Total Synergy CEO Scott Osborne gives an update on the company, talks about the state of the industry and continuing drivers of change, provides an update on the direction and future for the product and talks about the future of Synergy as a platform.
[Thank you Andrew and welcome back]. Welcome to the SIXTH user conference – Why we run it:
We assist our client partners to achieve more by giving MORE TIME FOR DESIGN
Started journey - 1997 - efficient with information and making software that helped design businesses be smarter, faster and more profitable. This hasn’t changed
2016 = develop business management software that is a simple and rewarding experience to do business so you can free up time to focus on innovative design. Today = show you how we strive to do this and what we are doing to get there.
3 years ago we felt that with enormous waves of change we could offer our unique insights into technology to provide you with knowledge. Knowledge that will help you, as entrepreneurs and management to navigate your business.
So lets take a look at today’s conference and what we hope you leave here with
We want to discuss quite a few things today:
Give you some insight through a brief company update,
Let you know how we at Total Synergy see the evolving nature of the industry, the products and the platform we are building to drive you forward.
Starting with a very indulgent but brief look at Total Synergy in 2016.
We now have more than 450 client sites [CLICK] servicing over 10,000 users across Aust, NZ, USA, UK, Asia, South America and Middle East and we continue to add around 20 to 30 new sites per annum.
WE now have more than 450 client sites servicing over……
10,000 users across Aust, NZ, USA, UK, Asia, South America and Middle East [CLICK]
We continue to add around 20 to 30 new sites per annum.
This makes Total Synergy by far the largest of the practice system solution providers in Australia.
Currently 20 staff and growing = largest we have ever been and we are already on the lookout for new team members in the areas of development, product design, client service and marketing.
As we grow and evolve we have become a design client – in May we will move into new purpose built premises downtown in North Sydney allowing us to grow – collaborative tech space
We are not a ONE MAN DEVELOPMENT TEAM. - now a SEVEN man development team (please stand up)
Experienced, skilful and leaders in their field. We lead the pack in terms of technology with our product development and the new cloud product will demonstrate just how far ahead of the competition we are in pure cloud product development and the capabilities of this team. [Thanks guys]
Microsoft as our technology partner - we are leaders in our field -the last 12 months we have been picked to:
Present during the keynote at the annual Microsoft Australian Partner Conference
Been interviewed by Garner and IDC for commentary on the modern software development partner
Selected by Microsoft to tell our story at their Worldwide Partner Conference in Toronto in July.
They have selected Total Synergy as one of their key ISV partners for one reason above all else and that is our commitment and capability to succeed in executing our vision.
We don’t throw dozens of programmers at old technology that is outrageously complex and un-usable and we have re-imagined the space of technology solutions for the business of the built environment.
Our new cloud platform provides us with the ability and capability to change the game.
The new version 5 product release will effect this change and is the start of some really cool new collaborative opportunities using technology that will allow all of you literally to be working together which is the theme of this year’s conference.
Version two and three screen shots dating back to 2000 to 2004
2011 – January 2011 = Queensland floods = Disaster Recovery service (Hybrid Cloud)
2012 – Launched our direction towards cloud and collaboration whilst encouraging clients to accept and adopt change.
Also predicted that Google, Microsoft and Apple will dominate the landscape.
Launched Synergy Cloud Services product
2013 – Extended Synergy Cloud services
eLearning,
Contact and Project lookup,
Mapping etc
Decision to re-write Synergy for web
2014 – How do you take your business to the cloud
Announced “SaaS” for Synergy
2015 - Globalisation and Cloud software as the enabler of collaboration
Changing nature of professional services
2016 – Working together or “Collaborate”
No other industry I know has so many stakeholders that are required to work together
Design
Communication
Share
Problem Solve
The journey brings us to a point where it is imperative that modern firms
Recruit, assemble and manage highly skilled teams
Manage the competing success outcomes of on budget time and quality
But under pressure to do so faster, cheaper and more accurately
Lets look at where the AEC industry stands at present
Growth is back and the last 12-18 months has seen a phenomenal growth in the residential and commercial markets at the expense of the mining slow down.
Of course with the last couple of weeks we have seen a small resurgence in iron ore prices which is already sparking talk of rising mining stocks and the AUD rising to over US 77 cents (and even parity according to Saxo Bank from Denmark) which is more than 10% up.
Of course even during the worst downturn in recorded economic history we experienced skills shortages
Professionals left the industry
Gen Y have been diverted to more socially glamorous qualifications (Forensic Science, Software Game development and Sports Management)
Technology skills superseding traditional design skills
Competition between employers – We have the same problem with attracting top notch developers against the Googles, Microsoft, Atlassian, etc. Today Jamie Millar will be discussing the importance of attracting talent – this will fast become the best way to resource your teams and even retain the talent you have.
Technology –
We are experiencing the largest change to technology since the advent of the WWW or the PC.
Its not just the cloud of course but the advent of ubiquitous computing.
Technology disrupting everything. Telcos, Retail, Music, Cars, Tablets, Taxis, Hotels and professional services,
Cloud this and Device that. But what are the key drivers here?
There are two extremely important considerations in looking at how technology evolves business.
Consider this;
More phones than people in Australia and sales of phones surpassed desktop PC’s late 2013.
Gartner have predicted that by 2018 (2 years away) 50% of users will reach for a smartphone or tablet FIRST for all online activities. PCs will be relegated to only more complex tasks
Nottingham University - average user between 18-33 looked at the phone 85 times in a day and spent 5 hours looking at apps and browsing.
Any system now must run on smartphones if you want your share % of this glances and time on business for your firm
Travelling – work or personal, local, domestically or internationally
Onsite – site visits, meetings, workshops
Ad hoc – lunch, coffee, transit, queues
Home – access whilst inside or outside
Globalisation – offshore/onshore, time shifting – allows projects/documents/communications to be shared, created and monitored in any location at any time easily and directly.
Data connectivity
Multi tenanted cloud applications = easy to build and deploy data links (API’s) to multiple best of breed business applications. E.g. Accounting, FX tools, CRM, HR, and Project Management tools can more easily be linked.
Also easier to interrogate data and provide monitoring of conditions such as
tasks,
threshold alerts,
reminders,
locations,
currency rates,
resource availability etc
to provide accurate and timely information to users = Software AS A SERVICE!
So let’s discuss where we are at with the Synergy product or should we say products….
Over the past 4 years we have developed the company into a bi-modal organization running at two speeds.
Current platform = mature product line. Development and service cycles are slower = Large investment and roll out is slow and tedious to get clients to execute upgrade cycles.
2011 = must adopt some form of web technologies = Synergy Cloud Services (Dev environment)
2012 = strategic decision = SaaS cloud product = cross platform, faster releases (daily or more) = agile and responsive.
Now this sounds like a lot of developers writing code – copy features and function of software we already had?
Extensive core functionality = simplified, streamlined + needs to work on ALL devices, brands, platforms = UI
Software as a Service =self service implementation, training, account management of users, payments, helpdesk, marketing, engagement – in effect, a complete overhaul; of a software company’s business model
No limit to expand and extend the products and benefits that cloud software could offer in the future. Pure Cloud vs Fake Cloud. More about that later.
Past three years =BI MODAL company essentially running two speeds with our on premise product and our new pure cloud product. The change is inevitable.
Minimize disruption to clients,
Maintain our high standards of service and product and without raising prices (No price rise since Oct 2012).
Released new features, enhanced and fixed old features (still going)
Started free webinars,
Visited most clients for a free half day client engagement visit and
Increased help desk staffing to lower response times.
So where do we see the future of these products?
Effectively we will have TWO product streams, the on premise product and the cloud SaaS product and you as clients will be able to choose which product suits your needs:
The on premise product is a MATURE, STAND ALONE platform that with the technology = will only ever work with a Windows client server environment + based upon a silo strategy of internal use only data management.
Synergy Cloud is:
Leading edge born of the internet business application
Developed to create a shared technology business platform =allow collaboration and promote interaction with all stakeholders in the built environment.
Today we will demonstrate the progress of the product and the platform so you can be the first to see what a pure cloud AEC business management platform can empower.
I want to explain what I mean by Fake Cloud vs Pure Cloud and its relevance in choosing any software for your business
Existing systems = model that the data of an organization is internal and that it should remain inside the networking environment of the organization. e.g. Synergy 4 “on premise” is one of these.
Can host the fileserver at a hosted environment like Rackspace or Equinix or Microsoft Azure.
Can provide remote desktop access so PC’s (and Macs) can connect to this database and file server and it essentially behaves and acts as though it was on our equipment.
Your IT team or consultants will charge you to maintain those servers or in fact the data centre team. Each new staff will need to have a user account on the server and also for the software set up.
Other options would be to create a web browser screen so users access through a browser the data on the fileserver and ONLY on their fileserver but the data is only for them. If you want access externally, you still need to then run a web server that sends the information on web screens OUT from inside the security firewall which opens up data doors to hackers and threats.
Some vendors create additional products and modules for sharing data with external parties. There is often significant development work to create these extranet sites and they may even charge for the module AND/OR for user licenses for external parties
AEC industry is extremely collaborative. = many stakeholders in every project and the information that flows between organisations and teams are exhaustive.
Sharing information = work together = the effort to create, transmit, process, store, manage and retrieve is as much as about the technical design elements and skills. = errors, inefficiencies and excessive costs to deliver projects.
Designs, emails, photos, sketches, specifications, instructions, RFI’s, budgets, schedules, variations, billing, insurances, codes and contracts and that is even before the areas of QA, defects, retentions, bonds, claims and litigations.
Its no wonder that working together adds so many dimensions to projects. I am not just talking BIM but the BUSINESS of design firms in the built environment.
So Synergy Cloud changes this:
Designed specifically for collaboration = multi tenancy = share and track
Dispenses with intranets and extranets = eliminates WAN and server replication
No transmission = one data store of commmunication and file access = online vs emails
Far more than just a shared portal into a project.
Platform = enable firms to connect digitally in completely new ways = Operationally and economically
We spoke about work together last year through JV’s, partnerships, offshoring and specialization of skills.
Every day around workload = peaks and troughs.
Risk profile = how resource their organization with staff (largest expense) = the level of staff to planned workloads.
Traditionally = plan to mid point = Push out and pull in work = maintain utilization and billable cashflow levels.
Worst recession = risk profile of most firms dropped = not going to risk their business to chase growth.
Growth cycle = back to the mid point or higher = growth opportunities. Many of you are growing and some very rapidly. Problem = risk appetite low and the availability of skilled labour.
JV partnerships, strategic alliances, offshoring, contract labour, M&A and even secondments allow firms to work together. = Secondary rhythm = overlay another source of labour with our own firms = economic balance
Net effect =temporary or strategic labour resources =smoothing influence on our business, service, risk profiles.
How? Pure cloud platform = ability to interconnect projects = allow access to one (or many) projects with other firms servicing the job. + not just domestically but internationally = Synergy platform is a global one.
Connecting firms and stakeholders through the Synergy platform will allow
Virtual and global teams to work together connecting expertise not available locally
Allowing round the clock design, shortening lead times
Today’s programme there is a story about i2C, = partnership they can successfully bid for larger projects and projects where the unique skill of the global network can compliment the local skills.
The new Synergy cloud platform will allow these parties to work together.
The opportunities are huge. We have to get away from thinking in silos.
Open our minds to the challenges = global competition and change the way we work.
Casual and virtual teams that can be assembled for specific projects on a global basis if need be.
Today is exciting. Its our one chance per year when we can show you face to face what we have been doing and where we are heading.
We have an array of speakers and topics that will take you forward in working together with each other and with us.
The journey we are taking is both exciting and innovative = take the covers off our new cloud product and show you a glimpse of what is just around the corner and what we and global technology players like Gartner, IDC and Microsoft see in what we are building.
It’s a journey. The destination is always on the horizon and what we want you all to know is that we are moving there at a rapid pace, working together.