EXTRANET NEWS * Week of
Editors: Joel Orr and N'omi Orr
http://www.extranetnews.com
1. SKIRE: EXTRANETS NOT SOLUTIONS FOR OWNERS
2. GET MY COMMENTS IN YOUR MAILBOX--AND THOSE OF
MY COLLEAGUES
3. THE LIST
4. TIDBITS
5. QUOTE OF THE WEEK
1. SKIRE: EXTRANETS ARE NOT SOLUTION FOR OWNER
It was clear from the first words out of Massy Mehdipour’s mouth that she is passionate about what she and her company do. An electrical engineer, she headed Bechtel’s micro-electronics division before leaving to form Quasar, the predecessor of Skire, in the eighties. “It was the inefficiencies that I noticed in Quasar, my own business, that made me realize what needed to be done: Engineers need time to deal with the creative issues of their jobs, not just with resolving communication problems,” she said.
“Our vision has been owner-centric from the beginning,” said Massy. “The owner of a plant must live through the plant’s 20-30-year lifecycle. Engineers come and go with each project, like refugees. Only the owner, whose capital is at risk throughout, must live with the results of all work.”
So she decided that her company must create software that allows the owning entity to manage its destiny.
“When should Skire be brought in? At what part of a construction project?” I asked. “Wrong question,” said Massy. “We are not a project tool; we partner with the owner to conceive and implement a strategy to achieve their goals. That means we have product knowledge, a persistent staff, and more--we become thorough owner advocates. Our relationship is with the owner, not with a single project.”
A light went on for me. “So in a world of drugstores, you are a doctor?” I asked. “Exactly!” she said. “ERP companies, document management software firms, and others, offer tools, like packaged remedies on the shelves of a drugstore. They take no responsibility for outcomes. We are like a family doctor, who becomes involved with all the health concerns of the patient--not just with a single infection or operation.”
The company has a team of engineers that have been working together for 20 years. They have extensive real-world experience in micro-electronics, biotechnology, and pharmaceuticals, and an impressive list of clients to attest to it.
The gentle reader may well inquire, if this company sells solutions, what is it doing in EXTRANET NEWS? Simple: In order to provide the kind of professional relationship to owners that Massy believes in so passionately, Skire has developed a powerful suite of Web-based plant-lifecycle management tools, under the general name of “Unifier.” The Unifier suite includes ProjectSource, DesignSource, CostSource, QuoteSource, MarketSource and FacilitySource. Each Unifier module is available separately or in combination with any of the others. (Full details at http://www.skire.com.)
For those who are not ready to take on the full partnership that Skire wants to enter into, the company offers the software--both as an ASP, on their own servers, and for behind-your-firewall installation. “But even with customers who only want to use the ASP service or buy the software, our goal is to provide all the support they need to achieve their goals. We feel strongly about making our customers successful,” said Sateez Kadivar, Skire’s Senior Manager of Sales Operations and Marketing.
Our take: If I were contemplating the construction of a biotech, pharmaceutical, or micro-electronics facility, I would definitely explore a relationship with Skire. I think owners would do well to consider having this kind of advocate on their side for the long run. And if I were simply looking for Web-based project management software, I’d include Skire’s products on my list of candidates.
2. FREE! GET MY COMMENTS IN YOUR MAILBOX--AND THOSE OF MY COLLEAGUES
I know you appreciate the views we give you here in EXTRANET NEWS. We have a sister publication that you will probably find quite valuable. CADwire Insights delivers my opinion—and the opinions of my Cyon Research colleagues, W. Bradley Holtz, Evan Yares, Rick Stavanja, and David Cohn—to you every day. There’s no charge; our commentary serves the dual purpose of helping the industry, and of providing you with “free samples,” to encourage you to hire us.
You can even set it so that you only receive the parts you want: If you're just interested in the mechanical market (or AEC, or PLANT, or GIS, or EDA...) and you want to see our commentary on that market segment (and not the news, articles, events, and other resources that CADwire Insights can provide), you can set your personal copy to provide you with that —and nothing more. Daily or weekly.
Go to http://www.cadwire.net/register and sign up. And don't forget to customize your profile so you get all of what you want, and nothing of what you don't.
Highly recommended—if I do say so myself! J
3. THE LIST
Total companies: 252 (see who's on The List at http://www.extranetnews.com)
Gone:
* Buildtrack.com;
* Microsoft Project Central;
* Sprint Extranet Services.
4. TIDBITS
* Enterprise Web & Corporate Portal Conference & Expo - Washington, DC - November 7-8; Georgetown University Conference Center. http://www.enterprisewebportal.com/
* EXTRANETS III -
5. QUOTE OF THE WEEK
“Learn as much by writing as by reading.”
- Lord Acton
Entire newsletter copyright (c) Cyon Research Corporation 2002