Cadalyst - November/December 2008 - (Page 53)

aecinsight project information during construction administration is the role of software at the ten o’clock position, which leads to resource-based scheduling at eleven o’clock. True project management holds the twelve o’clock position, bridging resource management at eleven and timekeeping at one. Many of the programs around the perimeter of this clockface share — or should share — data with each other; for example, the same client information will appear in financial software, project histories, contact database, past proposals, CAD drawing title blocks, specifications files, contracts, and the voluminous documentation generated by construction administration. Thus, the center of the clock diagram is occupied by one or more databases that record and, ideally, coordinate this data. Progressive firms may have an intranet or web-like internal network as a ring or buffer between the various userfacing software applications and the central data store. Nearly all firms today are metaphorically surrounded by the Internet, e-mail, and other messaging media, which is how design firms and their software communicate with the outside world of clients, consultants, and contractors. prior point solutions for FMS, project management, and customer relationship management, these integrated PSA programs support comprehensive, firm-wide planning and management across multiple projects looking forward as well as back in time. Big BIM Boom Moving around the software clock, industry software trends toward higher functionality and greater integration have played out in the emergence of building information modeling (BIM), which spans formerly stand-alone applications from six o’clock (graphics/ visualization) to nine o’clock (codes and standards). The acquisitions have occurred across design discipline boundaries. For example, Autodesk acquired Softdesk in the late 1990s and developed Architectural Desktop (now AutoCAD Architecture), followed by the 2002 acquisition of Revit, followed more recently by engineering-discipline applications such as Green Building Studio, Ecotect, and Robobat. Autodesk even has encroached on Adobe’s traditional graphics spot at six o’clock through its DWF file-sharing format (versus Adobe’s PDF) and Autodesk Impression (versus Adobe Illustrator). At Bentley Systems, the BIM consolidation trend saw TriForma emerge from Bentley’s late 1990s acquisition of code from BrixWorks and architecture/engineering vertical tools from Ideagraphics. Lately, this trend has been complemented by a flurry of structural BIM acquisitions, such as STAAD Pro, RAM, and Struc-Soft, plus an exclusive distribution agreement with Environmental Design Solutions’ Tas Software. Elsewhere in the BIM market, Germany’s Nemetschek Group, maker of Allplan BIM tools, acquired the former Diehl Graphsoft (MiniCAD, then VectorWorks), which now operates as Nemetschek North America. Recently, Nemetschek acquired Maxon (Cinema 4D modeling and visualization), BIM maker Graphisoft (ArchiCAD), and structural BIM vendor Scia. Buyouts and Rollups Applying the principles of ever-higher software functionality and ever-greater software integration to the metaphor of the software clock diagram helps explain the recent history of AEC software. Starting in the late 1990s, for example, Deltek Systems acquired a string of related applications in FMS, project management, and customer relationship management. After rolling up the former Harper and Shuman, Sema4, Wind2, A/E Award, and A/E Management Services, Deltek introduced Vision, a product for professional services automation (PSA) that spans software clock functions from one (time and expense) to five (proposals and business development). Other contenders in this new multifunction PSA segment include BST Enterprise (an expansion of BST Global’s previous accounting/project software) and Axium’s Ajera PORTFOLIO. Axium previously developed Protrax and acquired the former MarketEdge. Unlike information modeling (PIM). By either definition, PIM combines everything from contracts to construction administration and resource scheduling, often with an added dose of data management, e-mail management, and project collaboration. The leading proponent of this approach is Newforma (see review in Cadalyst’s November 2007 issue, www.cadalyst. com/newforma4). Other contenders in the PIM sector include Arsitus practicepro and Orange Loft’s ArchiOffice. Some PSA solutions, such as Deltek Vision, tend to integrate with and complement PIM programs such as Newforma. However, a product called ArchAdministrator from PS Software Solutions carries integration a step further by combining the accounting, contact, and proposal capabilities of a PSA program with a wide range of PIM functionality. Among PIM programs, Newforma also offers integration with BIM through model markup and drawing management. In addition, most Windows-based PSA, PIM, and BIM software relies on or is compatible with Microsoft SharePoint for centralized data consolidation and document management. Architecture and engineering firms that once faced a dozen or more mostly incompatible point solution programs, plus home-brewed and custom-written software, now enjoy the much simpler and better integrated option of selecting one each from the PSA, PIM, and BIM categories — all wrapped around a core of Microsoft Windows and Office with a graphics spot reserved for the seemingly inevitable Adobe Creative Suite. Thus, typical design firms of the future will use a smaller number of separate programs, each representing more integrated functions or encompassing more positions on the software clockface. These programs will be smarter and have greater AEC specificity, thereby helping firms save enough time to figuratively beat the clock. Industry analyst and consultant Jerry Laiserin helps AEC/O businesses — and the technology providers who serve them — build smarter through the integration of technology strategy and business process. E-mail him at jerry@laiserin.com. 53 A PIM by Any Other Name The remainder of the AEC software clock is consolidating under project information management or practice November/December 2008 cadalyst www.cadalyst.com http://www.cadalyst.com/newforma4 http://www.cadalyst.com/newforma4 http://www.cadalyst.com

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of Cadalyst - November 2008

Cadalyst - November 2008 Contents Editor's Window CAD Central Tech Trends: Designed after Our Own Image Budget-Conscious Workstations — 64-Bit CAD Power for Less than $2,500 Cadalyst All-Star Awards 2008 SolidWorks 2009 — 3D MCAD Software IES Virtual Environment 5.9 — Building Performance Analysis Software View Point: A Design with Teeth CAD Manager: CAD Manager’s Survey 2008 MCAD Modeling: Ask for What You Want AEC Insight: AEC Software by the Clock CAD Cartoon Issue Indexes Hot Tip Harry: Hot Tips for Cold Days

Cadalyst - November 2008

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