by John Leitch

Ramesys, the construction software group, has announced that it is to collaborate with BIW, the e-business group specialising in project collaboration systems.

Colin Smith, chief executive of BIW Technologies, said this week: "Project extranets have become more popular, 45% of new projects are using them. There are six providers and we are the largest, with 25% market share."

Mark Chambers, acting managing director of Ramesys Construction Services, said: "We've been waiting and listening to what our Ramesys-user groups told us about how they see the various collaboration providers. We are now interfacing with BIW so that our customers can use the best-of-breed."

The collaboration deal will see both Ramesys and BIW investing in improvements to the interface between their two areas of e-business. There will be no extra charge to customers, in fact the elimination of the double handling of information should cut costs.

"Until recently, the client has driven the industry's push towards B2B project collaboration," said Smith. "That meant using the system of the client's choice. The philosophy of some was that if they could tie up all the clients they would capture the main contractors."

But main contractors started to make their own judgement and when working with non-dominant clients were choosing a different B2B system, picking the one they perceived as offering them the best quality.

"In the last nine months, things have moved fast," said Smith. "Clients previously mandated a specific system but now they are being less prescriptive, allowing contractors to make a default choice of their own.

"Our link with Ramesys is not deal-based. Both customer sets have said it's what they want."

Ramesys claims 25% market share of the software spend by construction contractors who have a turnover of more than £1m a year. Professional clients including Ove Arup and Mouchel also use it.

"We offer such things as contract costing, procurement and estimating software," said Chambers. "It is a mature market: once there were 12 players but now there are just two, Ramesys and Coins."

Smith started BIW in March 2000. "We were there at the dawn of collaboration using project extranets," he said. Smith has worked in the construction computing sector for 20 years, including a six-year spell as managing director of CSB which now trades as Coins, the group described by Smith as being Ramesys' main competitor.