Frequently asked questions

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Company overview

Newforma Project Center overview

Newforma customers

Newforma Project Center versus other software

Licensing Newforma Project Center

Technical details

History of Newforma

COMPANY OVERVIEW

Who is Newforma?
Newforma is a software company serving architecture, engineering, construction and owner/operator (AEC/O) organizations worldwide. Its mission is to develop and market industry-leading project information management software which significantly improves the productivity of the building project team.

Why project information management software? And why now?

Executives of design and engineering firms are caught between the desire to deliver superior structures and the realities of meeting payroll each week. Software exists to design projects, and software exists to manage revenue and costs, but until Newforma, no software focused on that very BIG place in between – the challenge of how to execute projects most efficiently and effectively.

AEC project execution is people-intensive, information-intensive and process-poor. In the past, when project information existed solely on paper, individuals could manage it without high-tech help. But digital technologies have made the situation untenable. Email, for instance, doubles, triples and quadruples the project information overload. The proprietary file formats created for design software, as another example, limit the re-use of project data. And BIM promises to shake up established processes, which are drafting- and documentation-based, and create new design-based practices. Newforma's solution addresses these challenges to project execution efficiency. Our software helps AEC executives realize their goal of profitable project execution without compromising the quality of building design.

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NEWFORMA PROJECT CENTER OVERVIEW

What is Newforma Project Center?
In a nutshell, it's software used by architects, engineers, contractors and owners to manage project information, communicate with team members and streamline project process.

What process areas does Newforma Project Center address?
Newforma Project Center software streamlines the following processes and more:

• Project information management, including email management
• Issue management
• Submittal management
• Transmittal management
• Internal document quality control
• Design iteration
• Takeoff

Newforma software ensures quality by facilitating a standardized, repeatable process across the entire organization.

Newforma software decreases risk by providing tools to ensure that the information going out of the firm is accurate and error-free, and by providing means to ensure that accurate and complete archives can be easily assembled and searched.

Newforma software extends the value of information generated by other AEC technologies such as Autodesk® AutoCad®, Bentley® MicroStation®, Microsoft Office Outlook®, Deltek® Vision® and more.

To summarize value from a project execution perspective, Newforma software:

• Streamlines work processes.
• Improves coordination and communication.
• Reduces exposure from errors and omissions.
• Increases visibility into costs and quantities.
• Supports repeatability.

Is Newforma Project Center effective on new projects only, or would it help with projects in progress?
Newforma Project Center can aid the execution of projects in all stages of completion, whether new or in progress. Even projects that have been completed will benefit, given that Newforma software makes it easy to find and re-use archived information.

How does Newforma Project Center work?

The Newforma solution consists of three main components:

1. The Newforma server indexes data in your project files so that you can search for information quickly and thoroughly using the Newforma Project Center Search function.
2. The Newforma Project Center client is installed in the user’s desktop computer, providing single-source access to functionalities such as those listed above.
3. The Newforma Info Exchange server provides an easy means to transfer files into and out of the firm.

Does Newforma Project Center software require me to add metadata to files?

No. Newforma software’s Search function finds information as it exists in files, not via metadata.

Is Newforma Project Center software a database?

No.

Does Newforma Project Center require me to relocate files, or duplicate them?

No.

Do we keep project information in Newforma folders, or on the Newforma server?

No. Your files stay on your server. Newforma software provides project-centric access to files, wherever they may be.

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NEWFORMA CUSTOMERS

What kinds of organizations use Newforma Project Center software?

Newforma software is designed to serve organizations whose project teams manage lots of projects simultaneously, or organizations with projects that are unusually large and complex in their documentation and process needs. In either case, the role of Newforma Project Center is to help busy project managers and team members spend less time on manual tasks and worry less about important project issues falling through cracks.

Who are Newforma's customers today?
Newforma software serves AEC companies of all sizes, from the nation's largest to regional and local firms. For a sampling, click here.

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NEWFORMA PROJECT CENTER VERSUS OTHER SOFTWARE

What makes Newforma Project Center software different?
Newforma Project Center is the only software to provide a comprehensive solution to process-related issues faced by architects, engineers, constructors and owner/operators. Unlike generic, non-industry-specific solutions, or solutions that only address an aspect of project work, Newforma Project Center offers these advantages:

• Conforms to the ways AEC firms manage project information
• Leverages your existing IT infrastructure
• Works with existing processes
• Implements with ease and is easy toadopt
• Combines multiple tools that work together to support major processes

Project management software typically concerns itself with telling you where you stand regarding a project's budget, materials, progress payments or time schedule. Newforma project information management software helps you execute the work that keeps your project on schedule and within budget in the first place.

Is Newforma Project Center a document management system?

Newforma Project Center provides functionality very different from that of a document management system. Document management requires users to check documents into and out of libraries. Newforma assumes that busy project managers, project engineers and project architects will not have the time or inclination to see that every piece of project information is filed correctly in its proper library or vault. Recognizing this reality, Newforma leaves the files where they are on the file server, instead indexing them so that everyone on the team can find the exact document or critical piece of information they need.

For a more detailed comparison of Newforma Project Center and document management software, see Our Difference.

Does Newforma software perform functions similar to those of SharePoint®?
Newforma Project Center provides functionality very different from that of SharePoint. SharePoint is a repository for information which must be re-filed according to the design of the specific SharePoint library. In this regard especially, SharePoint resembles a document management solution. As with document management systems above, Newforma assumes that busy project managers, project engineers and project architects will not have the time or inclination to ensure that every critical piece of project information is filed correctly. Instead, Newforma leaves the files where they are on the file server, indexing them so that everyone on the team can find the exact document or piece of information they need. Further, SharePoint requires extensive customization to suit the demands of your individual firm. Because Newforma Project Center is designed to work with common AEC documents and processes, it does not require customization.

How does Newforma's file transfer capability compare with that of third-party extranets?
Newforma Project Center and its information sharing component, Newforma Info Exchange, differ from extranets primarily in that the information you choose to share resides on your own servers. That way, you don't have to pay additional storage charges. Newforma Info Exchange also provides better tracking and management controls, such as logs of what people have downloaded and automated commands to remove files from the server at set expiration dates.

Customers who have switched away from project extranets tell us that one of the biggest advantages to using Newforma Info Exchange for the transmittals process is that it is available for use by all project teams on all projects, and not just for the few projects that have been selected for hosting.

For a more detailed comparison of Newforma Project Center software and project extranets, see Our Difference.

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LICENSING NEWFORMA PROJECT CENTER SOFTWARE

How is Newforma software distributed and licensed?
Newforma Project Center is an enterprise application sold by Newforma sales representatives in North America and represented by channel partners in an expanding range of countries worldwide. It is licensed on an annual subscription, named-user basis.

Newforma Project Center software may be priced and deployed by either of two methods:

1. A classic Pilot Team deployment allows a team of 20 to 25 users to explore the full range of Newforma Project Center capabilities before the firm rolls out the solution to all users. Each seat licenses for the full price – $400 per seat per year, subject to volume discounts.
2. Newforma’s innovative Express Value Program deploys the solution to a large group of users – 80 percent of all employees, or one office with 50 or more employees –at a per-seat price that’s 50 percent of the full fee. At the end of a three- to six-month period, usage reports indicate which users would benefit from the solution's complete capabilities, which we call the Professional package, and which users need only license a core set of capabilities we call the Express package.

For a fuller discussion of the two deployment plans, click here.

How is Newforma software supported?

Customers receive support from Newforma directly, as well as from Newforma Implementation Consultants, who are certified experts in the application.

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TECHNICAL DETAILS

What does a Newforma software deployment look like?
Newforma software can be deployed in your company in a single day. The software consists of a client application installed on each desktop and two server applications. (See "technical requirements" below for a description of the server components.) The application supports multiple corporate sites connected by a wide area network. A typical deployment follows the diagram below:



What changes to our technology environment are required to accommodate Newforma software?
The Newforma solution does not affect your existing IT infrastructure beyond requiring the addition of servers, as described immediately below. The software itself was described by one customer as similar to a tablecloth in that it that drapes over a table without altering the underlying furniture. If you subsequently wanted to remove Newforma Project Center from your network , it would have had no effect on remaining applications or infrastructure.

What are Newforma Project Center's technical requirements?
Newforma software has been developed on the Microsoft .NET platform to operate on a Microsoft Windows® platform. Newforma Project Center client software currently requires either XP® or Vista® operating software. It is compatible with both MS Office 2003 and 2007. Email management tools currently are designed for Outlook 2003® or 2007® only. Dedicated Newforma Project Center Server(s), which sit on your network alongside your central file server(s), and one firm-wide Newforma Information Exchange server in your DMZ, require Windows Server 2003® operating software.

Will our server run Newforma Project Center?  If not, what server should we purchase?

See the Newforma Project Center system requirements here. If you aren’t sure your CPU meets our targets, determine its PassMark™ Software CPU rating here. To run Newforma Project Center, your rating needs to be above 2,000.

What are the requirements for the Newforma Project Center client?

Microsoft Windows XP or Microsoft Vista 32-bit or 64-bit operating systems are required. Microsoft Outlook 2003 or 2007 is also required. If you are running Mac OSX Leopard, you can run the Newforma Project Center client from Boot Camp.

Can I run the Newforma Project Center server in a virtual environment?

Although many customers have tried, nearly all have found a virtual environment offers sub-standard performance for Newforma Project Center server. The Newforma Project Center service is compute-intensive, network-intensive, disk-intensive and memory-intensive. It’s just not a great candidate for a virtual machine. It absolutely won’t work running on the Newforma standard server specification using free versions of virtual environments.

Note, however, that the Newforma Info Exchange server can work well in a virtual environment.

Why do I have to have a Newforma Project Center server at each office location?

The Newforma Project Center server is constantly monitoring your project files to maintain an index allowing fast searching and browsing. This requires a high-bandwidth, low-latency connection to the project files. WAN indexing is strongly discouraged.

How many Newforma Info Exchange servers do I need and where should they be located?

Typically, you’ll only need one Newforma Info Exchange server, and it can be located at the office location of your choosing, or at an ISP. Parameters to keep in mind are latency and available bandwidth so that your external teams have fast responsiveness from this server. Offices that are spread across large geographic regions (e.g., European, ASEAN, etc.) may want to consider having more than one Newforma Info Exchange server.

How do I handle project data that exists at two or more office locations?

Many of our customers split project work between offices. Typically some subset of project data is modified at each location. Newforma customers can support this work process by creating a separate project at each office location.

Where is Newforma’s data stored? How do I back it up?

Newforma Project Center stores most project data in a hidden folder typically located in each of your project folders. It also persists some global data such as the contact list in a database on the Newforma Project Center server. The data stored in Newforma’s database can be configured to automatically replicate to a location on your central file server. This eliminates the need to directly back up the Newforma Project Center server.

What database are you using?

Newforma Project Center currently stores all project data in XML files within your project folders. Newforma Project Center server and Newforma Info Exchange use MySQL for storing data. We do not currently support other databases.

Our company replicates data at multiple office sites. Can Newforma support this?

Newforma Project Center can support the replication of your existing project files. Our customers implement replication using Microsoft DFS, Microsoft Robocopy, or other third-party applications. However, internal Newforma project data cannot be replicated. If your company is using replication you must create Newforma projects in separate non-replicated folders.

How do I create Newforma projects for all our existing project work? We have thousands of projects!

Newforma supports a batch project creation process that allows automated creation of many projects at once.

How can I integrate with my accounting system?

Newforma Project Center can query an external database for contact information and certain project parameters. Starting with Newforma Project Center Fourth Edition, the software allows users to create projects using Deltek Vision workflows. We commonly help customers integrate with Deltek Vision. Integration support for other systems is also available.

Can we integrate with our SharePoint intranet?

Starting in Newforma Project Center Fifth Edition, Newforma will allow you to search SharePoint projects and integrate with SharePoint widgets such as discussions, wikis, etc.

What file types can Newforma's Viewer open and display?
The Newforma Viewer can open and display files of type DWG, DGN, DWF, DXF, PDF, PLT and most bitmap formats.

How does Newforma Search work?

The Newforma Project Center server maintains a database known as a “search index” by constantly monitoring your project folders. The search index allows very fast retrieval of project documents that match a specific search term.

What file types does Newforma Project Center search?

Newforma Project Center has built-in support for all Microsoft Office file formats and for the DWG, DXF, DWF, DGN, PLT, IFC, PDF and ZIP formats.

Can I search for data in files other than those you support natively?

To be included in our search index, each supported file format requires an IFilter. The IFilter is a special program that functions as a search filter, reading each file of a specific type and returning all text strings found. If the software vendor that creates your file format has an available IFIlter, it can be installed with Newforma to support searching.

Newforma Project Center is amazing. How did you come up with these great ideas?

We listen carefully to our customers! If you have a suggestion, problem or concern, our team wants to hear it. Talk to your account rep or support technician. Or, in Newforma Project Center Fifth Edition, select the “Send a suggestion…” Help menu item and your suggestion will be reviewed directly by the product team.

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HISTORY OF NEWFORMA

Who started Newforma?
Newforma was founded in November 2003 by seven industry professionals who, as a team, have accumulated decades of software and AECO industry experience. Jesse Devitte of Borealis Ventures is Newforma's seed investor. Bob Batcheler, Jim Forester, Todd Kozikowski, Larry Nuttall, Dave Plunkett and Allen Preger have, at various points in their careers, worked together defining, developing and marketing popular technical software applications, many of which are still used today by leading architecture and engineering companies.

Team members re-united to develop software that architects, engineers, contractors and owners could use to streamline project process efficiency. Along with Chief Executive Officer Ian Howell, they have recruited other team members, researched customer needs, launched a company and developed an AEC project process solution as no company has done before.

For more about the Newforma board and management team, click here.

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