RiverGuide of BigSky Montana, Makes Construction Software Selection Easier for Contractors, Architects and Building Owners

Leading Software Vendors, Consultants and Technology Experts Contribute to Industry’s First Community-Driven Site, Creating a Wealth of Free Information for Software Buyers

Today RiverGuide, Inc. launched RiverGuide for Construction Software (http://www.riverguideinc.com/construction), a free Internet resource designed to help contractors, architects and building owners research and select construction software. The site provides a wealth of information for software selection and implementation, as well as detailed software product profiles and side-by-side comparisons. Using RiverGuide, buyers can ensure the success of their software projects by selecting and implementing the right products for their business, in far less time.

"Our market research shows that more than one-third of most any software project is spent researching and evaluating applications," said Don Fornes, founder & Chief Executive Officer of RiverGuide. "Fortune 500 companies can turn to prominent IT research firms like Gartner to research software projects, but most construction firms — who don’t have thousands of dollars to invest in software research — are often left without the information they need to make the right technology decisions."

The RiverGuide Solution

Using RiverGuide, small- and medium-size businesses gain access to the insightful research and best practices required for successful software projects. For no charge, RiverGuide provides users with:

* A sophisticated "Software Search" capability that recommends products based on a visitor’s industry/trade, company size and specific functional requirements;

* Side-by-side comparisons of software products including ratings and reviews by actual customers that use the products;

* Detailed profiles of more than twenty software products including product screen shots, key differentiators and customer reviews;

* A wealth of articles, white papers and evaluation tools, all of which can be commented on by RiverGuide visitors; and,

* Interactive community forums where visitors ask questions and receive prompt, insightful answers from the RiverGuide community.

"We are constantly looking to manage our rapid growth through better automation, but we have limited time and resources to devote to technology research and selection" said Tony Martel, Vice President of Martel Construction. "RiverGuide is a tremendous new resource that can help us keep up-to-date on new technology trends and ensure that we make the right investments."

A Community-Driven Site

RiverGuide harnesses the power of a community-driven content model whereby the content on the site is generated by numerous software experts, business consultants and CPAs, as well as software vendors and their customers. RiverGuide’s product ratings are driven by a web-based customer survey capability that ensures confidentiality and statistical relevance. This community-driven model means that visitors receive a wide range of opinions rather than the limited and potentially biased opinion of a single industry analyst.

"With a focus on improving construction business processes, my engagements often include new software system implementations. Until now, there was no objective means of assessing the merits of the numerous systems available." said Steve Kuhn, RiverGuide contributor and President of Integrity Construction Services. "It is great to see an innovative, professional resource like RiverGuide that will enable contractors and consultants to make the right decisions for the right reasons."

Prominent content contributors to RiverGuide include the Construction Financial Management Association and Harvard University School of Design.

Vendor Participation Reaches Critical Mass

In addition to providing considerable value to contractors, architects, and building owners, RiverGuide serves as a powerful marketing venue for software vendors. RiverGuide is launching with a critical mass of twenty-seven participating products, including industry leaders such as Primavera Systems, Sage Timberline Office and Quest Solutions.

RiverGuide participating vendors serve a complete range of industries and trades, including architects, building owners, commercial contractors, home builders, heavy/highway contractors and specialty trades such as electrical, mechanical and HVAC contractors. Participating RiverGuide vendors also cover the full range of application categories, including: accounting software; construction project management software; construction estimating software; human resources and payroll; and, document management.

"We are excited to be a RiverGuide participating vendor," said Deb Carpenter-Beck, Director of Marketing at Sage Software, Inc. "There is a huge need for a professional and unbiased market resource to help contractors make better choices during software selection. From our perspective as a market leader, an educated buyer is primed to become a successful customer."

RiverGuide for Construction Software is online at http://www.riverguideinc.com/construction.

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About RiverGuide:
RiverGuide, Inc. helps small- and medium-size businesses make the right technology decisions. Visitors to RiverGuide can read insightful articles, learn best practices, compare products and build a short list of software vendors to contact for further research. The company’s online community brings industry experts and software vendors together to provide an unparalleled resource for software buyers. This powerful community-driven content model ensures a wide range of opinions and expertise, while enabling RiverGuide to remain a free resource. RiverGuide can be found on the Web at http://www.riverguideinc.com.