Welcome to the Extranet Evolution

Welcome to the "Extranet Evolution". Why did I choose this title? Well, the term "Extranet Evolution" forms the subtitle of my recently published book on ‘project extranets’ or – as I prefer to call them – construction collaboration technologies. ("Construction Collaboration Technologies: The Extranet Evolution" is published by Taylor & Francis, and it is so hot-off-the-press that the first copies were sold less than a month ago. For more information, have a look at the book flyer.

My choice of the word "evolution" probably also needs explaining. As the architecture, engineering and construction (AEC) sector tends to be quite conservative in its adoption of new technologies, I believed there was little chance of web-based technologies changing the complexion of the industry overnight. Industry customers and their project teams will want to establish that the technologies (and the companies behind them) are robust, reliable, and likely to be around for a while. As a result, migration from traditional forms of communication are more likely to be evolutionary than revolutionary.

And why blog? As an advocate of online collaboration, I feel I should practice what I preach and use online collaboration tools – of which blogs are just one example – to comment upon the impacts of information and communication technologies on construction projects.