop. They are billed annually at $1,248, $1,572, $1,968 and $2,496 per concurrent user/year, respectively, with the same tier-by-tier feature progression. Their higher per-seat rates make sense only if shared use offsets the cost of named seats.

Adept Cloud Essentials costs $1,400 a month, billed annually, for unlimited users and 20,000 assets, excluding prior versions. Additional capacity is sold in increments of 5,000 assets, and new customers pay a mandatory $10,000 onboarding fee. Cloud Professional has custom pricing, unlimited users and 30,000 included assets, also excluding prior versions; extra capacity comes in increments of 7,500, and new customers pay a mandatory $20,000 onboarding fee. The unlimited-user terms do not remove the asset ceiling, so organizations should estimate managed assets before choosing a cloud tier.

Platforms

Adept supports Android, iOS, web, Windows and self-hosted deployment. On-premise customers run it on their own servers and infrastructure; Adept Cloud is maintained as a managed service by Synergis.

Who it's for

Adept is aimed at asset-intensive industries such as manufacturing, utilities, chemicals, pharmaceuticals, oil and gas, mining, and engineering and construction. It is strongest for organizations that need engineering files governed alongside approvals and business systems. Smaller teams looking for a free plan, or cloud buyers who require the current on-premise-only add-ons, should consider other options.

Pros and cons

• Pros: Tiered licenses let organizations reserve CAD integrations and document authoring for the users who need them.
• Pros: Reviewers can mark up CAD, PDF and Office files without a CAD license, while workflow records and audit trails preserve process history.
• Pros: Broad enterprise integrations and granular access controls address needs beyond CAD file storage.
• Cons: Cloud asset caps exclude prior versions, and additional capacity is sold in fixed increments.
• Cons: Cloud Essentials carries a mandatory $10,000 onboarding fee; Professional raises that fee to $20,000.
• Cons: Catalyst, Integrator and PublishWave are not yet available for cloud deployment.
• Cons: The lowest-cost on-premise tier is read-only, while concurrent licenses cost substantially more per seat than named licenses.

Alternatives

Consider ENOVIA PDM if you want a paid, self-hosted or web option with a quarterly evaluation offer at from $345 (priced on request) and user, including 24/7 support. OpenBOM is the better starting point for a freemium option: its free plan covers up to 2,000 records, with records counting unique part numbers, BOM part records and managed CAD items.

MechWorks PDM may suit buyers seeking a paid Windows, web or self-hosted product with a free trial and reseller-supported implementation. Choose ProjectWise if Bentley’s infrastructure-oriented offering better matches your needs; its listed plans include an annual Virtuoso subscription and a ProjectWise subscription.

OpenText Documentum Content Management is worth considering when document management, secure viewing and redaction, retention, process automation and Microsoft 365 integration are priorities. HELiOS is another paid, self-hosted Windows PDM option, with Viewer, Office and Engineer base modules and add-on modules.

Vistapoint PDM offers a web-based paid option with a free trial and a read-only seat plan; it may suit teams looking for that licensing model.

Verdict

Adept is a strong fit for engineering-led organizations that need CAD file control, approval workflows and enterprise connections in one system. Its tiered on-premise licenses offer a clear path from viewing to authoring, but cloud asset limits, significant onboarding fees and on-premise-only add-ons make deployment choice decisive. Look elsewhere if you need a free starting tier or require those add-ons in a managed cloud service.