Apr 19 2012

Clippings adds company profiles and ‘collaboration’

Two months ago, on my construction PR and marketing blog, I wrote about Clippings.com, a Pinterest-style architectural and interior design scrapbook service (see post). An email today tells me this AEC-oriented social media service (from the same people behind OpenBuildings – post) has diversified to offer a company profiles service and “collaboration”.

Clippings will allow firms to use their design portfolio to connect them with potential clients and find new work, offering four ways to help:

1. Add your company information & portfolio to get clients inspired by your work and ringing on your door
2. Get your whole team clipping inspirational images and broadcasting your style to build a loyal following.
3. We’ll match and connect you with new clients who like your style.
4. Use our private & collaborative folders to communicate design & product ideas with existing clients more effectively.

The final point is the interesting one, as it suggests Clippings is moving into the AEC collaboration sector. Of course, Clippings is mainly about sharing images (which could include photos, sketches, plans, elevations, etc), whereas the types of construction collaboration I have tended to be look at go well beyond document sharing to include feedback via commenting and mark-up, and a wide range of project delivery processes. Two ideas occur:

  1. Perhaps Clippings could extend its private ‘collaboration’ to include some simple feedback exchanges between project team members? It might integrate with or link to existing Software-as-a-Service platforms such as, say, Woobius Collaboration – designed by architects for architects, and initially marketed as “simply simple” collaboration (post), or even Woobius’s latest venture: its Showcase mobile company apps?
  2. Conversely, perhaps existing collaboration technology vendors might adopt a Clippings-type approach, and allow design firms to share files and market themselves via their platforms? This might be a useful additional revenue stream; Asite, for example, already provides a company directory, but it is nowhere near as glossy as that offered by Clippings (at least, not yet!).

[This is an edited version of a blog post originally published on my PR blog.]

Update (18 August 2021) – Clippings has been acquired by Material Bank, “the world’s largest marketplace for searching, sampling and specifying architecture, design and construction materials.” The Clippings founders say:

When we started Clippings in 2014, we were driven by a singular mission: to use technology to digitally transform the way that the design industry works. Clippings has achieved so much over the years in building an industry-defining technology platform that enables our users to connect and transact online.

In joining forces with Material Bank, we will be able to reach more clients, invest further into developing our technology and continue attracting the best talent to work with us. We absolutely couldn’t be more thrilled to have found a partner so aligned with our values.

Permanent link to this article: https://extranetevolution.com/2012/04/clippings-adds-company-profiles-and-collaboration/

Apr 18 2012

Immersive visualisation in Denmark

Sometimes a tweet is all it takes to grab my attention, particularly when the link provided takes me to something intriguingly interactive. I got a message from Tomas Skovgaard (@EndlessCities on Twitter) telling me about a prototype interactive 3D environment that could be used to help communicate new building designs.

Copenhagen, Denmark-based company Utopian CityScape (@UCSMicro) has developed an intuitive 3D visualisation and communication tool, RealSite, for architects, clients, developers and others involved in construction and architecture. I followed the link, downloaded the Unity Web Player plug-in to my browser and after waiting a few seconds for the buildings and greenery to load, I could begin to walk my avatar into a building (using arrow keys) and look around (left-click and move mouse). A really nice touch is the ability to alter the scale: in effect to turn the avatar into a giant or super-giant and get elevated and then super-elevated views of the building and its surroundings (and take some giant steps across the campus).

Tomas said the platform has been used for several large development projects in Denmark. Pilot projects include two new buildings on the campus of the Technical University of Denmark (DTU), imported from BIM (mostly from Revit or Microstation, using .fbx or Collada formats), and – in my opinion – I got a much better impression of them from being able to explore them in my own time using RealSite than simply viewing the video (below). As a browser-based client visualisation tool, placing buildings in the context of their local environment, it therefore clearly has great potential.

The platform is still in development (Tomas says “we are very keen to hear from potential partners who can help improve this product”), so its collaborative capabilities are coming. It would be useful, for example, if users were able to make comments or to apply mark-ups in some equally intuitive way (for example, StickyWorld, developed by one of my former clients, Slider Studio, allowed users to create electronic sticky-notes containing their feedback – post). When I explored the RealSite platform, there was a ‘draw’ tool but, strangely, it was just used to add stairs.

Permanent link to this article: https://extranetevolution.com/2012/04/immersive-visualisation-in-denmark/

Apr 16 2012

Meeting McLaren, talking SaaS and on-premise

McLaren, now incorporating CTSpace, is building a compelling offer to owner-operators and EPC contractors wanting SaaS or on-premise collaboration, and adding AEC-specific experience to the proposition.

Last week I visited the City of London offices of Idox plc to meet Tim Taylor, chief marketing officer of subsidiary McLaren Software, and talk about the business’s merger with Idox’s CTSpace acquisition (see CTSpace disappears) and the resulting combined product portfolio (I subsequently also met McLaren CEO Paul Muir – right).

The first meeting was strongly reminiscent of one I had with Sword-CTSpace in Brentford in May 2010. For a start, I was re-introduced to product manager Andre Gunter, one of the 50 or so people who joined McLaren following CTSpace’s acquisition; and we talked about FusionLive and about the dual offering of both Software-as-a-Service and on-premise platforms for ‘engineering document management, control and collaboration’ (the current, if slightly cumbersome, McLaren strapline). Indeed, McLaren has adopted the CTSpace dual offering approach, with a now larger portfolio incorporating the on-premise, enterprise-class applications already delivered by McLaren.

McLaren acquisition

While at Furnival Street, I was introduced to Idox CEO Richard Kellett-Clarke, right, and he talked through Idox’s recent expansion. The AIM-listed company (turnover: c. £54m; profit c. £18m) has an established customer base in UK local government, where it provides consultation tools and applications to manage planning, environmental health, licensing, and land and property processes (among other things). But it was keen to diversify into the private sector and into other markets (vertical and geographical) which complemented its existing domain knowledge and expertise in managing documents and related data. This prompted, first, the 2010 acquisition of McLaren Software, and, second, almost a year later, the purchase of CTSpace from Sword.

In Richard’s view, investors in the existing McLaren software business had lost direction and the company was likely to benefit from further investment and being part of a bigger group. The acquisition tidied up the business’s balance sheet; the Glasgow location meant it was convenient to integrate its people and form a larger Idox operation in the city; and the parent’s development resource grew through the addition of McLaren teams in India, the US and Belarus. The deal certainly seemed to work: Tim says McLaren revenues grew 30% during 2011 (Paul Muir said McLaren turned over c. £20m).

CTSpace acquisition

Both Tim and Richard confirmed that during 2011 McLaren repeatedly found itself in competition with Sword-CTSpace as it pitched to customers in the oil and gas, utilities, transportation and related sectors.

In my view, Sword Group appeared to lose its drive to create a strong Software-as-a-Service arm; certainly, its SaaS champion Heath Davies had departed at the end of 2010 (off to turn around Alterian – see Independent article), and the remaining CTSpace team were struggling within the Sword confines to grow the business and its hybrid offering. Richard confirmed that Sword were receptive when Idox approached them to acquire the business; the deal enabled McLaren to add some established SaaS tools to its product portfolio, it expanded its development resources as people relocated from Brentford to Idox offices in London and Newbury, and there were economies of scale from centralising HR, finance and related overheads.

The hybrid offering

McLaren portfolio

We talked a lot about the document and information management requirements of owner-operators and EPC – engineering, procurement and construction – contractors, and McLaren is targeting these markets, particularly in oil and gas and natural resources (Tim and Andre reeled off lists of customers and recent project wins in north America – from where around 60% of McLaren’s business currently comes – Europe, the Middle East and Australasia – where McLaren has just recruited a new VP to grow its presence there).

According to Tim, McLaren regards its on-premise enterprise solutions as “sticky”, generating strong recurring revenues, but the company also wanted to be extend the reach of its applications beyond internal fire-walls. It now has two gambits:

  • first, McLaren Collaboration Workspace (CW), via an application programming interface (API), creates a SaaS integration between an owner-operator or EPCC’s internally-held data and external partner businesses
  • second, FusionLive provides a Software-as-a-Service platform that can be used to manage the whole design and construction of a project – outside the firewall – with other McLaren systems then available to import data for future operational needs internally if required.

The CW branding is, I am told, partly coincidental with the former Citadon CW platform, which formed part of the product portfolio in pre-Sword days. This was adopted as an enterprise solution in several large US-based engineering client organisations such as Parsons and Ameren during the mid 2000s and so fits neatly with McLaren’s focus on similar customers while providing some continuity with existing customers.

The hybrid offering also provides a strong Software-as-a-Service option as more corporations adopt cloud-based solutions rather than managing their own IT infrastructures. McLaren can demonstrate strong credentials in enterprise-strength systems, which will give corporations confidence that McLaren can also manage their information needs ‘in the cloud’. Equally, it has now acquired the complementary SaaS domain experience of the CTSpace team, so that it has (a) a credible track record within similarly risk-averse industries where references and previous experience are vital, and (b) US and European-based SaaS experience.

Much of the conversation focused on oil and gas exploration, natural resources and similar process engineering markets. This is obviously a McLaren strength, but, with FusionLive, it retains a SaaS offering to those in the architecture, engineering and construction field needing to deliver a project. The AEC sector raises competition from several vendors (eg: Australia’s Aconex; Europe-based 4Projects, Asite, BIW/conject, think project! and Unit4; and US firms including e-Builder and Autodesk’s Constructware), but these do not currently have strong post-handover operation and maintenance/facilities management capabilities (although conject has promised a new SaaS FM offering later this year) likely to appeal to owner/operators.

McLaren therefore has an opportunity to expand into the AEC market and provide an easy stepping stone for businesses, particularly owner/operators, who – after project handover – may want to bring management and reuse of their design and construction data in-house. Currently, the business is heavily skewed towards its on-premise enterprise market, but if it can successfully mould its sales and marketing activities to cover the whole portfolio, then it stands a good chance of growing a strong and complementary SaaS operation and expanding its AEC footprint.

Permanent link to this article: https://extranetevolution.com/2012/04/meeting-mclaren-talking-saas-and-on-premise/

Apr 11 2012

Promoting the art and science of civil engineering – via Wikipedia

Feel your discipline isn’t covered well on Wikipedia? Not sure how to improve matters? Follow the ICE’s lead and start a campaign to deepen Wikipedia’s coverage of your profession, its people and projects.

Building on my own interests in civil engineering, during the mid 2000s I wrote and edited many Wikipedia articles about tunnels, dams, bridges and the civil engineers who designed them and supervised their construction. More recently, I’ve also started editing articles about construction IT (BIM, for example) and some of the organisations involved. However, I am a PR professional and construction IT writer, not a civil engineer, and I sometimes wished for more archive material, or for the input of technical specialists to explain particular designs of structures or methods of construction.

At the same time, I know the Institution of Civil Engineers as a professional institution is keen to promote the art and science of civil engineering. So I have been talking to the ICE (I am on the ICE’s information systems panel) about a drive to improve and expand civil engineering content on Wikipedia. Among other suggestions, I would like the ICE to open up its archives (and encourage its members’ companies to do the same) and make them available to the public via Wikimedia Commons, Wikipedia’s repository for open-licensed images and other media. For example:

  • with new content to work on, volunteer editors might also be recruited and trained in good Wikipedia practice to collaborate on new articles,
  • a Wikipedia “writer in residence” can also help institutions digitise and get more of their collections online,
  • recruitment of users to join ‘WikiProjects’ to improve content – there is already one relating to civil engineering – and
  • ‘outreach’ initiatives such as QRpedia (using QR codes to access articles via mobile devices) can help present Wikipedia information in context, and encourage more involvement – think of a QR code as a digital “blue plaque” on a building, though it could just as easily be on the hoardings around the sites of ongoing engineering projects like London’s Crossrail or ThamesLink.

By helping build a strong core community of disinterested (NPOV, or neutral point of view, in Wikipedia parlance) enthusiasts, the ICE could harness the ‘wisdom of the civil engineering crowd.’ It could use this crowd’s collective expertise to expand and improve the discipline’s coverage in Wikipedia – and promote the art and science of civil engineering – while avoiding conflicts of interest (an area where marketing and PR folk like me must tread carefully, as I’ve previously noted). The same approach could also be adopted by other professional institutions – maybe the RIBA, IStructE, IMechE, IET, etc – and not just in construction, but right across other disciplines and interests.

Wikipedia workshop

The first ICE Wikipedia workshop is being held at the ICE’s One Great George Street headquarters in London on Friday 20 April, and is being facilitated by friend and experienced Wikipedia volunteer Andy Mabbett. Places are still available – so if you are, or were, a civil engineer (or are studying to be one), please email Richard Armstrong about joining the session (it’s free to attend, but places are limited).

[This is a slightly edited version of a blog post originally published on my PR blog.]

Permanent link to this article: https://extranetevolution.com/2012/04/promoting-the-art-and-science-of-civil-engineering-via-wikipedia/

Apr 10 2012

Docia: a Red Herring Top 100 finalist

An email arrives from CEO Mads Bording, right, telling me that Copenhagen, Denmark-based SaaS construction collaboration vendor Docia is a finalist in Red Herring’s Top 100 Europe awards, a list honouring 2012’s most promising private technology ventures from the European business region.

Nominees were evaluated on quantitative and qualitative criteria, such as financial performance, technology innovation, quality of management, execution of strategy, and integration into their respective industries. This assessment is complemented by a review of the actual track record and standing of a company, which allows Red Herring to see past the “buzz” and help identify the best business opportunities across the tech sector. Finalists have been invited to present their winning strategies at the Red Herring Europe Forum in Amsterdam later this month (23-25 April), with the winners announced at a ceremony on the evening of 25 April.

The finalists include a few other familiar names. For example, UK-based AMEE showed off their environmental data-sharing platform at the Be2camp 2008 event I co-organised; Hailo is a black-cab taxi app I’ve seen publicised in London; my favourite mobile augmented reality application Layar is in the list, as is social media influence site PeerIndex; Skydox, who exhibited and spoke at February’s Information Age conference in London (post), also provide online document collaboration; and last, but by no means least, is UK property search website, Zoopla.

Permanent link to this article: https://extranetevolution.com/2012/04/docia-a-red-herring-top-100-finalist/

Apr 05 2012

New conject UK website taking shape

The new conject website went live earlier today. As noted on 22 March, the old BIW Technologies company name and associated branding is being superseded by group-wide use of the conject name to cover its SaaS project control and related collaborative solutions across all geographic markets (with the “plan-build-operate” life-cycle very much to the fore).

Some content from the old BIW website has yet to be ported across to the new platform. As the former communications chief at Woking-based BIW, I had a look at the news section, which is currently populated only with the most recent releases, but I am told the rest of the search-friendly archive will be added soon. Related social places (Twitter, LinkedIn, Facebook) are all being re-branded too.

So it’s still a bit “work in progress”, and, after filling the gaps, I expect conject’s website team will soon be polishing some currently rough edges. For example, I tested the website on my mobile (an Android smartphone), and some page elements were not rendered properly – in horizontal view, some of the page-bottom navigation overwrote main body text.

Ensuring websites are optimised for mobiles is increasingly important, particularly in sectors such as construction IT where there is a growing assumption that users will want to be able access data anywhere, any time and on any device. And if companies’ websites don’t deliver a good mobile user experience, customers may begin to wonder about the capabilities of the web-based applications they provide.

Update (11 April 2012) – Interesting to see BIW/conject following the May 2011 example of 4Projects (post) and advertising the new branding change on Construction Enquirer‘s e-newsletter (which, in November 2011, was claiming over 10,000 subscribers and has now apparently reached 13,700 – “with 250+ new subscribers signing-up every week”).

Permanent link to this article: https://extranetevolution.com/2012/04/new-conject-uk-website-taking-shape/

Apr 05 2012

iSite boosted by Styles & Wood cross-selling

Results from UK retail fit-out specialist contracting group Styles & Wood received a boost from projects for retail banks, and its SaaS property management solutions subsidiary, iSite, also seems to have benefited. Yesterday’s results announcement highlighted “expansion of our iSite property management systems business with Tesco and Nationwide Building Society.”

Revenues and profits for the whole group were both up fractionally on 2010’s result, with over 80% of the group’s revenues arising from its ‘Construct’ operations, though the CEO Tony Lenehan notes a benefit to iSite of being part of a contracting group: “The promotion of cross-selling of other service lines such as Design and iSite has proved a notable success.”

Looking specifically at Nottingham-based iSite, the information services business grew revenues 18% from £1.242m to £1.460m (the best result since 2007 – see above), with a profit of £0.278m (up £7k from 2010; post) and margins a bit tighter at 19%. iSite (previously known as StoreData) has been consistently profitable since 2005 (below).

The CEO’s report says:

“We are developing our product range and, through collaborative working arrangements with key customers such as Tesco and Nationwide, we are establishing a sound platform for growth. Profit contribution in the period is in line with the prior year and reflects in-year investment for future business opportunities.”

It also notes:

“A formal agreement has been ratified with Nationwide Building Society to jointly promote the suite of management systems, termed “the Hub”, which we have developed for their property portfolio. This collaborative arrangement provides a robust platform to selectively target sales growth in this area.”

I met iSite’s Martin Ward earlier this year at Styles & Wood’s new London office close to Smithfield Market. He told me iSite was seen as a long-term project targeting efficiency improvements in clients’ property portfolios. He highlighted how the system had helped key customers such as Nationwide and the Co-op reduce headcount while still managing scores of branch refurbishments, and how customers could see a clear link between capital spend on property assets and sales results. And iSite was not just being used by commercial organisations, he said – local authorities had also been looking to use the system.

Such diversification may provide more resilient and predictable future revenues than might be achieved through a focus on retail clients. The business is also well-placed to capitalise from further cross-selling within the parent group’s framework deals with major construction customers, while its Nationwide “Hub” partnership could also boost revenues.

Permanent link to this article: https://extranetevolution.com/2012/04/isite-boosted-by-styles-wood-cross-selling/

Apr 03 2012

Asite opens US offices

The expansion of once UK-focused SaaS construction collaboration providers into the US market continues. Asite has just announced it is opening an East Coast office in New York, and a West Coast office in San Francisco, continuing what Tony Ryan, Asite CEO, says is “measured expansion of our successful AEC focus into the USA” (news release).

Asite COO Nathan Doughty says:

“Asite’s continued growth in the US is a natural result of supporting the global operations of our customers. They are running some of the largest and most capital-intensive engineering projects in the world today using Asite solutions. We are in business to support them as they work to achieve true collaborative working with their supply chains. Our direct presence on both coasts of the US market will mean an improved service for both our customers and our partner community.”

This step builds on Asite’s ongoing partnership with the ReproMAX marketing network (see October and August 2011 posts). Rival UK vendors 4Projects and BIW/conject have also been gradually expanding in the US, while Australia-based Aconex has been growing its north American operations particularly aggressively. And UK-based McLaren Software‘s recent merger with CTSpace (previous post) has maintained support for the latter’s US customers. It all seems to confirm my June 2011 view that the US architecture engineering and construction market was ripe for overseas collaboration vendors.

Permanent link to this article: https://extranetevolution.com/2012/04/asite-opens-us-offices/

Mar 30 2012

CTSpace disappears

According to Idox group company McLaren Software, “the merger with CTSpace is now complete.” As described in November 2011, following the business’s acquisition from Sword (post), the CTSpace name was set to disappear, and now – sure enough – if you point your browser at the old domain you are redirected to McLaren’s home page, and its perfunctory announcement of the absorption of the old name.

The McLaren product portfolio comprises cloud-hosted and enterprise-scale on-premise engineering document management, control and collaboration solutions, listed in this order:

  • cloud-based McLaren FusionLive (FusionLive was originally developed and launched in 2010 to supersede the old BuildOnline and Citadon CW applications)
  • on-premise McLaren Enterprise (presumably the McLaren and former Cimage document management applications)
  • cloud-based McLaren Collaboration Workspace (CW)

The branding similarity of the latter with the Citadon CW product name (post), suggests the company continues to support its largely US-based customers using a platform first launched some 11 years ago, but the focus going forward seems to be on its cloud-based FusionLive offering.

Permanent link to this article: https://extranetevolution.com/2012/03/ctspace-disappears/

Mar 27 2012

Cafe4tune – a new 3D social network

Cafe4tune is a new, free social network which enables individuals and organisations worldwide to interact in virtual, 2D and 3D web environments. Quietly introduced to the market last year, it’s been launched today in Beta with companion iPhone, iPad and Android apps, and claims over 20,000 members in 35 countries.

From a construction-oriented business-to-business perspective, Cafe4tune may have some future appeal – if it becomes successful. For example, individuals, organisations and special interest groups can represent themselves in a 3D environment, and can join ‘cafes’ (aka groups) organised by interest, theme, topic or business.

Communication options include live chat or text messaging, with in-built 3D video and audio tools to “take online social networking and connection-building to a new level”. Every user can also access integrated web audio and live video streaming functionality, helping create 3D ‘virtual premises’ to showcase and sell their products.

Another Second Life?

Of course, 3D social networks are nothing new, and people will inevitably make comparisons with Second Life (a little unfair at this stage, as Cafe4tune is barely populated with any useful content). About four years ago, I first entered Second Life. It was a fleeting visit – I didn’t quite understand the teleporting and exotically clothed avatars, and (wearing my construction hard-hat) creating a 3D model of an existing building wasn’t just a question of processing an existing model file (though I understand Second Life has much improved in the latter respect with 3D mesh imports enabled last year).

Having seen from Birmingham-based consultancy Daden how Second Life can be applied to the needs of the built environment professional, I don’t need convincing of the value of 3D interactivity. I’ve also seen Slider Studio [former client] deploy panoramic photography very effectively via its StickyWorld platform to create interactive gallery and exhibition spaces (post); and Slider Studio also created its own Collaboration Cafe in 2010 (post).

The emergence of a new player may galvanise renewed interest in immersive, multi-media platforms; it could also stimulate new thinking from existing social networks in how they deliver user interaction. But, given the dominance of existing social networks such as Facebook, is Cafe4tune offering enough to tempt ordinary people away? I suspect its strengths may lie in its leisure consumer-oriented music and video offerings rather than in B2B-type adoption.

Update (20 April 2012): Cafe4tune today “announced its official listing as the first Android app in Google Play Store to combine standard web or Web 3D social network interaction with an online dating service.” Kind of confirms it’s more a leisure platform than B2B.

Permanent link to this article: https://extranetevolution.com/2012/03/cafe4tune-a-new-3d-social-network/

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