Last summer's iTSHOWCASE News special feature "Masters of the Balance Sheet" explored a number of areas related to financial management systems in the Construction Industry. One year on, what's changed? Which vendors and product types are finding success and what new case histories are out there highlighting those customers who are getting it right?

Last Summer iTSHOWCASE News asked vendors three questions. Firstly, what constitutes a "best of breed" financial management system for the Construction Industry given its unique requirements and more importantly, what type of vendor was best placed to deliver such a system? Battle raged between those companies who believed that their heritage in the construction business gave them a considerable head start over the newcomers to the sector. But is this still the case? How have the two camps fared over the last year?

Secondly, we commented on the industry's reputation for slow technology uptake and whether this had affected best practice system adoption. The feeling certainly seemed to be "yes" and not just among SME companies. But should technology vendors take some of the blame for this? Are there still too many hard to reconcile divides between different systems for different functions. Is software from a single vendor (vendor "lock-in") still the easiest de-fault route? And just what has happened to the concept of ERP for the Construction Industry?

Finally, we discussed whether companies should look beyond pure functionality when choosing an application vendor? Are other areas such as application management and support, total cost of ownership, contract friendliness and R&D investment critical in the mix? The consensus was that first and foremost the decision to be made when purchasing software was will it do the job required? There was also agreement that one size does not fit all and that the type of system needed, either basic to all singing and dancing should always be carefully considered.

Yes, there were things other than functionality that had to be considered - software platform, consultancy, installation, training, support, future development, licences, upgradeability, industry standards as well as the philosophy and culture of the software author / supplier. The purchaser was urged not to be afraid to ask the vendor difficult questions, such as who employs and controls the personnel involved from sale through consultancy, installation, training, support and development - just who takes ultimate responsibility?

Does advice on this issue and others still hold true or have new dynamics been imposed on the sector? Here are the thoughts of six vendors:

Tom Mill, Managing Director, EVision

"There has undoubtedly been a significant change, a move away from small, independently designed systems, where the primary and sometimes the only strength was in the construction-specific nature of the application, to a realisation that, in the technology world we live in today, any system for a niche market needs to be based on an international product where the originator can commit millions of dollars in R&D.

This ensures that the quality of the offering is not only leading edge today, but will be leading edge in five to 10 years time. This has seen a move towards the new "best of breed" products that are based on international sets of financial ledgers i.e. Microsoft-Navision or Oracle.

The suppliers who still base their software on "in-house development" are finding business difficult - that's a fact.

History does show that the industry has been slow to take up changes in technology and that many construction industry companies have tended to view their application software as a one-off purchase. Again, there is a wind of change apparent, where companies appreciate that the investment is evolutionary in nature. Therefore, their vision with regard to the selection of product now takes in the entire corporate entity, for example, including the requirements of surveyors, estimators etc., as opposed to only that which is contained within the finance area.

In the past suppliers restricted the opportunity for the industry to move forward because of the poor choice of offering that was available. The new "best of breed" in high technology offerings have removed this obstacle and the industry is beginning to take advantage of it.

In the past the sector has looked at only functionality with regard to software vendor and supply chain. Whilst basic functionality in the sector is a prerequisite, companies require to look further than this in order to ensure the optimum return on investment.

This breaks into two elements. Firstly, technology, and recognition of the fact that technology is driven by the major international players. Without commitment to a technology evolution, and products of that ilk, then construction companies could find that their investment for the future' will, in fact, require to be replaced in a very few in number of years.

Secondly, good quality implementation staff are a prerequisite for successful implementation that happens on time and at the agreed cost. Reluctance of companies to make the correct amount of investment in the added value services is a sure way to reduce the overall chance of success - training of staff is essential.

With the choice of application solutions now available to the sector that are rich in functionality and high in technical innovation and supported by quality companies, there is no reason why construction companies committed to the introduction of IT should not have a very high quality solution leading to genuine protection and return on investment."

Derek Leaver, COO, Computer Systems for Business (CSB)

"Twelve months ago there was much debate surrounding the pros and cons of construction specific packages versus the ERP vendors adapting their financial applications for the construction market.   As a construction specific vendor for the past eighteen years, COINS has continued to thrive during this period based on delivering solutions specifically developed for construction, civil engineering and house building companies.

Many software houses have entered the market over the last year, specifically in the SME sector.  Construction, with over 10% GDP, is seen as a relatively lucrative market for many of these companies, although not necessarily part of their strategic plans.  The decline of their traditional markets has forced their hand and they have entered the market for a short term gain, not necessarily with the right tools to do the job.  However, with large marketing clout, they have had some success in penetrating the market in this sector, but their inability to handle, for example, sub-contract legislation and other industry specific requirements has resulted in delayed, protracted and even abandoned implementations, with ensuing customer dissatisfaction.

Larger contracting organisations still continue to support the construction specific software houses. AMEC, for example, looked at the market and selected COINS to replace their existing legacy systems because of their successful pedigree.   Construction companies still require the comfort factor i.e. similar sized companies that are using the same software.   Nigel Higgins, Finance Director, AMEC Group Limited, states: " We investigated the market thoroughly and required our supplier to be able to provide an extensive list of live construction industry reference sites combined with future financial viability of both company and product.  COINS is a highly functional product utilising relational database technology and is the best combination of vendor and product that satisfied these criteria"

Source of supply is another major issue. Clients prefer a single source supplier, who understands the industry, making it easier to handle queries and issues that arise. The anomalies of the market place, the specific legislation, direct or indirect labour, project costing etc need to be understood by the supplier in order to reflect the needs of the client.  During the implementation process this is vital, and larger ERP vendors struggle with their lack of understanding and synergy with the customer, often bringing in third parties to add the industry expertise and credibility'.  One of COINS major advantages is their people, many of whom are from the industry. They have a great deal of industry experience and combine this industry knowledge with credibility and integrity. 

Construction specific software companies can deliver a common system, and provide integration across the diversity of a group's activities, e.g. HR/Payroll , Finance, Facilities Management, Plant Hire, Commercial/Project Management, Procurement and so on. Additionally, supporting remote access, providing central data accessible by many, and electronic trading to support significant business process improvement are all key.  A totally integrated IT solution  delivers faster and better quality information than a selection of disparate packages that use interfacing to pass (and duplicate) information between then.  There are not many non-construction suppliers who can provide all that!"

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