Procore on The Australian

Aconex on notice as US rival sets up shop

Local construction management software maker Aconex looks set to face some sterner competition in its backyard since US rival Procore has committed to making a mark in the Australian market.

California-based Procore founder Tooey Courtemanche told The Australian the decision to invest in a physical presence in Sydney was largely driven by growing demand.

“We have been pulled to this market by people who just find us on the internet. They look at the product, and we have had customers in Australia for several years,” he said.

However, it was the growing interest from the bigger end of town that convinced to Procore to take the next step.
“We realised last year that we needed to get down here as we started making inroads with some bigger contractors and we are investing heavily in this market,” Mr Courtemanche said.

In April, Procore opened its first office in the Asia Pacific region in Sydney and earlier this month the company launched its online publication, Jobsite, in Australia. The publication is designed to serve as a resource for the wider construction industry and is the latest sign of Procore’s commitment to using Australia as a launch pad into the broader region.

Mr Courtemanche said he had a great deal of respect for the work Aconex had done so far and that there was enough room in the market for both companies

“They have done a great job in creating awareness of software as a service (SaaS) based construction management and there’s so much opportunity that the rising tide lifts all ships,” he said.
Making the leap from the US market to Australia and the broader APAC market isn’t without its challenges and Procore has had to optimise its product to make it the fit local requirements.

“Construction in Australia or APAC is not done exactly the way it’s done in America so our move has been very methodical and built some new tools for the market,” Mr Courtemanche said.
The construction industry is generally seen as a laggard when it comes to using technology but Mr Courtemanche isn’t a fan of that characterisation.
“I think that’s being unfair to them. My mantra is that the technology world has been developing horrible solutions for the industry,” he said
“Some of our secret sauce is that we work closely with the industry to deliver products that are actually adopted.”

The customer-centric approach with its products helped Procore survive the global financial crisis.
The downturn killed a lot of Procore’s competitors and Mr Courtemanche said in the long run it turned out to be a useful break for the company.
“We saw that in 2008/09 our business grew because companies were looking to find ways to become more effective,” he said.
“I am not that pessimistic about another downturn because the value we drive is so high.”
As for the Australian market, Procore’s prospects have been buoyed by the NSW government’s aggressive infrastructure plans.

The state government has allocated $40 billion to road planning and infrastructure in its latest budget. The increased spending is expected to boost the construction labour market. With the sector aware of the role SaaS solutions can play in driving efficiency, Mr Courtemanche said Procore’s overall trajectory was positive.

“The problems we are solving are pretty ubiquitous and not isolated to a particular segment of the market, which is good for growth,” he said.