Social media has become a convenient route for new (and not so new) start-ups to target bloggers like me or for me to hear about IT vendors targeting architecture, engineering and construction (AEC) of which I was previously unaware. For example….
- Matt Schaefer of Chicago, US-based StratusVue contacted me via LinkedIn
- through Twitter, I learned that Dun Laoghaire, Ireland-based Zutec targeted a recent BIM event in Dublin, and
- having tried out exploreB2B platform, I received an invitation to look at TeamDocr
StratusVue essentially offers on ecosystem of three products:
- Bidvue enables an efficient bidding (RFP or tendering) process by helping project leaders rapidly reach and qualify the right bidders, share the right information with them, and communicate changes and clarifications from a central information portal
- Plansandspecs is the core document capability in StratusVue’s portfolio, providing a role-based solution for construction document management and workflow
- BIMfx provides building information model (BIM) coordination functions, allowing model files to be synchronised and updated, using differencing technologies to accelerate exchange of file updates, and also claims to improve on COBie concepts “by using a more powerful and dynamic database tool”.
Zutec is a new(ish) name to me, but the offering is familiar. I recall them capturing commissioning and O&M paperwork electronically some years ago. They now provide a broad range of asset management data services including mobile solutions for field data capture (iOS and Apple), cloud-based services for facilities management, project handover documentation services, BIM integration, energy and sustainability records management, and document control.
Based in Berlin, Germany, TeamDocr was launched last month (November 2013) and is a generic (ie: non-industry specific), cloud-based document management solution. Intended to reduce time wasted on fruitless searches for documents, it is not folders-based but uses tags – users apply as many tags as they like to files and can then search for them and related documents easily. Prices start from $15/month for 1GB of storage shared by three users and range up to a business solution offering 120GB of storage for 120 users for $699/month. Existing users of exploreB2B can have start a free trial.
