VEO + Newforma Project Center = BIM + PIM

There has been some very positive feedback following the announcement last week of our licensing of the VEO^TM 3D building model collaboration platform from M-SIX. Of course, lots of folks have lots of questions, so here is an attempt to answer at least a few of the most basic questions:

What did Newforma license?
Newforma licensed key elements of M-SIX’s VEO platform for 3D building model collaboration. This will allow Newforma to offer VEO’s model viewing and navigation capabilities, as well as the ability to associate items in Newforma Project Center, including project files and PIM objects, such as RFIs, Action Items and Submittals, with elements of the building information model, as an integrated part of our industry leading PIM solutions.

How does this fit with Newforma’s focus on Project Information Management (PIM)?
We believe that these capabilities open up a broad new range of possibilities for our customers in design and construction. For all of the promise and capabilities of Building Information Modeling (BIM), BIM itself has exponentially increased the challenges that PIM addresses. 

The flood of deliverables that are typically generated from the building information model, the explosion in the number of models developed for specific disciplines/trades, each in multiple versions as the design and construction process progresses, and providing access to information that was previously locked away inside the building model, are all challenges that PIM is capable of addressing. Integrating BIM with PIM has been a key objective of Newforma since its early days. This licensing arrangement moves us several steps ahead in fulfilling that objective.

Why VEO?

Simply put, we really liked the product, the people and the company, and saw a great win-win-win opportunity.  Based on the picture of Max, they seem to like us as well. :) 
By partnering with M-SIX, we saw an opportunity to accelerate our road map, and bring new capabilities to market sooner, benefitting Newforma, M-SIX and the AEC/O industry. 

Our Cloud, Your Cloud or Your Premise – Which is it?
VEO is designed to be a cloud-based, 3D building collaboration platform, but can be deployed in any of those three environments. Incorporating the VEO platform into our PIM solutions is just another step in the continuing evolution of our PIM solutions, driven by the needs of the AEC/O industry to deliver the right information to the right project team members, anytime, anywhere, on any device.

As detailed in the recent “PIM in the Cloud” whitepaper, our approach is to select the right platforms to meet customer business needs. There is no one platform that suits all; incorporating the VEO platform as a cloud-based service, fully integrated with our PIM solutions, is just one of a number of exciting announcements that we will be making over the next few months.

When can I get it?
We expect to incorporate elements of the VEO technology in the next major release of our flagship PIM solutions, expected to be released early next year.

How do I learn more?
Come to Nugget 2012, September 17 through 19, 2012, in Fort Worth, TX. For more information,visit the Nugget 2012 web site. I look forward to seeing you there!