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Episode Description
Join host Todd for an exclusive episode featuring guest Sameer Merchant, Head of Product Development for Autodesk Construction Solutions, as they unpack the new product announcements from Autodesk University – Autodesk Build, Autodesk Quantify, Autodesk BIM Collaborate and Autodesk Tandem. They also address how to bring technology to the forefront by fully leveraging data and breaking down silos, the importance of a single source of truth for construction management and how to use all the data and new product offerings to make better, smarter decisions moving forward.
Sameer Merchant is the Head of Product Development for Autodesk Construction Solutions. He leads product development and delivery efforts for Autodesk’s site construction and preconstruction product portfolio, which includes BIM 360 and PlanGrid. Sameer joined Autodesk with the acquisition of PlanGrid, where he was vice president of engineering. Prior to joining PlanGrid, Sameer co-founded and was CTO at AdMarvel, a mobile advertising platform acquired by Opera Software in 2010. While at Opera, Merchant was Vice President of Mobile Commerce, where he started and grew the company’s mobile and data services businesses, managing a global team of more than 400 employees. Merchant began his career at VeriSign, setting up and leading engineering teams across three countries for several business units, including Public Key Infrastructure, Payment Services and Telecommunication Services. He and his team built massively scaled products that were used by Fortune 500 customers and partners including Adobe, Netscape and Microsoft.
todd Takes
1. First thought, Connected Construction is possible. In order to fully realize the promise, we must break down the data silos that exist and bring the data points and systems together. Only when all the construction data sits in a common data environment will we be able to transform collaboration from a buzzword into a true action.
2. This leads to the second point. It has become even more paramount in the age of COVID and work from home because we have had to figure out better, more efficient ways to collaborate. How are you supposed to effectively collaborate with others if you cannot trust the data you are working on is accurate and the most up to date? I would encourage everyone to be open and prepared to change the way they think of things. The pandemic has shown us the usefulness of being adaptable this year. The industry must evolve and adapt to the fast pace changes that are happening now. So be open to change even when things have worked well in the past. Good news is there are people and firms doing just this throughout the industry. We talk to just such innovators on the podcast every week.
3. Finally, data makes you more intelligent and allows you to make better, smarter decisions moving forward. Take advantage of that by turning insight into action. Think of data as having a crystal ball to look into the future to determine the risk factors based on the past data and then mitigate those going forward. Analyze all the data BUT zero in on the select points that are actionable for you. This will help you not become totally overwhelmed by too much data.
4. A bonus thought, make sure to check out all the information, resources, and classes offered through Autodesk University this year. It is a great resource, jam packed with content. You have the six-month timeline, like Sameer said, to get through it all. Also, make sure to see how all the new Autodesk products announced during AU can help your workflow out. If you have any questions, feel free to contact our sponsor Applied Software. So go investigate.
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