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| Architosh Staff ([email protected]) |
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Notes from A/E/C Systems '99: Extranets and Internet-based PM
As promised, Architosh is bringing you further notes on the upcoming A/E/C Systems '99 Conference and Expo, the largest expo of its kind in the world. "A/E/C Systems is the premier international information and technology event for the entire design and construction industry. More than 20,000 design and construction professionals will find solutions to their most complex challenges in over 150 conference sessions and from 500 plus vendors in a 1300 booth exhibit." As mentioned in our earlier news on A/E/C Systems, Architosh is now bringing you a partial listing of some of the new Internet-based technology firms that are providing project management services via the development of Extranets and common Web-based applications and will be exhibiting at this year's A/E/C Systems '99 Expo. What follows is a listing of these technology firms and a short description of their offerings: BidCom BidCom develops and markets inSite(TM), the only Internet-based business-to-business platform, for companies that need to manage risk, drive down cost, and complete projects on time. inSite is a complete, highly customizable and scalable solution for project management via a simple Web interface environment. The application itself is built on the power of an Oracle relational database engine. Many of BidCom's principal team members were drawn from Stanford University's renowned Construction and Engineering Management program. Some of the architects who have used BidCom to date include some of the world's largest firms, like HOK, Gensler, and Summit Architects. General contractors include Swinerton & Walberg, DPR Construction, and Turner Construction. Clients include The Gap, Fidelity Investments, Visa, Sun Microsystems, and Siemans, to name just a few. To see this online application for yourself you can take an online tour and see in detail how Web-based information and sharing and workflow management systems could save you time and money.
BlueLine Online: The Project Portal Company BlueLine is a company dedicated to supporting the AEC industry with project portal solutions. These Web-based information management solutions are also known as Extranets, private subnets on the Internet with restricted access, as opposed to company Intranets. BlueLine offers three scaled solutions: ProjectNet, ProjectNet LT, and PrintNet as "outsourced" solutions. They also offer ProjectNet EPS as an "inhouse" solution. With the "Internet acting as the ultimate communication medium", ProjectNet provides an instant, on-demand, secure online solution for all team members to communicate, share documents and collaborate using a standard Web browser. Like BidCom there is also a demo available. ProjectNet is a multi-user, multi-project, and multi-platform supported system which only requires a standard Web browser--like Netscape or MS Internet Explorer--and any hardware platform to work. This is not the case for the "inhouse" solution which does not run on Macintosh or UNIX on the server side.
AdvantageNET: Internet Project Control by Emerging Solutions Inc. AdvantageNET is another Internet-based project management (PM) solution that will work via any Web browser on the client side and that accesses a centralized database. The Web-based application will create, store, and report information throughout the entire life of a construction project. It is not necessarily a single-project Web site but rather a centralized database for all projects that is accessible via the Internet and a standard Web browser.
Bricsnet Bricsnet offers add-on application technologies for AutoCAD and other PC software, but one other service of theirs is called ProjectCenter--an Internet hosting service for project extranet implementations in the building industry. Through a monthly subscription, organizations can quickly deploy an environment for collaborative engineering and project management without the need for inhouse development or maintenance of a professional extranet implementation. ProjectCenter is officially endorsed by the American Institute of Architects (AIA).
eProject.com Inc. eProject.com Inc. was founded in 1997 to develop online building project communication and information management applications that allow team members to exchange information and ideas in real time from anywhere around the world. The company announced their free eProject online application in January 1999.
ProjectWise ProjectWise Extranet is a rapidly deployable system project Web solution based on ModelServer TeamMate technology by Bentley. It uses a database, workflow and web page templates to allow quick implementation of the software. A ProjectWise Extranet uses a private Web site as the central depository for all engineering information. Clients software requirements include only a common Web browser.
Closing Comments: All of these companies are on the exhibitors list for the upcoming A/E/C Systems Expo. This is only a sampling of some of the companies that are developing Internet-based applications or deploying Web-oriented services in the design and building construction market and are presenting their products and services at A/E/C. It is highly likely that this market will expand greatly as the benefits of online PM systems increases and the technology improves. Well it is possible to develop such "project portals" or "extranets" inhouse, with applications like FileMaker Pro and WebObjects, all of these companies offer, essentially, turnkey solutions, and even the "inhouse versions" are software solutions that only require customization, not professional software development. As a Macintosh architect or AEC professional online applications play no particular favor to the dominance of Microsoft's Windows operating systems, with the one exception of server-side "inhouse" models. As browser-based environments all of these applications allow true cross-platform and multi-user information collaboration and workflow, so your Macintosh office environment can collaborate on equal footing with your clients, consultants and contractors who may be on PC environments. Additional Notes: A note that BidCom clearly reminds us is that design and construction is the world's biggest industry and single largest employer, with a percentage of the GNP over 10 percent or a total of $3.2 trillion worldwide. Traditionally a "paper and process-bound" industry with a growing legal and technological complexity, the design and construction industry is ideal for gaining efficiencies through use of the Internet and its related digital technologies.
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