Lydon Solutions

Construction Project Management Software Solutions

Events

Takeaways from CMAA National Conference & Trade Show 2016

Events |

We had a great and productive CMAA Conference this year, including announcing our new Construction Viz solution at the event. Here are some insights we took home from the show.

Lydon Solutions was proud to be a bronze-level sponsor at the annual CMAA National Conference & Trade Show held Oct. 9-11th in San Diego. As always, our team had a great time chatting with our colleagues in construction program management. This year’s event was extra special for us because we unveiled Construction Viz, our new subscription-based construction project management solution.

2016 CMAA Conference - Construction Viz Announcement

Below are a few of our takeaways from the three-day conference:

1.       Organizations are wrestling with how to replace Primavera Contract Manager

The industry is facing the impending end of life for Primavera Contract Manager. Oracle is directing its clients to SKIRE Unifier. Many companies we spoke with, however, are weighing their options before making the move.

2.       User experience matters

Companies like Apple and Google on the consumer side and leading SaaS vendors in other industries, have raised the bar for user experience by providing streamlined and intuitive user interfaces.

So, it is no surprise that CMAA attendees we spoke with expect that same ease of use in their construction program management tools. They are tired of complex and convoluted software platforms. They want simple and intuitive interfaces. They don’t want to read a bunch of manuals or attend multiple training sessions.

3.       Users don’t want a one-size-fits-all platform

Related to the above, a lack of flexibility in many Project Management Information Systems (PMIS) was one of the biggest gripes we heard from users this year. In fact, we have heard this issued raised for several years running.

This complaint makes a lot of sense. After all, companies have different processes. Each project has its own set of requirements. Project teams and their individual members have their own workflows and ways of doing business.

Yet many PMIS platforms are not flexible enough to accommodate this reality.

4.       Mobile-first is a necessity for construction project management

Users want mobile-first tools that enable them to be productive in the field or away from their desk, with or without an internet connection. This isn’t just about convenience. Today’s fast-paced, competitive business environment makes this a necessity.

5.       Construction Viz really is project management perfected

The above observations mostly fall in the “industry challenge” column. Which is why it was so gratifying to announce Construction Viz at the CMAA this year.

Construction Viz builds on our award-winning Construction Project Management Portal powered by the industry-leading Microsoft SharePoint. Our portal is used by leading construction and utility companies to manage their multi-billion dollar projects. We believe our Construction Project Management Portal is the most flexible and extensible PMIS solution available.

Construction Viz takes everything we learned deploying our portal and makes it available as an affordable, subscription-based hosted solution. The Construction Viz platform is as flexible as project teams need it to be, offering customizable pages, forms, dashboards, reports, workflows and more. Since it is based on SharePoint, users can dive in and get to work right away without a steep learning curve.

Companies looking for a better way to manage their projects can start with the turnkey Construction Viz today and be confident that the underlying framework is scalable and flexible to keep pace with their changing business needs. Users can even seamlessly migrate from Construction Viz to our fully customized Construction Project Management Portal in the future.

6.       Construction Viz and SharePoint: the perfect PMIS solution with full mobile-first support

Most everyone is familiar with SharePoint, but not necessarily as an ideal construction PMIS solution. What blew folks away, however, was how we have mobilized the SharePoint experience with Construction Viz.

Construction Viz is fully responsive so users can access and update their project data on virtually any mobile device.  That means dashboards, reports and forms are always at the project team’s fingertips. Robust off-line support enables team members to be as productive in the field as they are in the office.
The mobile capabilities of Construction Viz we showed off to attendees really blew them away – and it is always fun to see someone’s eyes light up when they realize the benefit this functionality would provide them and their team.

Want to perfect your construction project management?

We loved showing off Construction Viz to everyone who stopped by our booth and presentation at the CMAA conference this year.

Not able to see our CMAA demo? Contact us today for a free consultation and demo to see what Construction Viz can do for your organization.

Come See Us at the 2016 CMAA National Conference

Events |

Lydon Solutions is proud to be a bronze-level sponsor at this year’s CMAA National Conference & Trade Show taking place October 9 – 11th at the Hilton Bayfront in San Diego, CA.

With more than 40 educational sessions, daily keynotes and plenary sessions, the CMAA conference is a great opportunity to learn about the latest industry trends and network with other professionals in the field. We’re thrilled to once again be part of this important event – and we have a big announcement planned for this year’s show (see below).

If you are attending the conference next week, be sure to come by our booth to say hello and see a demo of our award-winning construction program management solutions.

Project Management Perfected

The CMAA National Conference will be a special event for us, as we will be unveiling our flexible, subscription-based construction project management solution. Our new offering will provide all the construction project management tools you need to save time, reduce cost and stay on schedule in one place. Best of all, our new solution is optimized for mobile users – meaning you can be productive in the office or the field on any device.

You can learn more about our new solution by stopping by our booth or attending the special presentation by Jeff Lydon, our company president, on Monday, October 10 from 12:45 -1:15 PM. Jeff will highlight the features of our upcoming construction project management platform. For example, he will show how it solves the reporting headaches of construction project managers, especially when legacy data sources are involved. Don’t miss it.

Not able to make it the CMAA National Conference?

Make sure to contact us for more information about all our services and schedule a free consultation.

2016 CMAA Capital Projects Symposium Takeaways

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Finding a better project management information system is top-of-mind for construction industry professionals at the CMAA Capital Projects Symposium.

We were proud to be a Bronze Sponsor at the CMAA Capital Projects Symposium held in Austin, Texas last week. Thank you to everyone who stopped by our booth to check out our award-winning Construction Program Management Portal.

A few takeaways from this year’s CMAA

We had a lot of great conversation with fellow construction industry professionals at the CMAA this year. Here are a few of our key takeaways.

Owners and construction managers across various industries told us they’re looking for a new solution to replace Oracle Contract Manager. Oracle Contract Manager has been widely used for document management, job cost, and field controls – but is now approaching end-of-life (EOL).

This leaves construction professionals looking for a replacement information management solution that is:

  1. Easy to use and configure – No one wants steep learning curves or difficult user adoption. The ideal tool should be simple for users to pick up. Most importantly, it should make their jobs easier, not more complicated.
  2. Cloud-based and mobile-friendly – The solution must support mobile users in the field as well as users in the office.
  3. Enduring and frequently updated – Companies cannot afford to take a bet on a custom solution from a vendor that may or may not be around in a few years.
  4. Deployable and customizable without coding – Project teams don’t want to wait for months or years for new features and updates.
  5. Built and supported by construction professionals that know the industry – Any solution needs to be purpose-built for the needs of construction users. And when it comes time to call support, companies need to know that someone who knows the construction industry and the software solution will pick up the phone.
  6. Integrated with Microsoft Office – Project teams rely on Microsoft Office applications to help them manage projects. It is critical that solutions compliment and integrate with Office.

These are all important requirements. Good news is that an ideal replacement solution for Primavera Contract Manager is already available: Microsoft SharePoint.

Microsoft SharePoint as a construction project management solution

The requirements above read like a feature list for a SharePoint-based Project Management Information System. That’s because Microsoft SharePoint is an ideal construction project management solution:

• SharePoint is easy to use and configure.

• It is cloud-based using Lydon Solutions Microsoft Azure data center link to the azure article here and mobile-friendly out of the box.

• Since it’s a Microsoft product, there’s little concern about ongoing updates and support.

• SharePoint integrates with all the Microsoft Office applications that construction project teams use, including Excel and Visio.

• Most organizations probably already have SharePoint deployed.

• Best of all, SharePoint is simple to customize with the help of construction industry IT professionals like Lydon Solutions.

All of which is why our Construction Project Management Portal is powered by SharePoint.

Our goal is to work with our clients to develop SharePoint-based project management solution tailor-made to fit their needs. We provide complete project management tools to keep construction projects on schedule and within budget.

Find out what SharePoint can do for you

The Lydon Solutions team had a lot of fun at CMAA showing off how SharePoint can make construction project manager’s lives easier.  If you missed us at the show, contact us today for a free consultation.

And don’t forget to download the Lydon Solutions Services Brochure for an overview of our services.

Header photo courtesy of CMAA. View more event photos on their Flickr slideshow below. 

Come see us at the CMAA Capital Projects Symposium

Events |

Lydon Solutions is a bronze-level sponsor of the 2016 CMAA Capital Projects Symposium on May 1st – 3rd in Austin. Make sure to stop by our booth and meet with our team for a demo of our award-winning Construction Program Management Portal powered by Microsoft SharePoint.

Every year, the CMAA Capital Projects Symposium highlights innovative uses of technology in construction and capital management through product demonstrations and educational sessions. We are thrilled participate again this year to share our project and information management solutions with our colleagues in the construction industry. Come chat with us to learn how we can help you simplify and streamline your next construction project.

Everything You Need in One Place

Wouldn’t it be great if construction project reporting weren’t such a pain? It doesn’t have to be.

We designed our Construction Program Management Portal with the idea that too much time managing projects is wasted accessing all the information you need among scattered systems. Our solution simplifies reporting and collaboration by putting all your critical project information in one place. This allows construction PMs to increase project efficiency, reduce costs and stay on schedule.

Our Construction Program Management Portal is powered by Microsoft SharePoint, the industry-leading content and information management system. We use SharePoint because it includes all the core capabilities you need in your Construction Project Management Information System (PMIS) right out of the box. SharePoint integrates with all the tools you are already using – like Oracle, SAP, ESRI Arc GIS, and Microsoft Office. Other features include mobile offline forms, collaboration tools, management of all project content, and integration with enterprise business applications. Best of all, SharePoint is extremely flexible and extensible with both code and no-code customization options.

Want to find out more? Be sure to visit us at the 2016 CMAA Capital Projects Symposium to learn how Lydon Solutions has significantly reduced costs and increased efficiency for our clients on multi-billion-dollar construction projects.

Can’t attend this year’s symposium? Contact our team for a free consultation and demo.

Join Us for the 2016 AACE Western Winter Workshop

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We are thrilled to be Gold Sponsors at the 2016 AACE Western Winter Workshop happening March 3-6, 2016 in Indian Wells, CA.

AACE’s annual workshop provides an excellent opportunity for construction industry professionals to come together and discuss the latest in scheduling, cost engineering, and project management trends. We always look forward to occasions like these to share the benefits of our award-winning Construction Program Management Portal. Our solution enables construction PMs to increase project efficiency, reduce costs and stay on schedule.

Workshop attendees: Don’t miss our presentation on ‘Visio Services and PowerPivot Services for SharePoint – The One Two Punch’ on Friday, March 4th at 4:15 PM. We will be discussing how you can utilize Microsoft Excel PowerPivot and Visio with SharePoint to connect and share files, interactive diagrams, and flow charts across your organization. Check out our Excel PowerPivot and Visio blog posts for a preview on how you can super-charge these applications for your next construction project.

If you’re attending the show, make sure to stop by the Lydon Solutions booth. We’d love to say hi and give you a demo of how our innovative offerings can help your business!

Not able to make it this year’s AACE Western Winter Workshop? Contact us for more information about our services and schedule a free consultation.

 

Fostering Brighter Futures: South Bay Runway Show

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Author, Rusty Ostboe, VP at Lydon Solutions

Lydon Solutions was happy to be a silver-level corporate sponsor of the South Bay Runway show benefiting School on Wheels on November 7th.  School of Wheels is an outstanding non-profit organization striving to enhance the educational opportunities of homeless children in Southern California. We were honored to help South Bay Runway meet its goal of raising $100,000 for this very important cause.

School on Wheels, founded in 1993, is the only organization in Southern California exclusively dedicated to the educational needs of homeless children. They mobilize hundreds of volunteers each year to work one-on-one as tutors with children from Kindergarten through twelfth grade whose homelessness prevents the academic stability they need. School on Wheels brings the message to society’s most in need children that they are cared about and important.

The South Bay Runway show brought together more than 250 concerned and giving people at the Smokey Hollow Studios in El Segundo, CA. One of the main attractions of the evening was a fashion show put on by local clothing retailers in the South Bay area. Additional funds were raised for School on Wheels through an auction featuring highly sought after items ranging from signed sports jerseys to exclusive behind the scenes access to popular TV shows. Several local businesses also provided VIP goodie bag donations.

Everyone at Lydon Solutions applauds the great work School on Wheels has done and will continue to do. We also want to thank the South Bay Runway organizers for giving us the opportunity to participate.  It was great event benefiting an important cause. We look forward to continuing our support of School on Wheels and the fantastic kids they help every day.

Watch the video below to learn more about School on Wheels and the important work they do. You can learn more about how you can get involved with School on Wheels on their website at http://www.schoolonwheels.org.