Aconex has been boosting its Connected Cost sales and marketing efforts in the US, and is supporting digitisation efforts across the construction and engineering industries.
Melbourne, Australia-based SaaS construction collaboration technology vendor Aconex has been recruiting heavily to boost its Connected Cost sales and marketing efforts in the US, with several former Oracle workers joining Aconex, reports ENR.
Garrett Harley, former director of engineering and construction strategy within Oracle’s Construction & Engineering Global Business Unit (formerly Primavera), has been appointed as vice president, strategic accounts for the building sector. He brings over 20 years of experience in engineering construction technology, and was recently included in the Influencer50 list as a top industry leader. He said:
“I chose to work for Aconex because I believe in their ability to deliver what no other construction and engineering project management software can provide – a truly collaborative solution that provides complete neutrality. Aconex is the only connected construction industry platform that is safe, fast and flexible. We have been trusted for the last 17 years and we will continue to disrupt the status quo and lead the way.”
Harley is joined by several former co-workers from the sales team at Oracle’s construction and engineering unit, including global commercial director Guy Barlow, senior product marketing manager Krista Lambert, regional sales manager Matt Miller, sales consultant Jabin Higgins, sales representative Jared Swartz, and two account executives, Jeff Russell and Nicholas Haddad.
(Update [16 March 2018] – Harley has left Aconex/Oracle and joined San Francisco-based Fieldwire.)
Connected Cost was launched in April 2017 as an addition to Aconex’s SaaS construction and engineering project management software, filling a gap in its product portfolio compared to several competitors, particularly in its strategically important north American market. At the time, Aconex co-founder Rob Phillpot talked of expanding into financial services by developing a payments function on the back of Connected Cost. This would see them competing against Oracle, which acquired Textura, the leading player in the construction payment management (CPM) market, in April 2016. Other CPM players include Australian vendor ProgressClaim (which recently merged with Zuuse), and UK-based OpenECX (post).
Global Industry Council
Aconex has also announced that it has formed a ‘Global Industry Council’ with participants from several of the world’s largest contractors including AECOM, Bechtel, Fluor, John Holland and Lendlease. Council members are said to be “thought leaders who are passionate about evolving digitisation in engineering and construction through sharing ideas and finding solutions to the industry’s most pressing challenges”. The group has collaborated with Aconex and Boston Consulting Group to produce a report, “Digital Technology: The Key to Unlocking Construction’s Potential,” set to be discussed at the second annual Construction Technology Summit in Melbourne this week (25 October 2017).
EarthCam integration
Aconex has teamed up with New Jersey, US-headquartered EarthCam, a leading provider of construction camera technology and services, to integrate its high-quality imagery content into the Aconex user platform. Photos are shareable via the Aconex dashboard and can streamline the ability to make informed decisions more efficiently. Aconex’s Rob Phillpot said:
“Massive amounts of data are generated on projects, managed across a range of applications. At Aconex, we understand the potential to use this data to drive efficiencies and improve the bottom line. We are constantly expanding our ecosystem by connecting our users with powerful service providers like EarthCam, empowering our user network to extract that value from their data. With a single, consolidated view of all project information in Aconex, our clients can get clearer insights and make fast, informed decisions.”
Users can easily view, markup and share the visual content, while staying informed by regularly updating images for a quick look at site activity and quality control of subcontractors.
