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Software
Guide Offers Good Advice on Tough Choices
8/07/2006
By
ENR Staff
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Networking. Fornes
lets users weigh in
(Photo by Lauren Mullins) |
Finding the right business software is as
easy as pouring time and money into a hole. Or, you can try a new
Web service for free and cut to the chase.
Don Fornes, a 33-year-old research analyst
who had seen how leading companies approach the problem, dreamed
up RiverGuide for Construction Software and launched it in mid July.
It is a software selection resource for companies in the $250 million
and under revenue range. See it at www.riverguideinc.com/construction.
"It's tremendous," says Steve
Kuhn, president of industry consulting firm Integrity Construction
Services, Franklin, Tenn. "You would normally have to go to every
individual website and deal with sales reps. This helps me compare
stuff side-by-side."
A questionnaire narrows choices for accounting,
project management, estimating, human resources and payroll software,
all of which is shown with extensive product information. Fornes
solicits data from vendors, who pay for referrals, but digs into
hundreds of features for good comparisons.
Then the social networking kicks in. Users
and vendors alike contribute comments and ratings and whitepapers
to the easily navigated site. "We do it without the bias of
a single analyst. We get the biases of hundreds," Fornes says.
"You start to see who has really got what you are looking for."
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