PIM and Document Management, and the 2010 AIA National Convention

AECbytes starts out this month by taking a detailed look at the recently released Newforma Project Center Seventh Edition, a rapidly growing project information management (PIM) and collaboration application targeted towards AEC firms. The new version uses a MySQL database for storing Newforma Project Center data resulting in faster performance, a five-fold increase in server capacity, and the ability to access data via standard SQL reporting tools.  They are many other important improvements include the expansion of email client support beyond Microsoft Outlook, introduction of project email addresses for faster filing, enhanced collaboration through improvements in Info Exchange, enhancement of contract administration and project administration capabilities, expanded support for keywords for quick categorization and retrieval of project information, expanded capability for creating ad-hoc relationships between items, a new Change Log feature that can improve transparency and auditability, and support for 64-bit server OS and virtual servers.

Next, we will look at another application in the same area, Cadac Organice Explorer, which is the central application of the Organice suite of solutions for engineering document management, document control, and project collaboration that is fully based on Microsoft SharePoint. It has been developed by Cadac Organice, a 24-year old software company based in Europe and North America that develops design automation, management, and collaboration solutions for project driven industries such as AEC, Process, and Manufacturing. The Organice Explorer application provides all the fundamental document management functionality to create, store, search, retrieve, view, check in, check out, edit and revise documents. The user interface has a Microsoft Outlook look and feel, making it easy to learn and use. It integrates with Microsoft Office, Outlook, and various CAD applications, including AutoCAD, BricsCad, Revit and MicroStation, enabling these files to be opened directly from SharePoint and saved back to it.

It's time for the annual AIA Convention and Expo, being held this year in Miami from June 10 to 12. As always, we will check out the technology-related highlights from the show later this month, along with my experience as a virtual attendee, as I was not able to attend the show in person this year.

Also, please continue to check out the AECbytes Blog for reader comments and the VendorHub to get a consolidated view of all the technology providers in AEC.

Thank you!

Lachmi Khemlani

Editorials > June 2010