Arizona American Water, which provides drinking water, waste water and related services to residents and businesses in the region, is using Timberline to amass a wealth of company cost-data to evaluate the performance of capital projects and capital budgets, said Raymond Yang, who works from the company's Phoenix office.

"We can use the average costs-per-length of pipes or per MG for water storage tanks, to evaluate budgeting of annual capital projects of these types," he said. "I'd recommend it to any company that manages assets, as well as the delivery of assets by managing capital projects."

Although Yang found Timberline's user documentation lacking in detail and usability, the vendor's technical support staff is helpful. "Timberline's help desk was very useful. They can answer specific questions on issues, and are able to provide both clarification or direction on how to get things done," Yang noted.

Rating: 7.5 out of 10 rating.