Newsletter Winter 2010
Interview With An Expert:
Success Enterprise & the Benefits of a Web-based Estimating Solution
- Steve Williams, VP Software
| Steve William’s 18-year career in cost consulting has included cost estimating, software development and product sales, marketing and training, prior to his promotion to Vice President of Software for U.S. COST in 2004. As an Account Manger for the Success product line, Mr. Williams was involved with acquiring and managing some of U.S. Cost’s largest software accounts including Intel Corporation, General Electric, British Nuclear Group and NASA. He has also conducted over 100 estimating related training sessions in the US, Asia and Europe and he is an active member of several trade organizations including the AACEI and CMAA. Top among his current list of initiatives for the U.S. COST Software Group is the continued expansion into the energy sector, particularly in the area of transmission and distribution. |
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Inside the Cost: In an industry not know for its rapid adoption of new technology, how has the response been to a web-based estimating application? Steve Williams: Although we introduced Success Enterprise several years ago, demand has grown enormously over the past 24 months. Nearly all of our major projects and opportunities are Information technology departments really appreciate this framework because it greatly reduces the maintenance and support costs typical to new releases of software applications. They put it in one spot and everyone gets the updates and there is nothing that has to be installed to the end users machine. It’s a true “zero footprint” application. ITC: So, what keeps the rest of industry from jumping in? SW: For the larger organizations that could really benefit from an enterprise-wide solution, there are many things to consider when migrating from their existing desktop systems. In most cases they have to rethink their process a bit because the possibilities for improvement vastly increase with an enterprise solution. With our product, for example, you are no longer thinking just about the estimators but potentially the PMs, planners and various levels of management that can take advantage of the information that’s available. ITC: What are some of the features and benefits that your clients are particularly drawn to with Success Enterprise? SW: Well , in addition to the cost and time savings for the IT department, the estimating and project managers really appreciate the collaborative aspect of the program. Having the entire team contributing to an estimate or series of estimates in real time is viewed as very powerful by our clients. Success Enterprise is also an extremely extensible application, so clients can start small and expand the functionality of the application as their needs change. ITC: What can your clients expect with new releases in 2010? SW: Since we are dealing with browser-based technology, performance will continue to be our number one priority. But we also have many new features in version 9.1 that enhance the capabilities for all of the stakeholders in the process. Features such as our Excel import tool, dates and durations and the ability to define spending curves for cash-flow analysis are all in the new release. We also have the ability to group items and summarize cost right on the screen which enables the user to easily “pivot” information in the estimate for better cost analysis. And early next year we’ll be releasing 9.2 which will have a spreadsheet component allowing the estimator to use his or her existing spreadsheets to drive cost at the assembly or line item level. Additionally, there will be a number of enhancements that will continue to improve the overall ease of use for the user. | |
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