Nov 03 2006

Now Trimble buys XYZ

Just days after acquiring Meridian Systems (see post), GPS technology developer Trimble has also purchased US technology firm, XYZ Solutions – a provider of real-time, interactive 3D intelligence software to manage the spatial aspects of construction projects.

Permanent link to this article: https://extranetevolution.com/2006/11/now_trimble_buy/

Nov 02 2006

John Doyle on collaboration in CJ

UK Contractor John Doyle is the latest firm to feature in trade mag Contract Journal‘s profile series. Asked about the company’s use of project collaboration tools, Julian Brown, information systems manager says:

“We regularly engage in various project-specific portals. We use tools such as the market leader BIW when working for Bovis, Asite when working for Stanhope, as well as 4Projects and CadWeb. All main contractors use a project portal for drawings now, so there is an audit trail. The format tends to be prescribed for us. It is good to hear that there is a forum now trying to standardise their compatability.”

I think his last comment is a reference to the NCCTP and its efforts on the technical standards front.

tags:

Permanent link to this article: https://extranetevolution.com/2006/11/john_doyle_on_c/

Nov 02 2006

CIRIA changes

Via QSNews, I learnt yesterday that Tim Broyd is to step down as chief executive of CIRIA, and will be succeeded by Bill Healy. Both men have played a role in promoting construction collaboration technologies in the UK, having spoken at extranet conferences and, in Bill’s case, handled the affairs of the CIRIA-hosted NCCTP during its formative months. I wish Tim well in whatever ventures he gets involved with next, and hope Bill will enjoy his new role at Classic House.

Permanent link to this article: https://extranetevolution.com/2006/11/ciria_changes_1/

Nov 01 2006

Ex-Constructware exec joins Citadon

Looking across the Atlantic again, a news release tells me Gary Greenberger, former Vice President of Sales for Constructware, has joined rival collaboration technology vendor Citadon to head its sales operations in north and south America. The release says:

"Mr Greenberger was instrumental in developing the company’s Software as a Service (SaaS) sales model and managed the sales, account management, and vertical business development organizations for the United States and Canada. During his 6 year tenure, AAGR (annual average growth rate) in sales exceeded 85% before the company was successfully sold to Autodesk, Inc."

I can’t help but smile at this move. Earlier this year, Citadon was quick to capitalise on what it foresaw as potential user dissatisfaction at Autodesk’s acquisition of Constructware; it offered a "Special Migration Program for Constructware Customers and Partners" (see my 23 February 2006 post) – I didn’t realise that this offer extended to migration of Constructware executives!

Permanent link to this article: https://extranetevolution.com/2006/11/exconstructware/

Nov 01 2006

Google acquires JotSpot

In September 2005, I blogged about the JotSpot wiki product. Today, I learned that Google has bought JotSpot. Registration for new JotSpot accounts has been temporarily suspended while the systems are migrated to Google, but hopefully this move will open more people’s eyes to the day-to-day possibilities of Wikis.

Permanent link to this article: https://extranetevolution.com/2006/11/google_acquires/

Nov 01 2006

US: Trimble buys Meridian Project Systems

Latest collaboration news from the USA concerns the acquisition in an all-cash deal (terms not disclosed) of leading project management software business Meridian Project Systems by GPS and mobile IT systems specialist Trimble – the latter’s seventh acquisition of 2006 (says AECnews.com).

Trimble has been assembling a suite of software, hardware and services with the aim of providing a one-stop shop for efficiency improvements through a tighter integration of construction process information. Bryn Fosburgh, VP of Trimble’s Engineering and Construction segment says: “The Meridian Systems acquisition provides Trimble an information platform for growth in the enterprise project management market and is a significant step forward in realizing our Connected Construction Site initiatives.”

Meridian CEO James Olsen says: “the acquisition provides us with solid financial backing and the organizational infrastructure to further penetrate key vertical markets and expand globally. For Trimble, we believe the acquisition enhances its Connected Construction Site strategy by adding a core enterprise business software competency to facilitate the delivery of information throughout the entire plan, build and operate life cycle.”

Meridian’s solutions include the Infrastructure Lifecycle Management platform Proliance, the Prolog construction project management solution and the Prolog-powered on-demand online version, ProjectTalk. These solutions are extensively used in the US, but currently have little footprint in the UK AEC market, though I understand there is a substantial user community in the Middle East and a growing one in China.

This deal is not another rationalisation in the construction collaboration space of the kind we saw earlier this year when Autodesk acquired Constructware. However, it is, I believe, a potentially significant move in other ways.

Based on what I have quickly learned about Trimble (I am sure US readers may have greater insight), its strengths lie in GPS and mobile IT systems, so the logic might be for Meridian to provide a business platform that allows these various mobile tools to interconnect and share data in real-time rather than in the ‘asynchronous’ (ie: time-delayed) manner traditionally employed. (By pure coincidence, I recently submitted an article to a UK AEC trade magazine about integrating online collaboration platforms – aka: ‘extranets’ – with applications on mobile devices to provide a seamless link between key on-site processes, such as quality inspections, and the relevant package subcontractors).

Permanent link to this article: https://extranetevolution.com/2006/11/us_trimble_buys/

Nov 01 2006

Asite shares climb after markets told of deal

Asite‘s share price leapt 35% yesterday, to a heady 2.875p, on news of the collaboration vendor’s deal with Welsh Health Estates (its first contract win announcement since April 2005). Given the market reaction, the news was clearly price-sensitive, yet the industry has been aware of the deal for over a month. First, Asite mentioned it when releasing its interim results on 28 September (see post); then Asite trumpeted the deal in a gushing, self-congratulatory news release on its website dated 12 October – 19 days before it made its London Stock Exchange announcement.

By the way, the three main contractors selected to work on the Welsh Health Estates project and use the Asite platform include Asite shareholder Laing O’Rourke.

The 12 October news release includes statements such as "This agreement reinforces Asite’s position as a market leader", and "makes the company the prime choice for collaboration tools in the public sector". All nonsense, of course, as several of Asite’s competitors (eg: 4Projects, BIW and BuildOnline) have substantial workloads in the public sector, including extensive work for the NHS and on other government initiatives such as Building Schools for the Future and the Decent Homes initiative.

Permanent link to this article: https://extranetevolution.com/2006/11/asite_shares_cl/

Oct 31 2006

IE7/DWF viewer bug hotfix issued

The bug in Autodesk’s DWF viewer products that prevented them being used in conjunction with the Microsoft Internet Explorer 7 browser (see previous posts) has been fixed, via an Autodesk "hotfix" (get more details at AECnews.com).

Permanent link to this article: https://extranetevolution.com/2006/10/ie7dwf_viewer_b_1/

Oct 30 2006

BuildOnline statistics

Thanks to a software review in the latest (November 2006) issue of Project Manager Today, we learn that UK AEC vendor BuildOnline:

"markets a ‘project extranet’ hosted Web system, that has 8,000 customers and 1,300 projects and programmes currently on the go, with 43,000 users; all in the construction industry. … there are currently 3.7 million documents stored on their system."

I believe the user figure places BO in the middle ground in the UK market, some distance behind BIW Technologies (which claims 67,928 registered users from over 7,000 organisations) and 4Projects who claimed 36,000 users at the end of 2004 but must have grown since.

Incidentally, my efforts within the NCCTP to get a better grasp of the total UK extranet user community (see post) have met with little success.

Permanent link to this article: https://extranetevolution.com/2006/10/buildonline_sta/

Oct 27 2006

CE Avanti – ICT or not ICT?

The Avanti initiative is now part of the portfolio of initiatives managed by Constructing Excellence. The branding is a bit confusing. On the one hand, the logo subheading says "ICT-enabled collaborative working", leading one to think that there is some technological foundation, but the latest glossy brochure I have (distributed at a Building & Estates Forum steering group meeting last week) also says Avanti is "an approach", continuing:

"Avanti is not an IT system or tool, nor an organisation or club. Avanti is a method of collaborative working that delivers proven project and business benefits."

Some firms are already adopting the approach as their standard way of delivering projects, and CE is going to be promoting the Avanti approach more actively in the months ahead.

Permanent link to this article: https://extranetevolution.com/2006/10/ce_avanti_ict_o/

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