PlanRadar seeks to help construction and real estate sector to digitalise operations
▶ Company has customers across 70 markets, including the Middle East, writes
PlanRadar was born out of a need to simplify the challenges faced by the construction industry by way of digital solutions. The Vienna-based property technology start-up, which has operations in the Middle East, offers a full-service construction and real estate management platform.
Founded in 2013, PlanRadar is a platform and device-independent cloud-based Software as a Service (SaaS) field management solution for documentation and communication in construction and property projects. It can be used for fault and task management, maintenance, building inspections, construction documentation and handovers.
It simplifies the tracking, planning and documentation of approvals, ensuring a tamper-proof audit trail and a comprehensive record of all project sign-offs.
Teams can share digital floor plans or building information modelling (BIM), communicate and track any kind of information using a web application or an app, the company says.
By digitalising workflows, PlanRadar says it reduces the frequency of errors, saves time and enables vast increases in efficiency. Customers have reported saving up to seven working hours a week, the company claims.
“With PlanRadar, we bridge the gap between traditional construction practices and the digital era, enabling professionals to embrace innovation and achieve greater efficiency,” says Ibrahim Imam, co-founder and group co-chief executive at PlanRadar.
“By leveraging technology and data, we want to empower construction companies to make informed decisions and efficiently manage their projects at any stage of the build lifecycle.”
The PlanRadar platform is also customisable and scalable, catering to small businesses and large enterprises. The company’s product development team continuously updates its software, says Mr Imam, 44, who is also the chief executive of PlanRadar’s Mena and Asia Pacific regions.
“Our goal is to help ensure exceptional build quality, minimise potential defects and rework, and deliver high-quality projects within timeframes and budgets,” he says.
The company’s ultimate goal, however, is to “revolutionise the construction industry by providing a comprehensive solution that addresses the challenges of projects of all sizes and complexity levels”.
With operations in 70 markets, serving more than 120,000 customers worldwide, PlanRadar operates on a SaaS subscription model, generating revenue through fees. The company also recently opened offices in Asia-Pacific, North America and South America and the GCC, says Mr Imam.
“Our platform is currently available in 20 languages, ensuring accessibility for a wide range of users,” he says.
Property technology is the application of technology into the real estate industry, creating an ecosystem that encompasses anything from property management and bookings to construction and analytics, largely accessible through a mobile app.
The global property technology market is projected to top $133 billion in 2032, from an estimated $35 billion in 2023, growing at a compound annual rate of 16 per cent, the Precedence Research data shows.
The Middle East and Africa markets are expected to witness a significant increase in the number of construction projects over the next decade, according to the consultancy. There is a higher demand for technological advancement in real estate, which propels the demand for the property technology market, it says. Adoption of property technology is high, as it is projected to remain at the forefront of property management in the post-Covid era, given the convenience it has provided to the business, according to Future Market Insights. The consultancy projects the market to expand at a compound annual rate of 9.3 per cent during the 2023-2033 period.
PlanRadar has secured a total of $103 million in funding through three rounds so far, according to Mr Imam.
The most recent series B funding round, co-led by Insight Partners and Quadrille Capital, “raised an impressive $69 million”, he says.
“These funds are strategically allocated towards advancing our international expansion efforts and driving technological development,” says Mr Imam, who also founded two other companies during his studies at the Vienna University of Technology.
“Our relentless pursuit of growth has allowed us to expand regionally and globally over the past decade,” he says.
“Initially starting in Vienna and successfully launching our platform across the EU region, we are continuously seeking fresh opportunities for sustainable business growth to bring our platform to construction and real estate projects worldwide.”
The company’s clientele in the Mena region include prominent developers, construction firms and project management companies. Among PlanRadar’s most notable collaborations in the UAE was during Expo 2020 Dubai, where its platform was used extensively across several pavilions during the six-month international trade exhibition, says Mr Imam.
The company’s solution helped one of their customers – BeWunder, which specialises in delivering large-scale and complex projects – in addressing their challenges in streamlining AVL Systems’ installations at Expo.
With PlanRadar, BeWunder was able to streamline communication between team members and track progress in real-time, the company’s representative said.
Its features such as task management, progress reporting, automated notifications and collaboration features were some of the key factors that made BeWunder opt for PlanRadar.
The intuitive user interface ensured a quick roll-out in the project team and helped to avoid long training periods, the representative said.