Building a Platform for Construction Project Management

Sixteen years ago I was running a technology consulting firm in Silicon Valley while simultaneously trying to build my family’s home in Santa Barbara. It was daunting enough building a home, but from 300+ miles away, it was very hard to stay on top of everything. Given that Santa Barbara isn’t lacking in coastline, most of the contractors were surfers, so tools were dropped when Rincon, the world-famous surf spot, was pumping.

I wanted more insight into the progress of our house, but there was no easy way to stay updated. I couldn’t see if the windows were installed yet or if the bathroom tile had been ordered. Thus, the idea for Procore was born - with a few of my software engineers, I built the first version of Procore. Our house was eventually finished, but it was only the beginning of a new project I would devote the next 15+ years of my life towards.

Built for industry professionals, by industry professionals.
In conversations with industry peers I often hear that the construction industry is slow when it comes to adopting technology. But I’d argue that technology solutions were not previously adopted because they were built without the industry users’ specific needs in mind.

When I started Procore there were three principles that I thought would change the way construction software was delivered to the industry.

1. Start with the user. It’s amazing how much construction technology can get in the way when it’s not created with the user in mind.
2. Simplicity. You can be user-centric all you want, but if you don’t deliver simple, intuitive apps that people want to use, you might as well not be delivering software.
3. Time to value. I cannot begin to tell you the number of software applications made for the construction industry that take months and sometimes even years to get up and running.

The construction industry has been underserved when it comes to technology, which is why we work with our customers to develop a construction project management platform that reduces the application footprint of construction professionals.

The first step was to give the industry a voice, the next was to identify issues the industry didn’t know they were facing. Once we did that, we could set off to build a product that put the needs of the construction professional first.

Today there are more than one million people using Procore.

Taking the Platform Approach
As a company, our goal is to modernize the construction industry. We continue to make progress towards that goal by building a best in-class construction project management solution.

At Groundbreak, our second annual user conference, we launched several new tools that extend the value of Procore by helping improve performance management across the construction industry. Those include Intelligent Specs, Quality & Safety Performance Management, Field Financials, and Insights.

I’m thrilled with these new tools, and I know the industry will be too (we’ve been beta testing the tools with hundreds of customers already). However, we also realize that many companies have unique processes and programs that are “must haves” for their business to run efficiently.

As a user-centric company, we need to be open to our clients’ needs. We’ve built the best-in-class construction project management solution, but we can’t build everything.

Today we’re opening up the Procore platform with the launch of the App Marketplace, the construction industry’s first online hub for third-party applications that integrate with Procore like Botlink, Box, Dexter + Chaney, iSqFt, Okta, and Tableau. Our goal is to make integrations and apps easily accessible to our clients and users so that companies of all sizes and specialties can locate the tools they need to be more productive.

The App Marketplace is the center of all of our apps and integrations. You’ll find everything from ERP/accounting solutions, to business intelligence, to CRM and even drone technology!

We couldn’t build this without the support of others, so in conjunction with the App Marketplace we’re rolling out our Partner Program.

With the Partner Program we’re creating an ecosystem serving all areas of construction management and we’re on the lookout to partner with leading solutions in order to solve more of our users’ biggest pain points. In some cases, this means partnering with companies that offer solutions that may overlap with some of ours. We know openness with our users will foster better relationships, and ultimately we want to offer our clients the most comprehensive and customizable solution.

There are currently more than 20 partners working on integrations, several of which were introduced at the Partner Pavilion during Groundbreak. We expect that number to grow quite a bit throughout the next 12 months.

Innovation comes from both the inside and outside of a company, so we’re excited to enlist the help of our growing community of clients, partners, and independent developers.

Thank you for joining us as we all work towards a joint goal to modernize the construction industry. We’re looking forward to working with you on what’s coming next.