While both Paragon and AkitaBox are used for facility condition assessments (FCAs) and share some similarities on the surface, once you dig deeper, you’ll notice a number of differences.
Key Features Comparison
Here’s a head-to-head comparison of AkitaBox and Paragon on the important features firms look for in an assessment tool.
What Makes AkitaBox Different From Paragon?
Modern, Easy-to-Use Interface
AkitaBox is intuitive and user friendly by design. It’s clean, simple user interface is easy on the eyes and easy to navigate. Even people with limited technology experience can learn it in minutes – no lengthy training sessions needed. As a result, your team is more likely to fully adopt the software.
The lack of complexity and confusion in AkitaBox saves time at every stage of producing an assessment. Here are just a few examples.
- Onsite data collection
- Location-based asset maps help field teams find assets faster.
- The latest and greatest AI tools bring efficiency gains to your data collection process.
- Optical Character Recognition (OCR) “reads” the text on manufacturer labels and inserts it into the correct data fields – no typing required.
- Hide unnecessary data fields or organize the required data fields into a group for your data collectors.
- Cost estimation
- Add or edit costing info in bulk to multiple assets at once.
- Upload and maintain a custom cost catalog or connect to an industry-standard cost catalog.
- Automatically associate asset catalog data to complete key data fields.
- Analysis
- Our FCA Insights analytics engine provides a sleek dashboard for organizing raw data into meaningful results.
- Create beautiful data visualizations in seconds.
- Reporting
- Generate a custom report in minutes with only a few clicks using AkitaBox Report Builder.
- Create and maintain report templates.
Purpose-built for Asset and Facility Lifecycle Management
AkitaBox is so much more than just FCAs. It’s a complete facility optimization platform. With one system, you can manage work orders, preventive maintenance, asset management, inspections, assessments, and capital planning. Talk about having visibility into your facilities.
But we’re not stopping there. We constantly update and enhance our software to keep up with what the market needs. We are a nimble, growing company who listens to our customers and incorporates their input into the product.
Customizable
Every team does FCAs somewhat differently – and with AkitaBox, you can translate your own tried-and-true workflow into AkitaBox. We offer a variety of ways to configure the software so it meets your unique needs.
Creates Living FCAs
The process of informing capital planning with asset collection data has historically fallen short. But with AkitaBox, asset data can live on and serve as the baseline for an incredibly accurate capital plan. AkitaBox connects asset data, maintenance data, and facility condition assessment data in one cohesive system, creating a living FCA.
What is a living FCA? In a nutshell: after the initial facility condition data is collected, day-to-day maintenance activities constantly update the condition of each asset. As a result, you have an alway-accurate view of your assets that stays current month after month, year after year.
A living FCA (vs. a static, traditional FCA) is a powerful tool that supports more accurate capital planning. Download the free ebook below to explore the concept of living FCAs more closely.
However, not every organization is ready to make the leap to living FCAs and want a traditional final report. AkitaBox has you covered there, too. Use our integrated Report Builder to generate a client-ready report in minutes.
- Insert charts and graphs from the AkitaBox Insights analytics engine
- Drop in asset data and photos in bulk
- Edit images
- Drag and drop to reorder sections
- Create your own templates
- Export the final result as a PDF
Which Assessment Software is Right for My Team?
As you weigh the pros and cons of each option, asking yourself these questions may help:
- Is usability and user experience important to you and your organization?
- Do you want to save time and improve accuracy during field data collection?
- Is asset location an important data point for your clients?
- Do you want to deliver assessments in a consistent and standardized manner?
- Is having a single tool to perform all FCA tasks important to you?
- Do you like having a say in making your FCA software better?
If you answered yes to most of those questions, AkitaBox might be the solution for you. Experiencing a live, customized demo of the product is a great next step to learn more. We’d love to show you around!
