Later, Drawboard would also require fast, high-fidelity rendering in users’ browsers, a challenge for many web-based PDF libraries.Īdditionally, a core part of Drawboard’s strategy was to differentiate from other collaboration and AEC markup software with complex interfaces and steep learning curves.ĭrawboard COO Scott Cooper explained: “Having someone fully active with the software and being able to use every feature without any training is a huge advantage.
Intricate, vector-rich PDFs would have to display for users quickly, with details free of blurriness disrupting their ability to read small text or measure. As soon as your tool is seen as not 100% reliable, even if it’s still 99% reliable, the customer is going to switch off and default to the next lowest common denominator - the legacy programs or pen and paper,” Michener said.Īs such, Drawboard was looking for powerful rendering to handle even its most massive AEC drawings. “Customers will invest a lot of time into finding out where an error occurred, especially if a mistake goes to construction and is built. Thus, when it comes to the technology powering their document experiences, Drawboard demanded the best. A single mistake in a necessary process could lead to ‘ripple effects’ across a business, creating rework, cost overruns, conflicts, and missed deadlines, stated Michener. When you work with the AEC industry, this is important for the tier one customers."Ĭonstruction and engineering projects are fast-paced and demanding, driven by contracts and deadlines.
It gives us stability, knowing they will be around, and our customers know that we provide a reliable and long-term solution. Michener stated: "PDFTron was the best choice for our needs and the needs of our customers. In 2015, the company also launched its AEC project management and communication platform, ‘Drawboard Projects’ (formerly Bullclip) and again turned to PDFTron for key document processing functionality, thus extending its Drawboard PDF experience so teams worldwide could communicate on all their design project documents in real-time, across their browsers, desktop, and various mobile devices.Īs Drawboard continues to rack up wins, growing from a startup of just a few people to a fast-growing company raising US $4M in March of 2020, Drawboard's founder is enthusiastic about partnering with PDFTron.
Today, Drawboard PDF is the best-selling Architecture, Engineering, and Construction (AEC) productivity app on the Microsoft Store available across stylus-equipped Windows Surface Devices. Soon after licensing PDFTron’s Core SDK for Windows Mobile in 2013, Drawboard PDF started gaining success with users. He started work on 'Drawboard PDF’ to bring a better solution to the market.ĭrawboard came to PDFTron over seven years ago after a bad experience with another PDF SDK vendor, and the decision paid off. Michener found these paper workflows terribly inefficient and was looking to create a better way, one that combined the advantages of digital technologies with pen and paper familiarity. His colleagues would conduct design reviews with paper copies, marked up and passed around by hand. Before Drawboard's Founder and CEO, Alistair Michener worked in software, he was a full-time engineer.