From software vendor to platform partner: where Pro4all is heading

Construction is changing fast, and Pro4all is changing with it. In a video interview, I spoke with Pieter Beuker, CCO of Pro4all, about the company's direction. One statement summed it up nicely.

From software vendor to platform partner

Pieter has been with Pro4all for eighteen years. He started as a consultant implementing the software of that era, and today, as CCO, he is responsible for everything customer-facing: sales, customer success, onboarding and marketing. Years ago, in a video, he called Pro4all, with all due respect, a software shop. That image is shifting.

"We are evolving from software vendor to platform partner," says Pieter. "We no longer want to offer standalone applications, but one ecosystem that lets customers support their entire construction process."

Why this shift?

The reason lies in the market. It is not only changing fast, it is also becoming more complex. Projects are getting bigger, more parties are involved and the amount of information is growing enormously. At the same time, requirements are rising, with the Dutch Quality Assurance Act (WKB: de Wet kwaliteitsborging), the Safety Culture Ladder (SCL) and sustainability as examples.

According to Pieter, most companies do not lack data, quite the opposite. The challenge is turning all that scattered information into one reliable whole. That, in his view, is both the biggest challenge and the biggest opportunity for the years ahead.

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The goal is simple

What it ultimately comes down to is easy to state: making collaboration easier, and helping organisations build smarter, safer and with higher quality. No more software for software's sake, but a partner that supports the entire process.

That is the course. In the next articles in this series, we take a closer look at what an ecosystem really means, and how the new Solution Clouds of Pro4all give it shape.

Check out the next article called 'from egosystem to ecosystem'.

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