Cloud Providers Enhance Residential
July 23, 2012
Putting project communication and collaboration efforts in the cloud is no longer considered to be taboo for construction. Today, many leading construction software providers are providing a robust toolset for builders and remodelers, and are continuing to enhance those offerings at record pace.
BuilderTREND, www.buildertrend.com, Omaha, Neb., continues to build on its success with its Web-based project-management technology for custom builders and remodelers. The company's toolset has been designed around the idea of better communication, and thus has made integral pieces of the construction process like scheduling, change orders, documents, photos, warranty management, and selections, flow better based on the notion of realtime communication and collaboration.
The company continues to rake up customer wins across the country, with builders and remodelers adopting its solutions to help manage everything from project communication to customer service. BuilderTREND stays successful through its ability to respond to the changing dynamics of the market and respond to customer needs.
Another company looking to continue to take marketshare is Procore Technologies, Inc., www.procore.com, Santa Barbara, Calif. The company, for example, recently announced plans to expand operations in the area. The success of cloud-based solutions in construction has played nicely into Procore's sweet spot—an area in which it has existed for quite some time.
The company provides construction project management software for both commercial and residential and the company says it is currently on pace to double revenues from last year, with more expansion on the way. Procore recently announced its app for the iPad, building off the need for allowing contractors to have greater access to project information from the field.
In the case of Procore, the company is providing applications that track contract and change-order management, RFI creation and tracking, daily log management, project scheduling, document management, project bidding, and much more.
Another example comes from BuildTools, www.buildtools.com, Minneapolis, Minn. The company specializes in the custom builder and remodeling market, providing a project-management system that builds off a few main elements, such as communication and documentation.
The company released it suite of tools as an app for the iPhone and iPad. With the app, users are able to access all project documents on these devices, while also adding photos, which can be a critical part of the documentation process.
Moving forward, builders and remodelers have a wealth of cloud-based options at their fingertips. What comes next is anyone’s guess, but some of the major players are primed and ready to deliver when the time is right.