BidCom Brings Handheld Computing to the Building Industry
SAN FRANCISCO — April 12, 1999 — BidCom, Inc., the leading provider of Web-based business-to-business applications for the building industry, today announced that it has integrated mobile handheld computing functionality into its powerful outsourced project management service called in-Site(TM). For the first time ever, building industry professionals — owners, architects/engineers, general contractors and subcontractors — will be able to manage multi-million dollar projects from any location around the world, using 3Com's Palm III(TM) connected organizer, Oracle8i(TM) Lite, and BidCom's in-Site system. This new service, called in-Site Mobile(TM), debuted today at the DemoMobile conference at the Loews Coronado Bay Resort near San Diego.
"With its lightweight construction, durable frame and easy-to-use controls, the Palm III connected organizer is a perfect device for the highly mobile building industry professional," said Gabriel-Acosta Lopez, director of Platform Development Services for Palm Computing, Inc., a 3Com company. "We were very pleased when BidCom asked us to work with them to develop Palm Computing platform functionality for their in-Site system. This is an excellent opportunity for Palm Computing to collaborate with another industry leader and enter a vertical market that is well-suited for handheld computing."
Using the in-Site system with the popular lightweight Palm III organizer, building industry professionals can now utilize the power of the Internet to manage projects and people from a remote location, with a device that will fit in their shirt pockets.
"IDC continues to see a trend towards synchronizing handhelds with corporate databases, which is becoming the next big leap for mobile solutions providers," said Randy Giusto, director of Mobile Technology Research at International Data Corporation. "Smart handheld devices, projected to grow at 44.9% worldwide in 1999, are increasingly tapping the power of the Internet, and extending real applications that provide increased productivity in segments such as the sizable building industry — thus extending the Internet anywhere, anytime."
Building industry professionals now have the freedom to track and record changes while working outside of their office environments. For example, a general contractor can now record information, such as inventory and delivery records, directly from the jobsite using a Palm III organizer. Adding handheld mobility is part of BidCom's long-term vision, which is to provide building industry professionals with the tools that help them finish their projects on time and under budget.
Cycle time reduction, increased communication and a faster turnaround for requests for information has enabled customers to save as much as $7,000 and $8,000 per project per day.
"Our goal at BidCom is to offer building industry professionals an application service that allows them to focus on building superstructures, which is what they do best," said Daryl Magana, chief executive officer at BidCom. "This is another example of how BidCom is helping its customers to leverage technology to increase efficiency, shorten turnaround cycles and eliminate the time delays in their projects, which are often caused by a lack of accurate project information and inefficient communication channels. Extending our powerful process automation to the handheld device brings the power of technology right to the job site in an easy to use device that is available real-time."
According to Harlan Kelly, Jr., City Engineer for the City and County of San Francisco, "BidCom has provided a secure way for me to track all of my data, using a device that allows me to conduct business on the jobsite, in my office and everywhere in between. Specifically, our ability to record project data directly from the jobsite, such as supply delivery records and progress updates, has dramatically streamlined my projects, thus saving San Francisco taxpayers' money. Essentially, I can keep and access an entire week's records in the palm of my hand."
Handheld mobility the result of collaboration among BidCom, Palm Computing and Oracle BidCom's team of engineers developed the handheld computing functionality based on Oracle8i Lite, the industry's first Internet database for mobile computing. The functionality is specifically designed for the Palm III computing platform and will work across a broad range of products including the Palm III, Palm IIIx, Palm V and the upcoming Palm VII organizers. The device can be connected via an internal wireless modem connection or with the Internet using a cradle to a PC. Once connected with the Internet, the data that is stored on the Palm III organizer is seamlessly transferred to an Oracle8i Lite database. The in-Site system, which is based on an Oracle8(TM) database, then instantaneously incorporates the new data and all in-Site projects are immediately updated with the new information.
BidCom's engineers are also working with engineers from Oracle and Palm Computing to develop "real-time" data transfer using Oracle8i Lite (for the Palm) and soon-to-be-released Palm Computing devices. Once completed, in-Site users will be able to transmit data in real-time, from any remote location, as they enter information into the handheld device.
"Oracle is committed to helping companies develop and deploy Internet- based business applications," said Denise Lahey, vice president of Mobile and Embedded Products for Oracle Corporation. "With Oracle8i Lite, BidCom has been able to build enterprise applications running on different mobile platforms at a low total cost of ownership, and provide substantial benefits to customers."
in-Site Mobile is currently in beta with several customers and will be generally available as an additional offering in the third quarter of 1999. The in-Site system, which is delivered as an Internet-outsourced service, is available to building industry professionals based on a per person, per month, per project licensing fee. Details on BidCom's mobile computing capability can be accessed via the company's Online Press Room at: ( http://in-site.bidcom.com/thepress ).
About BidCom
BidCom, Inc. ( http://www.bidcom.com ) develops and markets in-Site, the only Internet-based business-to-business application for the building industry. in-Site is designed for companies that need to manage risk, drive down costs and complete projects on time. Delivered as an Internet-outsourced service, in-Site is a flexible, highly secure environment that enables building industry professionals to manage the full lifecycle of any building project — from design and planning through construction and closeout.
Headquartered in San Francisco, Calif., with offices in New York, Los Angeles and Phoenix, BidCom is sold direct through a worldwide sales force on a per-project, per-person basis. Customers include: Charles Schwab & Co., Inc., San Francisco Department of Public Works, Federated Department Stores, Swinerton & Walberg Builders, HOK Architects, DPR Construction, Fidelity Investments, The Gap, Stanford University, Sun Microsystems, Inc., and Ziff-Davis. BidCom is privately held and has received venture financing from Partech International.
NOTE: in-Site is a trademark of BidCom, Inc. and may be registered in certain jurisdictions. Palm Computing and 3Com are registered trademarks and Palm III is a trademark of Palm Computing, Inc., 3Com Corporation or its subsidiaries. Oracle is a registered trademark and Oracle8i and Oracle8 are trademarks or registered trademarks of Oracle Corporation. All other company and product names are used for identification purposes only and may be trademarks of their respective owners.
SOURCE BidCom, Inc. accessed via the company's Online Press Room at: http://in-site.bidcom.com/thepress./
CONTACT:
Susan Foley Kane, VP, Marketing and Communications of BidCom, Inc., 415-882-1888, ext. 2703, or [email protected];
or press,
Carla Schlemminger, 650-827-7023, or [email protected], or Josh Sobeck, 650-827-7053, or [email protected], both of Niehaus Ryan Wong, Inc. Public Relations, for BidCom