Collaboration providers unveil plans for deeper interoperability

Friday, 3 July 2009

Members of the Network for Construction Collaboration Technology Providers (NCCTP) have announced plans to enhance end user value by providing greater integration between their different applications.

The new plans outlined by the NCCTP members will see the development of real time integration.  This will allow companies that have standardised on using one system to participate in projects being managed in a different system without having to swap between the two. 

Using Web Services, the systems will communicate with each other so that folders can be viewed, documents transferred and actions shared. 

Graham Howarth, CEO with NCCTP member Sarcophagus Ltd commented that: “Real time integration between providers is the key to client confidence.  Choosing a provider from the NCCTP should avoid the concerns of the “Betamax effect” and ensure that the collaborators can truly collaborate.”

Tim Cole, Director of Business Services with NCCTP member Causeway Technologies added that: “as solution providers we can unlock significant customer benefits through closer integration. Customers are unable to fully exploit collaboration technology if they are unsure which solution they will be expected to use on the next project. This is a challenging undertaking but one that underlines how the NCCTP can lead the industry forward.”

When the Network was first formed in 2003, a core requirement was that each member would support a standard that would allow data to be exported from one system and imported into another.  This gave protection to companies looking to adopt collaborative working at a time when the technology, as well as the providers themselves, was relatively young.   The standard has proved to be a valuable confidence builder but the current opportunity is to extend cross-platform integration to a new level.  

Duncan Mactear, Marketing Director with NCCTP member 4Projects, noted that: “at a time when there’s uncertainty in other parts of the construction market the NCCTP is investing both time and money to collaborate and ensure that its members’ clients get maximum benefits from using the market leading collaboration tools.”

Sanjeev Shah Managing Director with NCCTP member Business Collaborator Ltd, added: “This is a bold step forward. It carries risk as each vendor will need to share a greater amount of knowledge about its products than ever before.  This may have put some vendors off however it’s our belief that the benefits for the users (and the Industry) will be significant. BC fully embraces this ambitious next stage in the evolution of the NCCTP."

Meanwhile, the debate has moved towards how closer integration can be achieved.  Companies who find themselves using more than one collaboration system across different projects will appreciate the benefits this initiative will deliver.  The NCCTP members believe that enhanced integration will result in a further expansion in the use of collaboration technology and the benefits this imparts to construction projects.

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