As merger and acquisition activity reduces the choices contractors have for construction business software, Saint-Georges, Quebec-based Blackware Technologies has launched Atoom ERP, a new construction business software product built on the open source Odoo enterprise resource planning (ERP) platform.
What is open source software, and how is it different from other approaches for developing and purchasing software? Open source software is sold with the source code openly accessible, so users or more frequently partners of an open source software provider can modify it, evolve it, with those improvements or enhancements often accruing to the overall product. Closed source software is sold with the source code obscured, and any modifications must be made by the vendor.
This gives contractors the benefit of a broadly-used and robust enterprise suite—one that has received more research and development than could a construction-only solution—but with deep construction features and support from an industry-dedicated systems integration firm. The license agreement grants the buyer of an open source product leeway to modify the code and let others do the same as they share the modifications they have made. A reseller may still be the primary entity modifying the source code, and in a software-as-a-service (SaaS) model that source would still likely be obscured from an end user like a construction contractor anyway.
Apart from merger and acquisition activity that may make a net new choice in ERP with the general ledger appealing, one thing working in Blackware’s favor in the current financial climate is that they are not dependent on venture capital, which is constrained right now as the stock market slips.
Blackware has secured between $1 million and $2 million in bank loans and combined with organic revenue has a stable enough base to launch a product across North America.
The company has a small direct sales team, but is also ramping up a broader network of referral partners and resellers. As of our briefing, Blackware reported 10 companies using Atoom ERP in production but almost 25 in implementation on some modules while in production on others.
READ THE FULL IRONPROS PRODUCT DEEP DIVE ON ATOOM ERP
“We will go to market in part through suppliers of third-party services and independent software vendors, (ISVs),” Gagnon said. “Most of these partners will function as referral partners. What will get us referred by law firms and accounting firms around Quebec is that our business knowledge in construction so we can use the right technologies for the right needs in your industry. Excavation, subcontractors, generals, architects, manufacturers of component parts for a building—we know what tech will help you drive into the future.”
What Atoom ERP Gives Contractors
The breadth of Atoom is substantial—starting from the general ledger which makes it a direct competitor to the Sage construction ERP products, Trimble Viewpoint and, when extended by independent software vendor (ISV) solutions, Microsoft Dynamics, Oracle or even SAP. Thanks to modest venture financing and more aggressive organic revenue acquisition, Odoo is insulated from some of the financial ups and downs affecting large tech players and yet it is valued at about $3.3 billion. Some of the nontangibles Odoo brings to the table for customers include the Odoo Community Association, a non-profit dedicated to “helping members to create lower cost, more successful Odoo solutions faster, with easy access to high quality apps and open upgrades.”
Odoo offers core ERP functionality covering a broad spectrum of business functions from finance, sales, human resources, marketing, services including project delivery, inventory and materials requirements planning. There are tools for productivity management, ingestion of data from the internet of things (IoT), and a website builder. As do Salesforce and major ERP vendors like Microsoft with its Dynamics products and Oracle with Oracle Cloud, Odoo opens up its platform to independent software vendors (ISVs) like Blackware who can extend the solution into vertical industries and niche use cases.
In the financial realm, Atoom ERP will leverage underlying Odoo automation capabilities for invoice management, invoicing of directives like the European Union Council adopted the Invoicing Directive, disclosures and releases, payroll management and purchasing.
Atoom comes to market with functionality and processes that can be configured for:
- Real estate developers, which puts it into the same bucket as Sage Real Construction and Real Estate but with the modern SaaS architecture about as modern as the flagship Sage Intacct for Construction
- Distributors with and without installation, which add multi-warehouse inventory capabilities
- Manufacturing including prefabrication/offsite construction or manufacturing-blended construction, installer/manufacturers and engineer-to-order manufacturing
- Delivery of services including architecture, engineering, construction project management, estimating and design
- Specialty and trade contracting including facades, interiors, foundations, HVACR and mechanical, electrical and plumbing (MEP)
