Corecon signs up B4 Consulting as reseller. Partnerships are key for SaaS vendors, but you need the right partner.
California, US-based SaaS project management software vendor Corecon has signed up B4 Consulting as a reseller. The application, primarily sold to US general contractors, subcontractors, developers, and engineering and professional services firms, will be bundled by B4 Consulting with its SAP Business One offering to “create a highly affordable web-based, end-to-end solution”. Klaus Schottenhamel, president and CEO of B4 Consulting, says:
“Our industry experience tells us that small and mid-sized construction companies desperately need affordable and innovative end-to-end project management solutions. Partnering with Corecon, we will address those needs by delivering the industry’s only cloud-based suite of construction software integrated with a comprehensive back office system. Our collaboration with Corecon is a real game-changer for the construction industry as we are addressing a pent-up demand for affordable innovation with a proven cloud-based solution.”
B4 Consulting will bundle Corecon capabilities with the finance and accounting functionality of SAP Business One. The SAP Business One solution powered by Corecon creates a single platform for all business operations, eliminating redundancies, streamlining operations, and providing instant and comprehensive real-time reporting.
My view
Having spent an afternoon in Newcastle yesterday with people from Viewpoint Construction Software, the Portland, Oregon-based provider of construction ERP solutions, and its UK-based subsidiary 4Projects, I think they would dispute Mr Schottenhamel’s assertion that they offer the only cloud-based construction software integrated with a back office system. Particularly following the acquisition earlier this year of Maxwell Systems, Viewpoint has a strong offering to small and mid-sized construction businesses, and with Andy Ward now applying his SaaS expertise across the Viewpoint group its cloud-based software services are certain to expand.
I have been watching several SaaS vendors’ partnering programmes, and identifying the right partner with complementary expertise but also an understanding of SaaS and of collaboration is clearly vital. Conject made little headway when it partnered with Sage in north America; Asite struggled to win work through its involvement with the ReproMAX network; and Aconex partnered in 2011 with Calgary-based Tidefall Software, which no longer seems to be operating. On the other hand, 4Projects raised its profile in Australasia through its partnership with Melbourne-based Project Collaboration (post), though this arrangement now seems to be “in transition” (see yesterday’s post); and Newforma established itself in Australia through its association with SmartSoftware.
I know some SaaS vendors are actively seeking new partners to expand their global reach. Surveying data capture and asset management vendor Kykloud, for example, recently began marketing in Australasia, and Ed Bartlett told me yesterday that they are eyeing opportunities in other regions. (I would be interested to hear from would-be resellers who think they have the right mix of complementary skills, services and market reach).
