Archive for the ‘SaaS’ Category

Viewpoint Sees Cloud as Opening to Wider Construction Enterprise Market

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September 1, 2010 · by Duane Craig · SaaS

It’s not surprising software companies that have traditionally sold packaged software are now moving their offerings to the cloud. As construction companies realize the cost savings associated with not having to maintain hardware and software on premises they will begin to view packaged software products as expendable. The other advantage to software companies is the strong possibility the cloud will increase construction’s uptake of information technology because it will simplify its use.

Recently, Viewpoint Construction Software launched a cloud computing solution tailored specifically for the construction industry, and it is expecting the cloud to make its software more accessible to small companies. Viewpoint has traditionally held its greatest market share with companies doing in excess of $25 million in revenue.

“Viewpoint sees the private cloud offering as the first step in allowing us to offer our industry leading software to smaller organizations with very little upfront configuration and expense,” said Henry Ferguson, vice president of strategic initiatives at Viewpoint. “What this offering accomplishes for customers of any size is removing the need to buy, configure, install and optimize hardware and software for Viewpoint and related applications. Depending on the size and complexity of the customer’s IT infrastructure, selecting the private cloud environment can significantly reduce upfront and ongoing expenditures.”

Viewpoint is partnering with 3t Systems to bring its cloud offering to life and to include not just Viewpoint’s construction-specific offerings but mainstream Microsoft offerings as well.

“Our partnership allows 3t Systems to provide a private cloud solution for Viewpoint customers,” said Mike McWilliams, vice president of business development for 3t Systems.  ”We provide the hardware/software, support and infrastructure for a completely virtual solution that allows Viewpoint users to hand-off IT tasks and focus on building horizontal or vertical structures.  Now, Viewpoint can offer their customers a small business solution with shared services of Viewpoint, Exchange, and Office. The offering, titled “Viewpoint Anywhere” encompasses all of these services in a solution by which each customer will be given their own environment in the cloud. Additionally, Viewpoint Continuous Data Protection and Viewpoint Slice of Solution offerings allow customers that are hosted, or non-hosted, to take advantage of our Disaster Recovery solution, which replicates data and spins up servers in a secondary data center in the event of a disaster.”

3t Systems pointed out in its press release that by using a Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) model via private cloud, construction companies of any size can take advantage of the benefits of cloud computing while mitigating common pitfalls such as security breaches, corporate governance, and reliability concerns. For an industry historically stifled by its relatively low uptake of IT, cloud computing brings a convenient, affordable and on-demand computing structure that many anticipate will be the turning point in construction IT.

While concepts like SaaS are not new in IT, it is the pricing model and the commoditizing of IT that gives cloud computing a distinct edge. With convenient, on-demand network access to a shared pool of configurable computing resources at a fixed user subscription fee, companies can access and manage various aspects of their daily routine, including project management and operations, cost estimating, project planning and control, and accounting and human resources management. Cloud computing brings high end information technology within reach of construction companies that lack the necessary capital, expertise or IT infrastructure.


SaaS Continues Blurring Traditional Computing Lines

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August 17, 2010 · by Duane Craig · SaaS

For many construction, architecture and engineering companies software-as-a-service (SaaS) is already part of the daily routine. A company that uses a Web-based accounting package, does payroll online using an online payroll service or has meetings using one of the popular online meeting sites is using SaaS.

(For a simply clear description of SaaS and how it relates to end users and the other key acronyms, PaaS and IaaS, see Sinclair Schuller’s article, “Demystifying The Cloud: Where Do SaaS, PaaS and Other Acronyms Fit In?”)

 

While the lines can blur these days with it sometimes being difficult to determine a SaaS from a PaaS, in its simplest form SaaS is software you use and pay for only when you need it. Not surprisingly, those in the business of providing SaaS view it, and the larger cloud as dynamic entities.

“As these conversations continue…and this architecture evolves I’ve noticed the language of the developers, the chief technology officers and even the marketing people is switching very much away from geek speak to discussions almost about biological systems,” explains Roman Bukary, head of manufacturing and wholesale/distribution industry marketing for NetSuite, Inc. “In essence we’re creating interconnected systems all of which have multiple redundancy so you can get very flexible connections between them.”

“That’s the promise of cloud computing,” says Larry Goldenhersh, founder and CEO of Enviance, a SaaS provider of environmental enterprise resource planning. “It used to be called utility computing where you buy the amount of computing power you need. So if you’re a little company and you only need 20 seats, you only buy 20 seats. If you are Bechtel, and you’re building nuclear power plants and dams and you have thousands of people then (the software) scales to that.”

SaaS Software

The software of SaaS physically resides on a provider’s servers and you use it by connecting to the Internet. You never take possession of software, and you don’t physically store it on your hard drive or server. You may however, store small snippets of code that help you to interact with the SaaS provider. Unlike the mainframes of yesteryear, today’s SaaS offerings put much more power into the hands of the subscriber.

“Today’s SaaS vendors…are much more intelligent in their designs,” says Bukary. “So in the best of SaaS applications you can write your own extensions and you can add third party products that are pre-certified to run on that platform, even though they may not necessarily run on that platform out of the box. Today’s best SaaS players allow you to run your own custom code. So it’s not a one-size-fits-all solution. You use it as a service, or as a utility while you retain all the flexibility you previously had with software on your premises.”

Many SaaS vendors deliver their solutions via Web browser, while others use virtualization technology where the user connects directly to the vendor’s server. These connections can even be made with computers having no hard drives or operating systems, drastically reducing the cost of computing at the user level.

“What virtualization technologies do is they present you the application in its native format but just remotely,” explains R. Byron Attridge, Jr. systems executive vice president at ClubDrive Systems, Inc., a SaaS vendor using virtualization technology. “Using a Web browser to access the application is not virtualization. When you virtualize an application you’re presenting that application through thin client technology of some sort that rides on the local device you are using, like your PC. The PC acts like a TV screen more than a computing device.”

SaaS For Free

If you’ve never used SaaS and are curious about how it feels to use it, Bukary recommends trying out some free offerings. Basecamp is a project management offering with a free plan that you can use for one project at a time with unlimited users. This could work very well for simple projects like single room remodels, or building a garage. Companies that have on-going projects that overlap with other projects can reduce communications errors, increase the availability of crews and materials and make better use of resources by using one of the paid versions of Basecamp, or some other online project management SaaS offering.

Another option for trying out the cloud is to use LinkedIn to locate partners, team members, or even to identify potential customers so you can pre-sell the build.

“Dip your toe into it. It’s not as scary as you think,” Bukary says. “You don’t install anything and you don’t have to buy anything. You don’t need to even own a computer, or have one with a lot of computing power. You can access them from your iPhone or other smart phone.”

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