Entering a new era of contractor-focused development

By Jesse Sanchez. 

New sales, maintenance and dashboard tools are designed to help contractors manage more of their operations in one connected platform. 

Dataforma is refreshing its platform with new sales, maintenance and reporting capabilities shaped directly by contractor feedback. Brian Cook, chief operating officer of Dataforma, said the company’s renewed product focus follows a leadership transition and an effort to reconnect development priorities with the day-to-day needs of its users. “My job is to speak with the contractors all day, every day,” Brian said. Asking questions such as, “What do you need? What are you missing? What don’t you like about Dataforma?” 

One of the first results is a new sales module that allows users to manage opportunities, send proposals from the field and transfer information directly to production when work is awarded. Instead of relying on separate sales software, spreadsheets and disconnected systems, contractors can move a project from the sales process into a work order or project within Dataforma. 

The company is also developing a maintenance module intended to help contractors track contract value, labor, materials, profitability and additional work generated through recurring maintenance visits. The system will monitor scheduled visits across multiple buildings, alert users when service is approaching and suggest dates that can be added to the calendar. 

Dataforma is pairing those expanded capabilities with a redesigned interface. The updated homepage will give users access to customizable sales, service, production and accounting dashboards, along with the ability to filter information by department, location or the full organization. Brian said the redesign addresses a long-standing gap between the platform’s functionality and its appearance. “The functionality was really good, but it looks like it’s 20 years old,” he said. “So now it’s getting a freshening up.” 

The company is also using advisory meetings and its Dataforma Design Summit to create an ongoing feedback loop with contractors. At the event, users review proposed features, participate in breakout sessions and identify changes before development moves forward. 

That collaborative approach reflects what Brian sees as a core strength of the company: having the resources to support customers while remaining close enough to listen. “We’re big enough to have the resources to provide customer support and take their feedback,” he said. “But we’re not so big that we don’t care about each client.” 

Learn more about Dataforma and its expanding contractor management platform!