Software as a Service for the Construction Industry

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Software as a Service for the Construction
Industry

• Construction IT Alliance Seminar
• 27th November 2009

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What is Software as a Service?

• Definition - Software as a Service (SaaS)
• is a software distribution model in which
  applications are hosted by a vendor or service
  provider and made available to customers over a
  network, typically the Internet.
• Source - searchcloudcomputing.com

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SaaS Benefits

• Benefits of the SaaS model include
• easier administration
• automatic updates and patch management
• compatibility all users will have the same
  version of software.
• easier collaboration, for the same reason
• global accessibility.
• Source - searchcloudcomputing.com

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Has the time for SaaS arrived?

• The platforms (the cloud) are now more reliable
  and low cost
• There is a greater consumer acceptance of paying
  for a service
• SaaS vendors have positioned themselves as
  credible service providers and business partners

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SaaS for construction industry
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The main applications

• e-Tendering (e-tenders, Procon (UK))
• Project Management (e.g. Basecamp)
• Communications (e.g. Google Mail)
• Promotion (Google Ads and Analytics)
• MRP (e.g. e caliper)
• Finance (e.g. Sage)
• CAD?

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Ecaliper
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A change of perspective..

• How can the construction industry (specifically
  SME) best exploit SaaS to gain a strategic
  advantage in todays stressed marketplace?
• How can we, as IT professionals, deploy SaaS
  applications within our companies and industry?
• The focus must not be cost alone!

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A strategic dimension to SaaS..

• Increase operational efficiency and productivity
• Reduced in-house IT resources It does NOT mean
  that there should not be an IT Department or
  expertise retained in-house.
• Increased business security (50 of companies
  that lose all of their critical data go out of
  business immediately (90 within one year))
• New Market Entry

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An Irish Dimension..

• A possible approach is to seed the market
• Identify a common application which can be used
  across the sector in a non-competitive manner
  (e.g. email)
• Provide centralised access to this application,
  training to participant companies, and cost
  subsidy? This could be operated as part of a
  third level project.
• Evaluate the outcome in a range of environments
  and extrapolate to other SaaS packages for the
  sector.

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Thank You!Damien Owensdamien_at_creativetension.i
e0872899363