EXTRANET NEWS * Week of 1 December 2003
Editors: Joel Orr and N'omi Orr
http://www.extranetnews.com

Check out the new EXTRANET NEWS teleseminars:

• "What You Need to Know about Extranet Security" - Tuesday, 6 January, 1 PM EST
• "EXTRANET NEWS looks at Constructware" - Tuesday, 13 January, 1 PM EST
• "EXTRANET NEWS looks at Buzzsaw" - Tuesday, 20 January, 1 PM EST
• More to come!

One hour, $39.
Go to www.extranetnews.com for details.

1. PLANSANDSPECS.COM - SIMPLE AND FREE
2. THE LIST
3. TIDBITS
4. QUOTE OF THE WEEK

1.      PLANSANDSPECS.COM - SIMPLE AND FREE!

Dr. Orr interviewed John Jurewicz of Plansandspecs.com (www.plansandspecs.com). (NOTE: This article left you with a wrong impression about plansandspecs.com: The basic plan-room service is free, but the project-management features cost $400/project/month.)

Moreover, John Jurewicz consults to the company but is not employed by them.

"I've used several extranets, including Constructware, Citadon, Proliance, and others," said Jurwicz, who participated in the design of plansandspecs.com. "Each has its strengths. But what I believe most extranets suffer from is a failure to understand the reluctance of builders, subs, and architects to employ this technology. The slightest difficulty can turn them off."

Plansandspecs.com was designed from the ground up as a .Net environment. The team consciously chose familiar Windows icons and colors, to minimize novelty.

The environment is surprisingly rich, and access can be limited at almost any level. It includes files, calendars, RFIs, submittals, and more.

"How can we offer it for free? Because we sell printing," said Jurewicz. "And it's a great place to organize all your projects. Everything is visible in the 'Inbox' and 'Task Manager,' so you don't have to visit each project individually to get an overview of what you have to do."

One unique feature of Plansandspecs.com: You can email an RFI to someone, with a link. When they click on the link, they are taken directly to the RFI, without having to log in! As soon as they attempt to do anything else, the site requires them to log in. But if they simply want to respond to an RFI, or just read it, it's just one click away.

You can print TIFF images right off the Web site, at no charge, on your own printer. "By allowing users to make a couple of prints at a time locally," said Jurewicz, "we have almost completely eliminated unprofitable low-volume jobs from the print shops' queues. The 'shopping cart' system built-in to Plansandspecs.com allows large orders to be easily specified, ordered, and billed."

"There's a temptation to believe that everything on the Web is national in scope. But we work—for now—only with firms in the Chicago area. There is a strong local construction-industry culture, and that is our market," said Jurewicz.

"And despite our collaborative features, we are not out to compete with Buzzsaw, Citadon, or Constructware. In fact, we'll integrate with them. Our goal is to sell printing," Jurewicz repeated. "That's what drives our business model."

What about the future? "We will soon offer easier mass uploading of documents," said Jurewicz. "While the .Net development platform offers a number of advantages, it has restricted our ability to create a simple drag-'n'-drop environment for file uploads."

Our take: If you are in the Chicago area, this is a no-brainer. At the very least, you should use Plansandspecs.com as your introduction to extranets, to help you find out what you really need. Its functionality is impressive; its user interface is designed for ease of learning and ease of use; and you can't beat the price.

2. THE LIST

Total companies: 263 (see who's on The List at http://www.extranetnews.com/).  

ADDED: Plansandspecs.com

3.      TIDBITS 

· LIVE! WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT EXTRANET SECURITY - Dr. Joel Orr is the lead presenter of a ONE-hour teleseminar that can save you time and money. You'll learn the answers to questions such as:

oWhat, really, is extranet security?

oWhat are the weak points in most extranets' security?

oHow important is physical security relative to encryption and passwords?

oWho is telling the truth about security?

oand many others!

Tuesday, 6 January 2004, at 1 pm EST.
Cost to attend: $39.
Go to www.extranetnews.com for more info and registration.

· Knowledge Management for Government
15-16 December, Hyatt Regency Crystal City, Arlington, VA. http://www.federalevents.com/km/overview.shtml

· COFES2004: The Congress on the Future of Engineering Software
1-4 April, 2004, in Scottsdale, AZ. The usual extravaganza; not just talks! Meet with other leaders and the engineering media. A chance to get together with other smart people under magnificent conditions and talk about the future of engineering technology! Keynote: Dr. John Koza, inventor of Genetic Programming. Mark your calendar!
http://www.cofes.com  Check the site to learn who has already registered to attend!
 

 QUOTE OF THE WEEK

"Prosperity is only an instrument to be used, not a deity to be worshipped."

 --Calvin Coolidge

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