Overview of communication technology aconex

Aconex is a communication tool that is mainly used in the construction industry as it manages documents, emails, you can get updates from site progress and comments on photos taken on site for example a measurement. It is useful as it can keep track of the project from start to finish. The issues that could happen with the use of Aconex is that server breakdown as there is 70, 000 users.

System Requirements and Features

Aconex system requires a hardware and a software to be able to run which consist of: “ Hardware: To install Aconex Project Archive, a computer needs to meet these minimum requirements:

• 1. 5 GHz Intel Pentium Processor (or equivalent).
• 2GB of system memory (4GB recommended).
• At least 2 GB free disk space for Aconex Project Archive installation.
• At least 2 GB free disk space for each Project Archive datastore.
• A high-speed connection to the Internet.
• The Aconex Project Archive installer checks that there is enough disk space on your computer before beginning the installation”.

Relevance To The Construction Industry

Aconex relevance in the construction industry is a huge part because that is where the clients put documents and they can email the construction company for request of information (RFI). Tenders are also sent to Aconex basically it is an online data storage which was made for the sole purpose of having high costed jobs on there and no papers ever get lost. it keeps the project team and the client in touch of the project and it makes it easier when there is any issues that need to get solved for example defects.

“ Quality assurance it has an on-field tool where you can upload directly photos of any defects and the progress on site through a phone app”. The benefits of Aconex consist of project teams being able to review documents and comment, it also has a phone app that could be used to help taking pictures videos and audio of sites and keep the project team updated. Also manage and check tasks and issues and work offline and edit the project information even if the connection is unavailable then it will automatically synchronize when it is available, and the connection is restored. The cost aspect of Aconex can only be identified through a quote from the company. This helps in the construction industry by having less trouble of going through email boxes and it can only be sent to certain users that the company that bought the licenses from Aconex.

Cost Benefit in Comparison to relevant Software

An alternative to Aconex is Geniebelt where you can have communication to site and able to upload photos of site progress and defects. The similarity between the two is very low as each one has different software requirements. “ Geniebelt integrates with Microsoft project”, on the other hand Aconex supports the following: “ document, Aconex mail to words, share point integration and document upload”. Geniebelt also has these features for example: “ Gantt Chart Display, Real-Time Activity Feed, Project Summary Export, Live Project Views, Percentage of Task Completion”. Alternatively, Aconex has these features: “ Document Management, BIM Collaboration, Mail & Forms, Bidding & Tenders, Workflows”. “ Geniebelt costs $110 per month and Aconex price can only be gotten by quote”.

Another option that could be explored is BuildTools which collects every email document and photo that are related to the job, whilst your client can still use normal emails which is a bonus with Aconex you need to have a license to be able to view the email which is a downside that Aconex has. With weekly reports about projects are sent to the owner and client so they can be kept updated on the development of the job. Which is similar to Aconex but not at its level as it is very hard to find a similar communication tool as Aconex especially that it has been bought by Oracle, so it is going to be better communication tool. The price for BuildTools is generally $349 per month. But as for Aconex you need to get a direct quote from the company the difference between the two Aconex offers 35 users under one license, but BuildTools only allows up to 15 users per license which is a downside. Also, Aconex has more features than BuildTools which shows that Aconex is the leading communication tool in the construction industry as it is used by 70, 000 users around the world. The cost benefit between these three programs is huge as Geniebelt cost as little as $110 per month while BuildTools Costs $349 per month and Aconex costs $400 per month but Aconex Allows for more users then the other two communication tool. Geniebelt is cheap because it does not offer that much options to use as Aconex. On the other hand, BuildTools offers a little more than Geniebelt hence it is more expensive, And Aconex is the complete package of both communication tools. But there are more programs that offer the same as Aconex that could be cheaper for example: Primavera By Oracle and Procore.