BIM Acquisitions Abound for Construction
July 27, 2012
The BIM (building information modeling) technology market has seen quite a bit of movement as of late. Trimble’s acquisition of SketchUp and Autodesk’s acquisition of Vela Systems are two examples this year alone. But it isn’t just the big tech players that are making all the moves.
This week, Gehry Technologies, www.gehrytech.com, Los Angeles, Calif., announced the acquisition of Bimshare, a privately held company based in the Netherlands. Gehry Technologies is an AEC (architecture, engineering, and construction) technology development and consulting company that provides services to architects, engineers, contractors, and owners.
The announcement of this acquisition comes just on the heels of Gehry announcing the launch of its Web-based 3D project collaboration and BIM platform last week. The product, GTeam, enables file, document, and model sharing among owners, architects, engineers, general contractors, and other members of the construction supply chain.
By acquiring Bimshare, the company is able to expand its international presence and strengthen its Web development expertise in WebGL, HTML5, and other advanced technologies for desktops, tablets, and mobile devices. Bimshare offers a data-distribution solution that allows users to upload and share 3D models online through browsers on desktops or mobile devices—basically allowing teams to distribute BIM data ‘on demand.’
Gehry Technologies plans to add the SaaS (software-as-a-service)-based technology to its overall BIM collaboration strategy that targets the AEC industry.
Deep Bhattacharya, executive vice president of business development and strategy, Gehry Technologies, says, “Collaboration and mobile platforms are poised to make a revolutionary impact at the construction site and within facilities management departments. … This acquisition complements our field-tested collaboration technology and provides a definitive path to mobile platforms.”
With big players such as Trimble and Autodesk picking up some of the smaller BIM providers, it begs the question: Is there room for new vendors to enter the market now? The timing could be right for a company such as Gehry Technologies to launch its new product and pick up a company such as Bimshare. As tech giants clamor for the strong BIM software on the market today, it will be interesting to watch and see if this opens the door for new companies to enter the space.