Category: Future

Jan 17 2008

SaaS and construction collaboration in 2008

By Paul Wilkinson in AEC, Business/Financial, Collaboration, Extranet/CDE, Future, Internet, People issues, SaaS, Vendors
17 January 2008

After Reviewing 2007, I started thinking about some predictions or trends for 2008. My first instinct was simply to repeat last year’s five, but that would be too easy. Instead, I have decided to update two, and add three new ones. Here are the first two (the others will follow over the next couple of days). …

Permanent link to this article: http://extranetevolution.com/2008/01/saas-and-constr/

Jan 09 2008

Paperless (or, at least, less paper): catch ’em young

By Paul Wilkinson in Future, People issues, Sustainability
9 January 2008

Since construction collaboration technologies first grabbed some peoples’ attention in the late 1990s, there has been a lot of debate about the extent to which such IT tools can save paper, particularly given some professionals’ preference for paper and their resistance to on-screen marking-up and commenting on drawings, etc (see my Moaning Architects post, 3 November 2005). I have argued …

collaboration, commenting, Construction, Guardian, intranet, mark-up, paper savings, school
1 comment

Permanent link to this article: http://extranetevolution.com/2008/01/paperless-or-at/

Jan 09 2008

IT paying ‘lip service’ to sustainability

By Paul Wilkinson in AEC, Future, Internet, Marketing, People issues, Sustainability
9 January 2008

An article on Computer Business Review says UK companies are failing to use IT to reduce or improve their environmental sustainability, even though they believe that technology is key to tackling the problem. The article, UK companies paying lip service to green issues, is based on a Datamonitor survey, commissioned by BT Global Services UK, in …

BERR, BT, Building magazine, building services automation, Computer Business Review, Construction, consultation document on sustainable construction, Datamonitor, David Santillo, energy use, flexible working, Greenpeace Research Labs, IT, Phil Clark, supply chain processes, sustainability, transport, Utilities

Permanent link to this article: http://extranetevolution.com/2008/01/it-paying-lip-s/

Jan 03 2008

2008: SaaS will soar, SaaS will surge

By Paul Wilkinson in Blogs, Future, Internet, SaaS
3 January 2008

SaaS Bloggers’ 2008 predictions have started to emerge. Jeff Kaplan has written his Top Ten Reasons Why On-Demand Services Will Soar in 2008, quickly followed by Phil Wainewright‘s Eight reasons why SaaS will surge in 2008, and the picture is very positive. Despite forecasts of a recession, both Jeff and Phil suggest economic factors will favour SaaS. Jeff writes: “… …

4Projects, BIW, Jeff Kaplan, Phil Wainewright, SaaS, Seeking Alpha
1 comment

Permanent link to this article: http://extranetevolution.com/2008/01/2008-saas-will/

Jan 02 2008

Reviewing 2007

By Paul Wilkinson in AEC, Business/Financial, Collaboration, Extranet/CDE, Functionality, Future, Internet, Marketing, SaaS, Telecoms, Vendors
2 January 2008

Last year, I made five ‘Extranet Evolution’ 2007 predictions. Were they correct? 1. Growing acceptance and use of web-based collaboration tools within the UK construction industry It was something of a no-brainer. The continued revenue growth trends of the leading UK-based vendors shows there is a strong appetite for the applications. I was also encouraged by the …

4Projects, BIM, BIW, collaboration, Constructing Excellence, Construction, CTSpace, mobile, MPS, NCCTP, Predictions, SaaS
1 comment

Permanent link to this article: http://extranetevolution.com/2008/01/reviewing-2007/

Dec 18 2007

Broken Buildings, Busted Budgets

By Paul Wilkinson in AEC, Business/Financial, Future
18 December 2007

I wrote earlier this week about online meetings, of which one kind is the webinar. Thanks to Sergio Aranda of e-Builder for sending me a link to a recording of an e-Builder webinar featuring Barry LePatner, a US lawyer and author of Broken Buildings, Busted Budgets. LePatner shares his experiences and insights into what is wrong with …

AEC, Barry LePatner, BIM, Broken Buildings Busted Budgets, e-Builder, US

Permanent link to this article: http://extranetevolution.com/2007/12/broken-building/

Dec 17 2007

Web conferencing and sustainability

By Paul Wilkinson in AEC, Books, Collaboration, Functionality, Future, People issues, Sustainability
17 December 2007

Two-and-a-half years ago, when I was putting the finishing touches to the final chapter of my book manuscript, I sketched out ideas of how web-based conferencing solutions might be used to replace some face-to-face meetings in construction projects. At the time, I focused on the convenience aspect of such ‘net meetings’ and their value alongside …

Permanent link to this article: http://extranetevolution.com/2007/12/web-conferencin/

Dec 13 2007

Collaboration: standards, viewing, plus industry education

By Paul Wilkinson in AEC, Collaboration, Functionality, Future, Legal, People issues, SaaS
13 December 2007

Lachmi Khemlani, founder and editor of AECbytes, recently attended an AIA conference in the US, and her latest AECbytes newsletter describes some interesting sessions, including ones on business processes, automated code checking, digital project workflows and cooperative design. To give you a flavour, I’ve picked out a couple of items. Business processes The business process …

AECbytes, AIA, ASP, Cannon Design, Constructware, Crate & Barrel, eBuilder, Integrated Project Delivery, interoperability, Lachmi Khemlani, Meridian, NCCTP, Primavera, SaaS
1 comment

Permanent link to this article: http://extranetevolution.com/2007/12/collaboration-s/

Dec 12 2007

Collaborative processes help US industry respond to growth pressures

By Paul Wilkinson in AEC, Collaboration, Functionality, Future, People issues, ROI/benefits
12 December 2007

FMI and the Construction Management Association of America (CMAA) have released their Eighth Annual Survey of Owners. Based on over 200 responses from a variety of owner types and industries, the survey has both good news and bad news for construction IT. Building information modelling (BIM) technologies are increasingly used, but there is also …

Permanent link to this article: http://extranetevolution.com/2007/12/collaborative-p/

Dec 11 2007

Emap Construct stays put

By Paul Wilkinson in AEC, Future, Marketing
11 December 2007

Earlier this year it looked like Emap’s construction titles might have been on the move as the UK parent media company looked at way to capitalise upon its profitable business-to-business ventures. However, at the weekend I learned (see Guardian story and Emap announcement) that, instead, the group’s radio and consumer magazines have been sold, leaving Emap to become …