Category: Collaboration

4Projects now targeting Middle East

The recruitment by a construction collaboration technology vendor of a new sales guy wouldn’t normally prompt a blog post, but the vendor here is 4Projects and the target market is the Middle East. According to a news story picked up by my Google Alerts, the Sunderland, UK-based company has appointed Mohammad Irfaan as Vice-President, Middle …

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Permanent link to this article: http://extranetevolution.com/2010/08/4projects-now-targeting-middle-east/

Collaboration and ‘the black economy’

I hadn’t previously considered the ‘black economy’ as a potential market for a collaboration platform, but, according to a recent article about US-based software-as-a-service provider MyOnlineToolbox (see post), the recession could boost uptake of simple collaborative applications for tradespeople doing untaxed work. In the Entrepreneur Magazine article, MyOnlineToolbox’s Brian Javeline says many small-scale US contractors …

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Permanent link to this article: http://extranetevolution.com/2010/08/collaboration-and-the-black-economy/

OpeningDesign.com

Partly through my involvement with Be2camp and partly because of my interests in online collaborative spaces, I was contacted by US-based architect Ryan Shultz of Studio Wikitecture to have a look at a very early, ‘alpha stage’ website concept, OpeningDesign.com. As Ryan candidly admits, this application is still experimental, and is currently a combination of …

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Permanent link to this article: http://extranetevolution.com/2010/08/openingdesigncom/

CAD in the cloud

Two interesting articles by Robert Green in Cadalyst’s CAD Managers’ Newsletter, both focused on CAD in the cloud, caught my eye. The first, What is cloud computing, and does it make sense for CAD users? gives a brief overview of the pros and cons of using CAD on a Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) basis. The follow-up article, …

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Permanent link to this article: http://extranetevolution.com/2010/08/cad-in-the-cloud/

Panama landmark project for Aconex

Yesterday I talked to Aconex‘s Dexter Bachelder (VP Americas) and Frank Carron (VP marketing) about a major deal that, for me, is a landmark in the adoption of web-based construction collaboration technologies. Australia-based vendor Aconex announced yesterday (see news release) that it had been selected to provide collaboration support services to the US$3.2 billion Panama …

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Permanent link to this article: http://extranetevolution.com/2010/07/panama-landmark-project-for-aconex/

Websites overhauled at BIW and 4Projects

The corporate websites of UK construction collaboration technology providers 4Projects and BIW Technologies* have both been refreshed recently. Despite my past involvement with BIW, I think the changes in 4Projects’ online presence are more extensive, building on website changes that the company instigated on its subsidiaries 4Retail and 4Exergy sites last year (post). 4Projects appointed …

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Permanent link to this article: http://extranetevolution.com/2010/07/websites-overhauled-at-biw-and-4projects/

Site Clean-up iPhone app

Earlier this year I met up in London with Peter Daly, founder and MD of Dublin-based software developer SmartBuilder Software Ltd, and we talked about the future of construction collaboration technologies and about mobile solutions in particular. I recently met Peter again when he talked about his first iPhone application at the Be2camp East 2 …

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Permanent link to this article: http://extranetevolution.com/2010/07/site-clean-up-iphone-app/

Construction in year 2030

Last November, I wrote (post) about a SCRI report on the future of construction ICT, which put collaboration at its heart. That message has been reprised in a paper by Carl Abbott, Bilge Erdogan and Ghassan Aouad just published by the Royal Society: Construction in year 2030: developing an information technology vision. Section 4, A …

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Permanent link to this article: http://extranetevolution.com/2010/07/construction-in-year-2030/

Carbon calculation

Almost two years ago, when I was helping (un)organise the first Be2camp ‘unconference’ event in London, the sustainability theme that underpins this built environment/social media advocacy movement attracted contributions from several people with an active interest in calculating and then reducing the carbon footprint of the architecture, engineering and construction, AEC, sector (we had talks, …

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Permanent link to this article: http://extranetevolution.com/2010/06/carbon-calculation/

MyOnlineToolbox.com

My recent live-blog post about Tradeshift wondered whether there might be an opportunity for SME firms in the architecture, engineering and construction sectors to expand their adoption of online platforms, perhaps even integrating project delivery processes with the associated financial transactions. It seems one business in the United States is already starting to do this: …

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Permanent link to this article: http://extranetevolution.com/2010/06/myonlinetoolboxcom/

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