SmartBidNet and Cloud Takeoff Announce Unprecedented Integration
Monday, July 4, 2011 at 3:00PM Today, two key players in construction technology announced an unprecedented integration that will significantly change the way that general contractors and subcontractors collaborate and execute construction projects. The joint venture involves SmartBidNet, a web-based bid management, plan file distribution, and prequalification solution for commercial general contractors and Cloud Takeoff, a web-based plan file viewing and takeoff solution.
SmartBidNet has offered a basic level of takeoff integration for its users with desktop-based software. However, this new partnership with Cloud Takeoff far surpasses past plan room and takeoff capabilities and those of competing software packages.
Says SmartBidNet President James Benham, “This cloud-based integration delivers what no other applications have offered before - the ability for GCs and subs to work simultaneously on bids and active projects with real-time electronic communication, real-time plan file viewing, and real-time collaboration on takeoffs. Until now, takeoffs have been limited to a single computer and have had to be shared by email or traditional file sharing methods.”
The implications for how this will impact construction are far-reaching. Just like Google Docs has changed the way people collaborate on documents and spreadsheets, SmartBidNet and Cloud Takeoff’s integration will revolutionize preconstruction by connecting professionals in a real-time online environment with all the plan files and tools they need. Users from the general contractor and the subcontractor will be able to log on and simultaneously view the takeoff together through SmartBidNet’s easy-to-use interface.
States Cloud Takeoff President Phillip Ogilby, “We are very excited about our integration with SmartBidNet. James and his team have built the most powerful application in the market today for general contractor and subcontractor communication and collaboration and our application is a perfect fit. Our partnership will provide GC users unprecedented visibility into their subs view of the plans and the project. Both parties will have the ability to communicate directly on the plans. Subs and GCs can perform detailed takeoffs across a broad canvas of plans without waiting on individual pages to open and close. Subcontractor users will be able to work from any PC or Mac with an Internet connection.”
He added, “Partnerships like this are what move the industry forward. When you combine our revolutionary new technology for viewing and measuring plans with an industry leader like SmartBidNet, the big winners are the end users in both the GC and sub community.”
A beta version of SmartBidNet with full Cloud Takeoff integration will be available for select users in an August beta release. The official integration will become available in October for all SmartBidNet clients. Pricing is yet to be released for the takeoff functionality, but the basic web viewing of plan files will be available to all users free of charge.
In other news, SmartBidNet announced that its sub contractor/bidder portal is now available in French and Spanish, satisfying a need in its Canadian and Latin American client base.
James Benham is Co-Founder and President of Texas-based JB Knowledge Technologies, Inc. Philip Ogilby is Founder and President of Ohio-based To Scale Software, LLC and is the founder and former President of iSqFt, a SmartBidNet competitor. The technology behind the integration between these two companies is patent-pending.
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