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conject.com / The Company / News & Media / Falcon Flash / April 2008

Falcon Flash April 2008

Dear customers and partners,

A lot has been happening at conject over the last two months. This issue of Falcon Flash reports on new customers and projects - many in Germany, though our international business is running at full speed as well. New colleagues have come aboard as part of our international expansion and the main theme of this year's ILM Conference - "Cooperation Instead of Confrontation - Networking as an International Competitive Edge" - addresses the increasingly global work force. You still have time until May 20^th to apply as a speaker! Another date to mark on your calendar is October 5^th, when you can help us inaugurate our new Munich office.

You will be amazed!

Elke Tonscheidt (elke.tonscheidt©conject.com)

This months Falcon Flash

ILM at its finest for Commerz Real

Commerz Real AG is practicing a textbook example of Infrastructure Lifecycle Management (ILM). All core processes are managed by Commerz Real, from planning and realization of new and reconstruction projects, to operation and administration of real estate inventories, and on to sales. conject supports their entire portfolio of services with ILM software.

"We use conjectPM in the planning and construction phases. The online platform allows us to coordinate our project work regardless of from where, cutting time and costs, as well," explains Jürgen Hege, Head of Construction and Technical Management at Commerz Real.

"In the management for our international real estate inventories the use of conjectCM puts us in a position to process all cost management procedures and to ensure constant cost control. Thanks to its uniform structure, conject's asset management also provides us with transparent and consistently up-to-date documentation of all information on the property. Since we began using conject, this transparency has become indispensable to us," Hege continued.

But not only that. Commerz Real also processes property sales with conject. A comprehensive overview via online access of all information relevant to the sale, minimization of warranty risks through a history of all relevant property data or the user-friendly administration and access control - these are but a few of the advantages of conject's asset management, which Commerz Real uses as a data room for all transactions.

This is where it comes to full circle. Using software, which comprehensively displays all processes in real estate management, enables access to a solid, central data inventory for all involved - constantly enhanced for all phases - forming the basis to optimize processes.

The Commerzbank subsidiaries, Commerz Grundbesitz Gruppe (CGG) and CommerzLeasing und Immobilien AG (CLI), merged their activities into Commerz Real AG at the end of September 2007. From this fusion emerged one of the world's largest real estate asset managing companies as well as a provider of leasing and investment solutions. The companies manage assets on the level of approximately 44 billion Euros. The aim of this merger has been to pursue a joint growth strategy.

For more information contact Magda Torz.

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Humboldt Carré unites the old and the new

BonnVisio Immobilienverwaltung GmbH & Co. KG is one of Germany's private real estate companies. Investments focus on office, gastronomy and hotel properties, reconciling people's needs with their surroundings.

"Fixed and transparent costs take the center stage particularly in such demanding major projects," Ludwig Frede, chief administrative officer at BonnVisio, explains. "We use conjectCM in order to guarantee this at all times."

Currently the Humboldt Carré in the heart of Berlin is being revitalized by BonnVisio. According to the plans of architect Karl-Heinz Schommer, the 100-year-old building with its prestigious façade will be completely renovated and, forming a transparent contrast, upgraded with two stacked storeys. Bringing together the old and the new, premium, modern offices, complemented by superior conference rooms and foyer areas, will be built by the end of 2008 with a surface area of roughly 15,000 m².

In order to meet all the demands of cost controlling, BonnVisio has been using the conject's software since 2006. "With conjectCM we are able to comprehensively manage costs from the budget, to contracts and on to invoicing," says Ludwig Frede. "Particularly the cost reports containing forecasts and the ongoing development of the budget from the original budget to the detailed itemized budget are vital for financing our projects."

Information on the project as well as on conjectCM is available from Axel Viehrig.

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Stadtwerke Kiel is mobilizing

Electricity, gas, heat and water - Stadtwerke Kiel (Kiel Public Utilities) supplies the capital city of Kiel and surrounding communities with electricity.

Stadtwerke Kiel has been relying on conjectFM since 2004 to manage its buildings and properties.

In addition to standard segments, such as area management, maintenance and service management as well as facility maintenance in building technology, which is covered by conject through Facility Management, people are also increasingly appreciating the advantages of mobile solutions.

State-of-the-art technology is used here. Inventory items of the Public Works have been fitted with sensors (transponders) which make it possible to record and process data automatically using RFID (radio frequency identification).

"The complete inventory process is carried out with this technology. Here, all data in the transponders are preprocessed through mobile devices and then compared with the database," explains Hans-Dieter Lange, Project Leader at conject. "Stadtwerke Kiel benefits not only from complete documentation of all historical data, the company also gains comprehensive information through numerous evaluations, which serves as a basis for decision-making."

For more information, contact Johannes Pütter

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Still? No, not Maya Stillmann...

Whoever knows Maya Stillmann also knows that she is always either in action or on the go - or both. And, whoever is really familiar with her also knows: she is not a computer nerd! As modest as she is, this is what she says about herself: "I don't know much about IT and all the technical issues, but contents and possibilities from working with IT platforms are my strong point." And, here she really is a trendsetter, even if she herself does not claim to be one. Maya Stillmann has been working for many years with Internet-based platforms - with conject since 2001. And why? "Because conject allows you to work in a modern, structured and process-oriented way," she says confidently.

Maya Stillmann came into contact with Munich-based conject seven years ago in the course of builder specifications. At that time, 2001, she was working as a consultant for Allianz Immobilien GmbH and Europa Passage Hamburg was the name of this milestone project. Today, thousands of people go in and out of this shopping center on Jungfernstieg daily. At that time, Stillmann was already convinced of the advantages from of working with an IT platform, which she lists: "Simplified work, transparency, access options from many different locations, historical functions, etc." This is exactly how the energetic project manager works and thinks.

But not all of her colleagues have come to this point. In 2008, many still shy away from using these IT tools, which have become routine for Stillmann. She feels that this hesitation in using new, unfamiliar tools is part of the reason why even today transparency isn't necessarily wanted in all areas. In these instances you hear things like: "Up to now we haven't needed it, it isn't necessary..." What bothers her is that elsewhere IT platforms are used half-heartedly to make decisions. The result: Transparency is lost when there are too many channels of information within one project. "And then there are people," she says with a grin, "who just complain, because it's easier to complain than to actually take action to change things." Well roared, lion!!

Currently, Maya Stillmann is working on the "Weiterstadt Shopping Center" project with conject, since 2006 for PREUSS Projektmanagement GmbH. With a degree in city planning, she worked in Berlin from 1995 to 1997 for CBP GmbH, since 1997 she has been working as freelance and primarily in project management - from 1997 to 2002 for CBP, from 2001 to today for Allianz Immobilien GmbH.

What she is hoping for? "Platforms have meanwhile become a part of everyday work," says Stillmann, "what we still need, however, are more capabilities to influence decision makers to use platforms more effectively." And, the project manager is also just as versatile in her free time - she reads a lot, likes to go to movies and she's also athletic, enjoys biking and swimming. But she also makes time to get together with friends or enjoys just relaxing at home. If she actually does take time off for vacation, then she usually heads to Italy ("I love Italy"), but she also enjoys traveling to the Middle East or to the tropics. She is looking as forward to her first trip to New York as she is to the cycling tour of Lake Constance she is planning. She's been training for this since last year when she biked from Hamburg to Berlin - concluding her time with the Europa-Passage.

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Product Tips

Did you know that...

...you can work with conjectPM in several different windows at the same time?

With conjectPM you can edit several processes at the same time, which means that you don't have to close what you are currently working on to begin a new task. For example, you can research something in Document Management, while you are writing a conversation or while you are working on a workflow. You can also look something up while you are downloading a document.

More about this tip

...you can now record service positions from contracts even faster in conjectCM?

To save time entering either single or multiple items in fee contracts, you can do this simply by using drag & drop in conjectCM in Version 3.13.10 or higher. Mark the corresponding service items in the fee contract and drag them into another fee contract. The items will be copied including all of their values. This process is the same for construction contracts. You can also use this method to generate service items in construction contracts from the output line item of a project budget.

You only need to make sure that the service items are only copied this way between documents, which are based on the same account allocation formula. You can define this in the project.

More about conjectCM

...in conjectFM several objects of one class can be edited at the same time?

In the last issue of "Falcon Flash" we showed you how to select several objects with the help of the graphic object selection. Now we would like to show you how to open them in order to edit them directly.

The Global Data Maintenance allows you to edit the attributes of several objects of one class at the same time. For example, it is possible to quickly change the label of a room from "Office" to "Open-plan office" for all rooms within the system. In addition, the objects to be changed can be limited by selecting a particular location and through a subsequent query, for example, on for rooms with an area > 15 m².

And this is how it works:

1) Open Object Recording in the Module Manager under Data Capture - Recording and Placement - Objects. In the "Object Recording" window, click on the "Data Maintenance" button. The "Global Data Capture" window then opens.

Alternatively, you can open the "Global Data Maintenance" by selecting several objects using the graphic object selection.

2) Select the class as well as the location of the objects to be edited. Through selection of the location, you can limit the number of objects to be edited.

3) On the left in the structure under "Selection" define what you would like to change for the selected objects attributes, symbol/template, location or a relationship.

You have various options available for changing attributes:

- You can enter each change manually.

- You can change several attributes at once using the "Search" and "Replace" functions (in the menu "Edit").

- You can import attributes from a text file.

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conject invites you to the The "New Headquarters Opening Party" in Munich

This April conject will be exactly eight years old - and that really is a reason to celebrate! On Sunday, October 5, 2008, the company will be opening its new Munich headquarters and is inviting you to another "conject Highlight." But we're not giving away all the details just yet.

The new office is making room for all the new employees heading to Munich. "Many new colleagues are attracted to the city on the Isar River which is more a magnet today than ever," knows Elke Tonscheidt, company spokesperson at conject.

"But also because of the prospects of transferring to one of our foreign offices." More information here.

The housewarming party will be used at the same time as an alternative event to the EXPO REAL for our customers, because this year conject will not be among the exhibitors. conject is well aware of the reputation of the popular real estate trade - but conject is gaining new customers mostly in other ways. "We say consequently and in no uncertain terms: The EXPO REAL is a successful fair, no question about it; but for us it is not the right place to present ourselves as we really are: open for new paths," says Elke Tonscheidt.

Another reason why: For years, software companies have had a difficult time with the fair's organizers. Insiders say that the intention has been to keep IT companies out of the fair entirely. "As a result, the decision was made to invest in new kinds of events in 2008," Elke Tonscheidt says and promises there will be some real surprises when the new office is formally opened in October. "You won't want to miss the festivities and be sure to keep the evening of October 5^th open!"

You can find more information about the event here.

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Increased presence in Eastern Europe, Vienna and Dubai

conject continues to grow and as a result the Munich-based ILM company is massively increasing its worldwide presence. The two-year-old Dubai team is ramping up its staff and is moving into new, more prestigious offices in Dubai Internet City. Sales specialists Rüdiger Kauermann and Antun Kovac have recently joined conject and are focusing on Austria and Eastern Europe.

At all locations, whether in Dubai, The Hague or Vienna, conject offers its entire range of products and services - amongst others, conjectFM, the established CAFM system with standard software components for real estate, property and facility management. Or conjectPM, already used worldwide in several thousand projects and in over 40 countries. That is why conject is available in 12 languages, including Arabic, Chinese and Russian Cyrillic; the following are in the planning: Turkish, French, Romanian.

The strong increase in demand for IT solutions for the core processes of building and project management can not only be observed in this up-and-coming Emirate on the Arabic Gulf - the market is also growing at an enormous rate in Austria. Ralf Golinski, responsible at conject for development of the CAFM business, says: "This is particularly true in Austria for the maintenance, energy or rent and incidental cost management segments. With Rüdiger Kauermann, we now have an experienced CAFM specialist also in Vienna." Kauermann has been active for over ten years in process optimization in real estate and facility management.

At the same time, Antun Kovac has been added to the conjectPM Team - as contact person for Eastern European projects. The native Croatian has been involved in both CAD administration as well as the introduction and coordination of data management in diverse major projects, for example, the Reichstag (Berlin) or Galata Bridge (Istanbul).

The construction boom in the UAE also continues unabated, explains Dr. Uwe Forgber, one of conject's co-founders. "One superlative project follows the next. When experts talk to each other," Forgber says with a grin, "you invariably hear: Only the sky's the limit."

For more information contact Elke Tonscheidt.

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Call for Speakers - Be a speaker at the ILM Conference 2008

Join in and submit your suggested presentation for the Conference on 30 October 2008 in Dusseldorf with a brief summary directly online.

The ILM 2008 is the forum for presenting successful, innovative projects and ideas on Infrastructure Lifecycle Management. Presentations could be on projects, process improvements or research on the potential for improvement, approaches, new technologies or project results as pertains to the infrastructure lifecycle.

The main topic this year is: Cooperation Instead of Confrontation - Networking as an International Competitive Edge: Collectively opening up rising markets through networked and integrated collaboration. You could also submit recommended presentations on this topic. The deadline is 20 May 2008.

Further information on the Conference as well as on the "Call for Speakers" under www.ilmkonferenz.com.

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conject to moderate the forum at this year's Facility Management trade fair

The trade fair for Facility Management is Germany's only trade fair which focuses solely on the topic of FM. There in-company persons responsible for FM will find products, services and opportunities for discussion from 6-8 May 2008. This year as well the 3-day trade fair forum will be at the center with relevant contributions by decision-makers, business leaders and competent partners, who will report on their practical experience, present the newest trends and hold discussions. As one of the most experienced CAFM provider with over 400 conjectFM installations and more than 60,000 users, this year for the first time conject will be moderating the forum and outline the contents.

On the second and third day of the fair, conject will also be holding a "FM Breakfast" (9-11 am) and a "HappyFM Hour" (from 4 pm) in the restaurant of the exhibition center, where the concrete use of CAFM and the demands placed on successful project management will be discussed with renowned market participants.

As a subscriber of our "conject Falcon Flash", you are eligible for free admission to the fair; just use the following link to the registration form. If you have any questions or comments, our colleagues, Johannes Pütter (Public Authorities), and Björn Feltes (Industry) will be happy to help you.

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We are there for you!

conject runs Europe's on demand platform for construction and real estate industry. All key processes of businesses throughout the whole lifecycle of facilities (ILM) are supported.
conject ILM covers the entire lifecycle of a building - from the development phase, through the planning and building stages, and on to operation and commercial exploitation.
Already more than 3,500 companies and more than 170,000 users are banking on conject, including 60 percent of the DAX 30 companies.
With headquarters in Munich, conject is also located in Duisburg, Dresden, St. Petersburg, The Hague, Boston and Dubai.

Under the menu item Contact you can find selected contact persons and our customer service hours. We would be happy to help you find the right contact for you personally - just send an e-mail to Stefan Thorwesten.

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