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Share and Share Alike (AEC Insight Column)
December 1, 2007 By: Jerry LaiserinOnline plan rooms and project collaboration networks let AEC users access and share a wide range of information.
Access to files, documents, and information located elsewhere is one of the most valuable functions provided by online media such as the Internet. For collaborative industries, such as AEC/O, the ability to exchange, view, and act upon shared information is the lifeblood of business and business processes.
Almost any form of AEC/O information–based activity — document transmission, storage, retrieval, mark up, routing, workflow, review, approval, and so on — that can be performed in the physical world can now be performed by a range of online means and services.
Knowing which type of online service or technology is most appropriate can be a challenge. In this month's "AEC Insight" column, I'll examine many of the alternatives and some of the trade-offs to consider in choosing among them.
From FTP to PCN
As the Internet developed, a file transfer protocol (FTP) evolved to provide convenient virtual locations for dropping off and picking up files. By the mid-1990s, FTP had been largely superseded by what we now know as the World Wide Web, through which anyone can access and view any publicly available file as a Web page or site.
The first project-specific Web site was launched in 1995 with the goal of providing a centrally hosted Web location for invited members of a project team. These types of services quickly became known as extranets — a misnomer, in my opinion. I prefer the term project-collaboration networks (PCNs).
Figure 1 arrays AEC/O collaboration services along a Content axis, which ranges from document-centric to data-centric, and is further divisible into files, messages, and transactions versus a Functionality axis, which ranges from digital as replacement for paper to new/transformed digital methods. Functionality is further divisible into archive/repository, exchange/distribution, and collaboration/workflow.
These two axes define a market space into which the various available services can be placed, each in a position relative to its content and functionality. Where the axes intersect is FTP: a simple and free service that combines the functionality of a bare-bones archive/repository with the content type limited to files.
 Figure 1. The gamut of online plan room services and PCNs can be classified by relative functionality (horizontal axis) and range of content types accommodated (vertical axis). Copyrighted image courtesy of Jerry Laiserin. |
Diagonally opposite in terms of greater functionality and richer content are PCN services such as Autodesk Constructware, CTSpace, and e-Builder. These services incorporate the full range of functionality and accommodate the full range of content. I reserve a place for OpenText's Livelink ECM above the other leading PCNs because I believe that OpenText's document-management, search, collaboration, and workflow capabilities are a cut above.
Just below this cluster of PCNs is Autodesk Buzzsaw, which offers a bit less in the way of workflow functionality and transaction-based content. However, in place of those characteristics it provides lower price and easier access (the latter facilitated by menu-level integration with Autodesk's design-authoring tools such as Autodesk Architecture).
The Sweet Spot
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About the Author: Jerry Laiserin
