Apr 26 2016

Journal whets Southern African IT appetites

A new southern African construction IT journal and Africa’s first construction IT summit show there is a growing appetite for new construction tools and techniques in the region.

CS&IT coverI have written occasionally about construction software vendors’ activities in southern Africa, but a factor in expansion into that region, particularly for Software-as-a-Service vendors, has been internet connectivity. As a result, it has lagged behind other parts of the developing world in adopting and using cloud-based technologies, but there have been some encouraging signs in recent years.

Some European SaaS construction software businesses have opened offices in South Africa, including Denmark’s Docia (April 2012 post; Docia has since, in 2014, been acquired by RIB) and London-based Asite (October 2014 post). Other businesses also picked up work with South Africa-based customers, including iSite (post), but otherwise the region has remained relatively untouched by other SaaS vendors – even by Aconex, which has historically spread its net very widely, including into north Africa.

However, the region is thirsty for information about the latest IT trends, including SaaS and BIM, and to meet this demand, publishing company Hypenica has launched Construction Software & IT: A Journal for Digital Construction Solutions, which is edited by Vaughan Harris (in the past associated with RIB, CCS/4Projects and Asite). The journal is closely associated with the Cape Town-based BIM Institute, which is also organising the region’s first Construction IT Summit and Expo, in Johannesburg on 11 May 2016 (with Asite and RIB not surprisingly among the participating companies). If they wish visitors can also spend time in the parallel African Construction and Totally Concrete Expos.

Vaughan Harris writes:

Vaughan Harris“As Africa’s construction industry continues to evolve, there have been significant technological improvements, but BIM is still very much a new acronym to the industry.

The recent establishment of the South African BIM Institute, in May 2015, will play a pivotal role in supporting and promoting the BIM process for Africa, with CanBIM (Canadian BIM Council) and the AEC (UK) assisting in regulating all BIM protocols and BIM education for Africa. The BIM Institute has also been established to promote the development of information technology solutions and processes within the construction industry.

It is imperative that local construction companies take a strategic long-term view of their business, so they can invest in improved technology and affordable software solutions if BIM is to play a role in Africa’s sustainable development process. Companies also need to consider how to invest in information technology processes that are helping to shape and improve sustainable development.

Leveraging technology will be imperative – not just to make construction projects more efficient but also helps to reduce printing costs, reduce duplication and human error and show improved accountability and transparency.”

Disclosure: I have written commentary pieces for the Construction Software & IT journal.

Permanent link to this article: https://extranetevolution.com/2016/04/journal-whets-southern-african-it-appetites/

Apr 26 2016

Go-Cam founder responds

Go-cam logoLast month, I wrote a blog post about the Go-Cam video snagging app. After giving it a quick test on my Samsung Galaxy S6 Android smartphone, I identified various issues with the service – to which the founder of Go-Cam, Tod Yeadon, has responded:

Tod Yeadon, Founder of Go-CamPreventing disputes with Go-Cam Video Reporting

As the founder of Go-Cam I was grateful for Paul’s feedback, hearing about user’s experiences (whether good or bad) will notify us of the problems we don’t always pick up on.

It was disappointing that Paul had a bad experience, however, all this feedback reminded us that (like all new releases) everything was not going to be without it’s problems from the get go. In response to Paul’s review, I have chosen to provide some feedback on Paul’s experience, the app’s teething problems and most importantly – point out the things which might have been forgotten.

The review was based on using the app on an Android device, we have got Apple devices working consistently now however, some Android devices (& browsers on viewing the report pages) are sometimes buggy, as is the case here.

The Android tests I have carried-out have worked fine, other than when the Report page is viewed in Safari which is struggling with video playback. I expect to see issues such as this appearing from time to time, there is such a wide variety of Android devices and browsers / O.S.’s, unfortunately we cannot test them all and tech bloggers generally understand this, particularly with first releases.

What we can do however, is ensure that all these problems are reported to our developers and I am positive that they will keep myself and the users updated on any disruption.

That said, Paul definitely seems to recognise the benefits of video reporting and implies that the app is a good idea, so if we can overcome tech shortcomings we can see that there is a positive message here.

The only other negative was a suggestion that the construction industry would not pay for the coms needed to use the app (in the absence of a good network connection) but that is not necessary as we have the “Unsent Report” where Reports are recorded and sent at a later time in the absence of an adequate network.

It’s interesting to note that 80% of our downloads are on iTunes, so it’s unfortunate that the particular Android set-up Paul was using is not one we have tested. There is definitely room for improvement and we will invite Paul to have another go at testing it once we have corrected the problems on our side. Until then, all feedback is good for first releases, so try out the app for yourself and let us know what you think.

Permanent link to this article: https://extranetevolution.com/2016/04/go-cam-founder-responds/

Apr 25 2016

Bridgit closes $1.7m seed funding round

Bridgit logoBridgit, the Ontario, Canada-based construction project management technology startup, has closed a US$1.7 million seed round led by Hyde Park Venture Partners with participation from Vanedge Capital.

The business, which I first wrote about in August 2014, plans to use the funding to hire new engineers and salespeople and acquire more US customers for its mobile applications.

Mallorie Brodie, CEO and co-founder of Bridgit says:

“The construction industry has been slow to adopt to new technology, but as we talk to residential and commercial builders, it’s clear they are hungry for technology that lowers cost, simplifies processes and make it easier to get their jobs done. We’re excited to partner with Hyde Park and Vanedge so we can put Bridgit’s solutions into the hands of more people who need them.”

Mallorie BrodieBridgit was founded in 2012 by Brodie, right, and Lauren Lake. Both founders’ families are in the construction industry, and the women suspected it was ripe for innovation. The pair proved the validity of their concept by talking to workers about their challenges and frustrations. Contractors kept track of to-do lists on sticky notes and scribbles on plans nailed to the wall. More organized contractors kept spreadsheets of different tasks and notes, and then emailed or phoned in requests to the appropriate subcontractors.

With Bridgit, commercial and residential builders can use a mobile app to assign and track different tasks. If one piece of work is not completed correctly, the contractor can snap a photo and send it along with relevant notes directly to the subcontractors to make sure it is fixed without holding up other work. Bridgit helps track each task and deadline to hold workers accountable for completing tasks correctly and on time. To date, Bridgit says its application has been used by more than 100 contractors and has consistently achieved double-digit month-over-month revenue growth.

Greg Barnes, principal of Hyde Park Venture Partners, says:

“We believe that this type of innovation is sorely needed in the construction industry and that Bridgit has the ideal team to deliver it. We can’t wait to see Mallorie, Lauren and their growing corps of experts build upon their solid foundation in the U.S. market.

V. Paul Lee, managing director of Vanedge Capital, says:

”Bridgit exemplifies a strong startup company with a young and effective management team that is taking the latest developments in technology and bringing it to traditional industries to dramatically improve their efficiency and work process. The cost savings to the construction industry will be significant.”

Permanent link to this article: https://extranetevolution.com/2016/04/bridgit-closes-1-7m-seed-funding-round/

Apr 25 2016

think project! adds Mapdash interface

Germany’s think project! SaaS platform now offers a Google Map interface and a BIM starter pack.

Thinkproject-logoMunich, Germany-based SaaS project platform provider think project! has released a new version of its cross-enterprise collaboration solution. Version 8 makes it possible to easily view comprehensive project data via MapDash – a new visual interface for the presentation of project information – and also provides a BIM Collaboration starter pack.  

MapDash

thinkproject - mapdashMapDash is an entirely new optional interface that puts visual representation of their project at users’ fingertips. Projects can be displayed on a Google Map to provide quick overviews of their current status as well as project details, photographs, project progress, deadlines, costs and related documents.

BIM collaboration

The starter pack for BIM Collaboration encompasses three modules first launched in July 2015 (post) aiming to enable more effective collaboration.

  • thinkproject - BIM coordinationBIM Exchange simplifies exchange of models between project participants
  • BIM Coordination enables coordination of partial models and allows them to be enriched with information
  • BIM Review allows verification of models directly from a web browser.

Visualisation also plays an important role, with the inclusion of a high-performance viewer in the BIM starter pack – so no specialist software is required to view models and users can work on-site using a tablet.

Jochen Maurer, Head of Product Management at think project! says:

Jochen Maurer“Our most important goal of the new release was to make complex project information easier to understand by presenting it visually. Rapidly accessible and reliable information is the foundation for a myriad of decisions made on a daily basis throughout a project, and we wanted to simplify the decision-making process. Our most recent innovation of MapDash offers an entirely new way of visually presenting the valuable information saved in think project!. At a glance, you can see all the important information relating to each of your construction project, as well as relating to the different parts of a major infrastructure construction project.” 

Permanent link to this article: https://extranetevolution.com/2016/04/think-project-adds-mapdash-interface/

Apr 24 2016

Zuuse targeting BIM to FM opportunity

zuuse logo with nameAustralian start-up Zuuse ambitiously aims to shake up the facilities management market, bridging the gap from BIM to FM.

While we have seen a considerable shift over the past 20 years from mainly on-premise management of documents and drawings to management of information ‘in the cloud’, the focus tended to be on accelerating the once largely paper-based design and construction processes, not on the rest of a built asset’s operational life.

Moving towards FM in the cloud

iSite HubWith a few honourable exceptions (some mentioned in the previous post about Combinder), the opportunity to extend re-use of electronic information held by SaaS collaboration vendors beyond commissioning and handover has tended to be overlooked. Now part of Aconex, Conject (with its infrastructure lifecycle management, ILM, strategy and a portfolio including FM solutions), and competitors McLaren Software (acquiring CAFM Explorer) and iSite (promoting its ‘Assetology’ Hub approach since 2012)* all looked to be moving towards so-called ‘cradle-to-grave’ information management, but most of their rivals have largely focused on project delivery rather than the follow-on asset lifecycle management.

The ongoing digitisation of construction – evidenced by growing adoption of collaborative Building Information Modelling (BIM) and of mobile solutions, plus increased use of sensors and ‘internet of things’ (IoT) – surely leads logically to the eventual digitisation of operation and maintenance and of facility management. I say “eventual” as, clearly, many FM colleagues will first need to inherit models and associated data created by designers and constructors (though, of course, there is also an opportunity for FM professionals to be in at the start, defining owner/operator’s information requirements so that project delivery concurrently creates the data they will need to manage the resulting built asset).

What will also be needed will be FM tools that can take relevant data from BIM and provide similarly agile cloud-based support for collaborative operation and maintenance processes, with built asset records routinely updated in real-time throughout the asset’s lifecycle. Many FM solutions tend to be traditional on-premise solutions (notable exceptions include Qube Global, and SWG’s QFM, while Planon includes a cloud service alternative), but to date I’ve seen few vendors actively marketing cloud-based BIM-to-FM solutions (though Graphisoft’s ArchiCAD cousin ArchiFM springs to mind). The market is therefore ripe for some SaaS disruption.

Enter Zuuse

So I was interested to hear from Australia-based SaaS FM startup Zuuse. This company, with offices in Brisbane and Melbourne, provides “an asset lifecycle solution blending 3D BIM capability, mobility and information management.”

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6muKfzlolDM

Zuuse has also recently acquired another FM software company, BEIMS, further consolidating the Australian FM software market in the process (news release). According to Jason Lilienstein, Zuuse’s CEO:

Zuuse logo“The landscape is rapidly changing. There is a large, growing market that is traditionally underinvested. Total IT spend on facilities management worldwide is forecast to grow from $24.6b in 2014 to $43.7b in 2019. There is enormous opportunity in the existing, fragmented, market. Asset owners are demanding new and innovative ways to manage their buildings and infrastructure. There is currently no product in the market that spans the complete asset lifecycle. It’s populated by a myriad of fragmented products, producing silos of information that, whilst useful, do not deliver the building owner, as the ultimate client, what they need.”

Zuuse says it has brought these together in a suite of modules and mobile device apps that can provide standalone or fully integrated functionality. Customers can pick and choose what they need, all delivered on a simple pay-as-you-go SaaS basis. It says it is taking BIM into FM and with mobile apps allowing FM teams to perform everyday tasks easily in the field, with “ground breaking technology, including Zuuse Qube, a 3D visualisation and data app built on the Unity gaming platform” (another video; no connection with the afore-mentioned Qube Global).

BEIMS deal

BEIMS provides FM software to 120 customers and is used in over 15,000 buildings including hospitals, universities, airports and commercial buildings throughout Australia, New Zealand and the Middle East. Customers include Australian Red Cross, Mater Health, Monash University, Wellington Airport and Sky City Casino. Garry Busowsky, founder of BEIMS, says:

“By combining newer innovative offerings like Zuuse, with established solutions like BEIMS, customers can benefit from new world technology alongside the depth and solid reliability that comes with experience. This acquisition also gives our existing clients a clear pathway into new technologies with the reassurance that the functionality that they have grown to depend on is running at its core.”

 

* A note: In past years, I have reported regularly on iSite’s financial performance (most recently in September 2015). However, following changes to parent Styles & Wood’s reporting practices, iSite’s results are now reported alongside other businesses in “Portfolio Services”, so we now have less visibility of its performance.

Permanent link to this article: https://extranetevolution.com/2016/04/zuuse-targeting-bim-to-fm-opportunity/

Apr 23 2016

Combinder targets close-out documentation

Combinder is solely focused on close-out PDF documentation, providing an alternative to SaaS collaboration vendors offering O&M compilation tools as part of a wider system.

H&S FileThe compilation of operation and maintenance information for handover to the owner/operator of a built asset used to involve retrospective collation of large volumes of documentation, with much of the information duplicated across different sections, and often more than copy of the whole O&M manual needing to be delivered.

Early electronic O&M creation

Almost as soon as project teams began to deploy electronic document management systems or Software-as-a-Service ‘extranets’, they began to look at how these might additionally be deployed for handover information. In 2002, the UK’s BIW Technologies* (now Conject, recently acquired by Aconex) was one of the first SaaS vendors to develop functionality that allowed the concurrent compilation of the core element of UK handover documentation, the Health and Safety File.

Almost a decade later, in August 2011, Aconex entered into a partnership with Grazer, an Adelaide-based business specialising in the production and handover of post-construction O&M manuals for clients in Australasia. In June the following year, Aconex acquired Grazer, and in February 2013 launched Aconex Smart Manuals.

BIW/Conject and Aconex were not unique in providing O&M functionality – most of their AEC SaaS collaboration competitors have developed similar functionality. In addition, London construction consultancy Dome Consulting launched Dome Connect, extending the company’s expertise in commissioning management (post); Zutec also built on its O&M compilation expertise to develop a SaaS manuals capability (post); McLaren acquired CAFM Explorer in 2011 to give it a seamless design-to-FM offering (post); and in 2014, I talked to another UK-based provider, Edocuments (post).

Combinder

combinder logoIn short, this requirement is already being targeted by several SaaS technology vendors, but that doesn’t mean there isn’t room for others. I was recently contacted by Brenton Wiberg, a partner in California, US-based Combinder. He told me Combinder was ” founded on the pain that general contractors were having at project close-out and how to deal with the O&M Manual data.” He continued:

The traditional 20 binders full of printed cut sheets seemed, and rightfully so, archaic and unfriendly to the environment.  So contractors started providing this information on CDs or thumb drives.  Owners though didn’t seem to use this and still insisted on printed copies.  At some point the advent of “digital dashboards” came in to play which, when paired with an iPad, made the digital versions of the close-out documents much easier to use, but much trickier for the contractor to provide. This is where we stepped in for some generals, but a lot are using Bluebeam for this while others aren’t doing anything at all.

Combinder specialises in organising, hyperlinking, and indexing digital construction close-out documents into a clean, easy-to-use mobile interface, creating a hyperlinked PDF deliverable. It aims to “make it simple for construction managers to deliver LEAN digital operations and maintenance manuals and even simpler for facility managers to use those documents.”

And it makes a virtue of being economical: “There is no proprietary software or perpetual maintenance fees necessary to view your digital O&M, just our relatively small, onetime fee, making Combinder one of the cheapest options available” (pricing here).

[* Disclosure: I was an employee of BIW Technologies from 2000 to 2009. pwcom.co.uk has since undertaken consultancy work for Conject.]

Permanent link to this article: https://extranetevolution.com/2016/04/combinder-targets-close-out-documentation/

Apr 01 2016

Rollout rolls-out PaperLight

Rollout logoTexas-based SaaS drawing management startup Rollout is branching out into collaboration hardware launching a portable interactive display system, PaperLight.

At the turn of the century, when most of the current crop of Software-as-a-Service construction collaboration technology vendors were just starting out, a common objection to the use of online systems was that users preferred paper – “It’s easier to gather round a drawing on a table and mark it up,” they would say. “You need to see the whole A0 drawing at full size to get the big picture.” Nonetheless, cloud-based, browser-accessed document and drawing collaboration rapidly became popular, particularly as it allowed comments and mark-ups to be shared rapidly across a frequently geographically dispersed, multi-disciplinary team.

But old habits die hard, and over the the years I have seen several organisations look to replicate the full-size drawing sharing and mark-up experience using technology:

  • Around ten years, I saw an early Thales/Surrey University prototype of a “Collaborative Working Environment”, subsequently launched as the Cereno nuVa (see May 2009 post) – a product still going strong.
  • In 2011, I looked at more immersive approaches to design collaboration at IdentityMine, and pondered about some of Microsoft’s early tabletop ‘Surface’ devices (later rebranded Microsoft Pixelsense – read this Wikipedia article).
  • And in 2014, Newforma acquired SmartUse, a mobile solution for viewing, marking up, auto-linking and sharing project plans, which also operates on a large, 55-inch touch screen.

PaperLight

Interactive whiteboard and projector systems are, of course, now widely used in many education and business settings, but are not easily portable. So Dallas, Texas, US-based Rollout has come up with its own solution: PaperLight – a touch-enabled projection display that connects to your computer (via a HDMI cable) so you can view full-size drawings digitally. Users can add mark-ups can with their fingertips and share them instantly with fellow project team members.

https://youtu.be/pnq_iIsuVvQ

The 37” (940mm) table-top device weighs about 20lbs (9kg) and features a projector (‘telescope’) housed at the top of a mast that folds down for easy transportation, while the touchscreen is made of a durable and resilient plastic. Images can also be projected onto walls up to 11 feet (3.5m) away. The product can be used with any software (“you could even watch a movie on your PaperLight™ device!” – though Rollout is also providing two complimentary Rollout drawing management software licenses for two projects), and is currently being sold at a recommended retail price of US$5000. Rollout is also about to launch a crowdfund campaign to fund the product’s expansion, co-founder Alejandro Jacobo told me.

Rollout: intelligent markups and social collaboration

Rollout pricingRollout’s core product is a cloud-based construction drawing management application that enables construction teams to access and manage drawings from any device, helping them share mark-ups, revisions, comments and updates. The company was cofounded in 2013 by Jacobo and former Gilbane and Structuretone construction manager turned entrepreneur Matthew Hinson, and won several pitch contests in 2014 to help fund the product’s development.

Free to small projects (with up to three users), it has a simple per-project approach to licensing, based on an agreed number of initial users (move the slider, see the price) who then get (within reason) an unlimited amount of drawing storage and all features of the software; further users can be added for US$5 per user / month per project. Enterprise agreements are also negotiable. As with the early days of SaaS collaboration, the major benefits being sold relate to savings on paper production and distribution.

While the the application appears almost solely focused on drawing management, and allows users to filter items (by user, time and date), to track changes (again by user, time and date) and to collaborate in real-time, a detailed reading of the website suggests it can be used to share common process documents (punchlists, RFIs, etc) and photographs, with “intelligent markups” helping to navigate through the system.

I was also pleased to see that Rollout is not reliant on email, but acts like a social media application, with users tagged when something needs their attention and able to contribute via a comment stream (I have welcomed similar Web 2.0-style efforts to deploy social approaches to collaboration in the past – for example, Australia’s ProjectCentre, since acquired by RIB, was doing this five years ago [post], and Envision employs a similar approach – see my January 2016 post, Envision expanding capabilities).

Permanent link to this article: https://extranetevolution.com/2016/04/rollout-rolls-out-paperlight/

Mar 21 2016

Aconex acquires Conject – reaction

While Conject reassures its customers, competitors (past and present) react to Aconex’s acquisition of the Europe-based SaaS collaboration vendor.

ConjectAconex logo 2014After the 17 March 2016 announcement of Conject‘s acquisition by Aconex, the UK business’s managing director Steve Cooper sought to reassure the company’s SaaS construction collaboration customers and users about the business’s future. In an email (18 March), he says:

Steve CooperThe merging of Conject with Aconex creates a significant and positive development for our customers and users, wherever in the world they are located. Together with Aconex, we become a truly global provider:

  • Strong footholds in all of the world’s largest construction markets
  • Strong and proven teams in client service, sales and management
  • Product engineering teams that provide deep knowledge of market needs in areas like BIM, Cost Management and NEC Contracts
  • Ability to scale faster, innovate better and to support our largest customers wherever opportunity takes them

Whilst this marks a period of change, rest assured that we will continue to invest in and support existing Conject products and services.

Competitor reaction

I canvassed opinion among some of the competitors in the market. Tony Ryan, CEO at Asite said:

Tony Ryan (Asite CEO)Is it a game-changer? “It’s huge and has a very exciting outcome, but it was only a matter of time.  When Aconex raised their last round of funding they were expected to acquire.  I spoke with Leigh about this at the time – I’m just surprised it took so long.”

Challenges? “Management change, client reaction and obviously the headache of technology synergies and integration.  That’s assuming they keep the code and blend it. We’ve seen what happened to 4Projects recently.”

Valuation? “Totally undervalued.”

Steve Crompton, CTO at Business Collaborator said:

Stephen Crompton (GroupBC)“As one of the leading CDEs available, GroupBC is delighted to see that our once niche industry has matured to such an extent that acquisitions of this scale are now happening.
“It is a privilege to witness the continued growth and evolution within the sector we helped to create, and we await with interest the outcome of this union and wish both companies well.”

Former Conject CEO

Colin Smith, co-founder of BIW Technologies, and, for three years, CEO of Conject Holdings told me:

Colin Smith - Textura Europe“The deal set off some strong feelings. I founded BIW Technologies and was CEO of Conject for three years of intense change. It was a memorable experience and I retain many good friends among its colleagues and customers.

I always believed that one company would emerge as the dominant player. Of course, I originally hoped it would be BIW, but great credit to Leigh [Jasper] and Rob [Phillpot] for taking Aconex into that market leadership position. I think it’s great news for Conject customers and staff, and also a very good deal for Aconex, its customers, staff and shareholders. I can’t see any current vendor coming close to rivalling what the two combined businesses now offer.”

Permanent link to this article: https://extranetevolution.com/2016/03/aconex-acquires-conject-industry-reacts/

Mar 18 2016

Go-Cam video snagging

Live-streaming video reports from site – Go-Cam looked interesting but ultimately disappointed. 

Mobile apps for construction snagging (aka: punchlisting, quality control, etc) have become common, taking advantage of smartphones’ and tablets’ in-built cameras to include a photograph of the defect as part of the report. A new app takes this one stage further, and suggests video as a potential site reporting tool.

Go-cam logoGo-Cam enables employees to live-stream field reports using their smartphones and tablet devices. It claims to be “the world’s first one-touch field reporting app, allowing users to live-stream video from the field and send out email and text alerts to nominated recipients.”

According to the news release I received, recipients follow a link to a report page where they can see field information including sender details, a location map, a time and date stamp and the live video. The report page is automatically archived for future reference, providing evidence to resolve disputes and verify compliance.

Go-Cam believes it has potential to revolutionise a multitude of industries. It says:

“Estate agents could use the tool to provide walk-through tours of properties, while construction firms would be able to film detailed on-site updates to pass onto engineers or architects. The insurance industry could leverage the app to enhance first-hand claims reporting for customers, while journalists would be able to use the app to film reports on location, saving them for a later date or live-streaming them to editors for instant feedback.

Tod Yeadon, founder of Go-Cam (seemingly a brand created by Newcastle-upon-Tyne company TxTrax Ltd), says:

“We believe we have a world-first in this fantastic new app, which has the ability to power highly informed decision-making in a multitude of industries. With one touch, users can stream video clips directly from their location, informing colleagues of issues in the field with clear, indisputable video evidence.

“Go-Cam can also be used to enhance compliance and prevent customer disputes – after all, the tech doesn’t lie! We’re already receiving reports from various different industries coming up with innovative ways to utilise Go-Cam, and we’re very excited to see what the future holds for this disruptive technology.”

White label

Go-Cam has also been designed to be white-labelled and re-branded by business clients, to function as the company’s very own app. The company says the technology can also be integrated into a business’ existing app, adding value with enhanced functionality. “Available at a fraction of the cost of a new app built, clients benefit from the stable, fully-developed app, with all back-end issues and updates taken care of by the Go-Cam team.”

The app is said to work anywhere that has a Wi-Fi or mobile network. In areas with no internet connection at all, it stores all reports to be sent at a later time, when a connection becomes available. Go-Cam is free for the first month of usage, and £3.99 per user per month after that. For business use, plainly there is a cost associated with providing the reporting platform and storage – Go-Cam invites prospective customers to request a quote.

Quick test

Go-Cam testI gave the tool a quick test, downloading the Android version of the app (v0.0.3) to my Samsung Galaxy S6. After entering some contact details and a password, I was able to film a short video (uploaded over my wifi) and then email a link to that video to an email address I own (strangely, it also offered the option of sharing the video to Facebook – a legacy, it appears, of a sister product called AngelCam). The email gave a location link but this only included half of the coordinates in the URL so the mapping didn’t work. Clicking on the video link opened up the video in my browser, but it was far from “clear” – it was tiny, and there was no obvious way to expand the image.

Nice idea, but my user experience as a recipient was poor, while I wonder if the sender will always have the benefit of wifi or a decent 3G or 4G connection? And – in a highly cost-conscious industry like construction – will the sender (or sender’s employer) also be prepared to pay for the necessary connectivity to share video from their mobile devices?

In its current form, I can’t see Go-Cam threatening existing construction defects reporting tools. They export considerable metadata as part of each defect report which helps with management reporting and tracking of the issue. GPS coordinates will not be sufficiently granular to distinguish between different locations within a single building. Disconnected from other project management tools, it’s just a point solution doing one thing – and, based on my experience, not doing that one thing particularly well. As my school reports used to say: could do better.

Permanent link to this article: https://extranetevolution.com/2016/03/go-cam-video-snagging/

Mar 17 2016

Aconex acquires Conject

Aconex logo 2014In the biggest deal yet seen in the construction SaaS market, the Melbourne, Australia-based collaboration technology provider Aconex has acquired Munich, Germany-based rival Conject for A$96m (c. €65m or £51m or US$73.3m).

Aconex announced the agreement to acquire Conject Holding GmbH earlier today, along with its intention to launch a fully underwritten placement to raise approximately A$120m to cover the deal costs (read The Australian). The deal eclipses the previous biggest acquisition seen in the sector, the February 2006 purchase of Constructware by Autodesk, then valued at US$46m.

ConjectThe transaction is expected to close on or about 31 March 2016, subject to customary closing conditions, including approval by Germany’s Federal Ministry of Economics and Technology. According to Aconex, in the financial year ended 31 December 2015, Conject generated €24.5m (A$36.1m – £19.3m or US$27.6m) in total revenue and €0.8m (A$1.1m – £0.7m or US$0.8m) in earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortisation (EBITDA). The acquisition price implies a trailing revenue multiple of 2.7x.

Aconex anticipates the acquisition will help grow its revenues and profits, and will accelerate its business in Europe and other regions with a larger customer base, expanded sales and product development teams, and increased scale of operations. It does, though, expect to incur some one-time transaction and restructuring costs.

Strategic Synergies

Aconex CEO Leigh Jasper said:

Leigh Jasper“This acquisition will significantly expand our market penetration and user network throughout Europe, and will further consolidate our position as a leader in the global market for cloud-based construction collaboration solutions,” said Aconex CEO Leigh Jasper. “We believe that the strategic, operational and financial synergies of the business combination will substantially increase the long-term value that we are able to deliver to Aconex customers and shareholders. The addition of Conject will reinforce our strategic focus of growing the network, expanding product breadth and driving scale.”

The acquisition is consistent with our strategy of market consolidation, and Conject provides the primary market consolidation opportunity available today. Conject’s customer base, business and culture are highly complementary to ours. Their footprint across Europe’s largest construction and infrastructure markets, particularly Germany and the UK, will strengthen our presence and further increase our global economies of scale by leveraging our existing infrastructure. We believe that the transaction will provide opportunities to improve Conject’s operating performance and drive margin expansion and growth over time. We look forward to welcoming their management and employees, integrating their operations, and serving their customers.”

Outlook for Conject’s Business Integrated with Aconex

Conject recorded compound annual revenue growth (CAGR) of 18% over the last three calendar years (read my report on its 2014 performance). For the year ended 31 December 2015, Conject achieved gross margin of 73% and EBITDA margin of 3%. Aconex believes that under its ownership and management, the Conject business can achieve 15-20% revenue growth over the next four years, with gross margin of 70-72% in the near term and 73-75% in the medium term. With improvements in operating performance and the effects of product and operational synergies, Aconex expects the EBITDA margin to improve, reaching 11-16% in the near term and 20-25% in the medium term on an ongoing operations basis, excluding the impact of one-time costs related to the acquisition and integration.

“Leading the Construction Collaboration Market in Europe”

Conject the ILM groupConject, the Infrastructure Lifecycle Management (ILM) Group – described by Aconex in its release as “Leading the Construction Collaboration Market in Europe” (a claim that might be disputed by its fast-growing rival Think Project!, also based in Munich) – was founded in 2000 in Germany and in December 2010 it acquired BIW Technologies, a Woking, UK-based construction collaboration software provider founded in 1999. Headquartered in Munich, Conject currently has approximately 210 employees located in 12 offices in nine countries. The company has served large, complex construction and infrastructure projects throughout Europe and other regions, with a customer base of more than 670 asset owners/operators and contractors and users in approximately 50 countries. Major customers include:

  • ArcelorMittal/Nippon Steel (Germany)
  • Stiftung Zollverein (Germany)
  • Bank Austria
  • The National Grid (U.K.)
  • University of Manchester (U.K.)
  • Groupe Vinci (France)
  • BNP Paribas Residentiel (France)
  • Spectrum Holding (Russia)
  • Mace (Poland)
  • Changi Airport Authority (Singapore)
  • Hyundai (United Arab Emirates).

Conject’s current product portfolio supports the plan-build-operate lifecycle of assets. For project management, the company provides a cross-company collaboration platform which operates both on premise and in the cloud. Conject also provides solutions for mobility, cost control, mobile inspections (launched in the UK in May 2014, following its Wapp6 acquisition), and facility management.

Conject EVMAconex believes that Conject’s successful experience in marketing, selling and supporting its Project Controls solution will benefit the commercial launch of the Aconex connected cost module later in calendar year 2016. This module will provide unified cost control across the project lifecycle, including claims and payments, contract administration, earned value management (EVM – post), budgeting, cost performance, and forecasting. The cloud-based cost control solution was acquired with Worksite in July 2015 and has been subsequently integrated with the Aconex collaboration platform.

Aconex also believes that the Conject acquisition will help drive penetration of its Aconex Connected BIM solution in the UK and other European markets leading the adoption of building information modelling (BIM) for construction projects. Aconex Connected BIM (launched in October 2014) manages BIM data and processes for project-wide collaboration between design and construction teams and handover to the asset owner. The company envisions similar leverage for Aconex Field, which enables field safety and quality inspections and defects management on mobile devices.

My reaction

The deal consolidates Aconex’s global leadership position among the SaaS collaboration pure plays, and it may also re-energise the Conject business. I have been hearing industry rumours about Conject being put up for sale and/or looking for new investment for some months; while the early signs of a resurgence were strong following the December 2010 acquisition of BIW Technologies, I think that initial dynamism has dissipated in recent years.

Despite the heavy losses BIW experienced when the Global Financial Crisis devastated the construction market in 2008 (read BIW – Battered in Woking), it retained a strong management team led by Colin Smith. After BIW plc went into administration, it recapitalised in late 2009. Effectively a ‘pre-pack’ deal was done that allowed previous directors and shareholders to acquire the operating company, BIW Technologies Ltd, and start afresh, free of the loan notes that brought the holding company down (while also destroying any equity held by many employees – myself included).

The acquisition of BIW by Conject a year later gave the Munich-based company a strong footprint in the UK and in the Middle East and other markets, and there also appeared to be a good ‘fit’ between the construction and FM strengths of the two firms. Rivals perhaps expected the UK management team to disappear but during the first 15 months, BIW CEO Colin Smith (below right) quickly replaced Martin Reents as Conject CEO, BIW sales director Steve Cooper also joined the holding company’s board, and the BIW SaaS product suite remained the strongest in the group’s portfolio, with investments in a new SaaS FM application and, later, BIM, set to strengthen the offering.

Colin SmithHowever, after Colin Smith left in December 2013 (later joining Textura), the business, in my view, lost momentum. UK revenues were growing, but Conject lagged technologically behind its rivals in responding to industry demands for BIM capabilities (it finally joined the BIM race just a year ago) and for mobile functionality; a UK launch of the SaaS FM solution was repeatedly postponed; and despite rebranding to Conject many UK end-users still tended to refer to the core platform as “BIW”. In April 2015, Smith’s successor Ralf Händl talked fairly conservatively about the polarisation created by BIM and about industry consolidation, perhaps hinting that Conject was open to suitors. Today, we have seen how that consolidation forecast has worked out.

Aconex’s founders and other members of its management team share some of the dynamism and ambition personified in Colin Smith, I think. I believe they will re-energise what became a somewhat staid Conject business, while also dramatically increasing the Aconex group’s penetration into Europe, particularly in the UK and in the central and eastern European markets where Conject has long retained a strong presence.

In terms of technology, the cost management capabilities of Conject’s Financial Control application, developed in the early 2000s to meet a major contractor’s exacting demands, have long been a strength and will accelerate the availability of tried and tested project cost control technology for contractor organisations and other industry clients. Conject’s UK team has led the group’s BIM developments, and with UK BIM practices now increasingly being emulated in other countries, this will add strength to Aconex’s BIM offering. However, I would not be surprised if Aconex disposed of some of the non-SaaS elements of Conject’s German operation, while looking to expand its own whole-life asset and data management capabilities in the cloud.

Update (22 March 2016) – A snippet from the transcript of the Aconex teleconference regarding the acquisition, quoting Leigh Jasper, and covering the integration aspects of the deal:

As part of this acquisition, we have put together a detailed plan to fully integrate Conject and the Aconex business, driving overall profit growth for the combined entity. We have factored in a one-time operational integration investment to bring Conject up to Aconex operating standards, which will ultimately drive more efficiency and productivity into the team. We will leverage synergy to improve operating performance and increase global economies of scale.

We will consolidate the platforms in much the same way that we have consolidated the INCITE Keystone platform; continuing to operate the Conject platform in the near term, but then fully aligning customers and integrating the platforms over the long term, ultimately resulting in one platform for all customers on the Aconex network. The success of the INCITE Keystone acquisition has provided a strong template for how this can work with the Conject-Aconex integration.

[Disclosure: As mentioned, I am a former employee of BIW Technologies (2000- May 2009). I have also undertaken consultancy work for Conject.] Apologies also to anyone affected by a short datacentre outage around noon GMT, 17 March.

Permanent link to this article: https://extranetevolution.com/2016/03/aconex-acquires-conject/

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