EADOC-ation

SaaS makes it easy for AEC students to learn about web-delivered software

A virtue of most software-as-a-service applications is their ease of deployment, while they often require nothing more than a web browser and a working internet connection for end-users to start using them. As a result, this makes it easy for SaaS vendors to offer free use of their platforms for test, demonstration or education purposes, and this can include use by university students (with vendors hoping, of course, that a positive experience might lead to adoption on real projects once the students graduate).

Latest to offer such a service is EADOC Software, the California, USA-based vendor of construction management applications for the architecture, engineering and construction sector (post). It has just announced an education partner programme providing free access to EADOC for universities and technical schools offering construction management courses. This was a tactic pursued a decade ago in the UK – for example, almost exactly 10 years ago, BIW Technologies [my then employer] allowed free use of its SaaS platform by students at Newcastle University, and continued the practice at several other UK universities (eg: Reading, Loughborough, Nottingham Trent) – sometimes supported by lectures from me. Good to see the practice continuing and spreading.