Autodesk Acquires Pre-Construction Software Building Connected for $275 Million

via Autodesk

via Autodesk

Autodesk, the software company synonymous with architectural and engineering design, has gobbled up yet another construction related software just a few week after its massive acquisition of PlanGrid. It’s most recent acquisition, BuildingConnected, will help bolster Autodesk’s growing construction brand and help them grow additional profit pipelines.

Formally announced on December 20, 2018, Autodesk paid $275 million to acquire BuildingConnected, a bid management, risk analysis, and preconstruction solution. BuildingConnected has built an impressive network of over 700,000 construction professionals and helps them find and hire potential contractors and subcontractors for their upcoming projects. Some of their current customers include construction giants Turner Construction, McCarthy, Mortenson, and Skanska, among others.

In a press release, BuildingConnected CEO and co-founder Dustin DeVan said, “Bid management is a critical step in preconstruction, since bidding is the genesis of construction projects. Our game-changing suite of preconstruction tools are saving customers time and money. We’ve helped thousands of owners, general contractors and subcontractors streamline their businesses and communicate better. Together with Autodesk, we can expand the platform’s capabilities and scale globally.”

In addition, Autodesk CEO Andrew Anangost had this to say about the acquisition, “…Autodesk’s goal is to connect construction processes across design, build and operations. BuildingConnected has proven to customers the tremendous value in moving from traditional rolodexes, whiteboards, emails and spreadsheets to an easy-to-use digital bidding platform. BuildingConnected, along with Autodesk BIM 360, Revit, AutoCAD, and our acquisitions of PlanGrid and Assemble Systems, gives us a comprehensive construction offering and go-to-market capabilities…”

Three years ago, Autodesk announced their construction document management system BIM 360 Docs, which left me wondering how the company was going to catch up with others in the construction industry who began to gain a stronghold, like Procore and PlanGrid.  After being relatively quiet on the construction scene for the next couple years, the software giant has answered a lot of questions about their intent in the construction industry, to become an active and effective leader.  Their investments into proven software, like PlanGrid, Assembled Systems, and now BuildingConnected, speak volumes of their commitment to our industry.

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