In this episode of The Common Chord, we sit down with David Beach, a longtime builder of construction technology and the Founder of AppWright, to explore how open systems and workflow-focused software are affecting the component manufacturing industry. The conversation dives into the power of integration and the importance of letting customers guide product evolution.
Building Workflow Without Owning Everything
AppWright was never meant to be accounting software or truss design software. David explains that their strength comes from focusing on workflow, messaging, and document management while staying flexible enough to connect to everything else. That clarity allows manufacturers to build systems around how they actually work instead of forcing processes into rigid tools.
Integration Over Isolation
One of the clearest themes in the conversation is the danger of closed systems. David shares why legacy vendors that lock customers into single ecosystems ultimately slow innovation. Open APIs create room for better tools to coexist, and they reduce the need for large internal IT teams. That shift lowers cost and complexity while increasing adaptability.
Looking Ahead
As cloud-native tools continue to mature, David believes we are reaching an inflection point where integration becomes the expectation, not the exception. The future belongs to platforms that stay open, collaborative, and grounded in real customer needs.
“Every good feature we have came from listening to the customer. If you do that well, they will take you to the dance.” — David Beach
Learn more about Appwright at https://www.appwright.com/
