By Austin Beaty, Founder and CEO, Austin Lane Technologies
ALMobile V13 represents a 45 percent transformation across the entire platform. For context, most of our releases deliver 20 to 25 percent incremental change. This one is different. V13 is a total rewrite of the software, not a version update. We migrated the solution to Microsoft Blazor and modern cloud development tools like Telerik, rebuilt the security layer from the ground up, introduced an API portal, and redesigned the user experience across every program in the product.
We started Austin Lane Technologies in 1999 with a simple idea. Capturing field data like time, attendance and productivity should be relatively simple to accomplish. In other words, field data collection should not be ‘that hard’. V13 is designed to simplify the user experience while solving the complex challenges of field data capture.
The Rewrite
This is the fifth iteration of the software and the most significant one we have ever shipped. We addressed technical debt, modernized the architecture, and rewrote the Full Web Client into a true browser-based experience. The FWC is entirely new technology within ALMobile, designed to feel modern, intuitive, and responsive.
The new home screen introduces a top navigation bar that replaces the Tools tab from the prior version and centralizes key administrative and session controls. Every ribbon program has been refined. Search is now available across all programs. Date entry has been redesigned around a calendar-based experience. Grid-control displays are incorporated into nearly every program. Time Entry has been completely redesigned and now includes embedded time approval functionality. The Approve Time program can be configured at the enterprise level through Time Preferences. Reports feature a modernized preview and print layout.
The objective was to protect what already works while strengthening wherever possible.
Years of design expertise went into the grids, charts, buttons, forms, calendars, and reports to ensure consistent interaction across the platform.
Enterprise Security and Identity
V13 introduces a fully integrated identity and access management system. Single Sign-On over SAML and OIDC with native support for Microsoft Entra, Okta, and OAuth. Multi-factor authentication, passkeys, trusted device recognition, role-based access control, and SCIM provisioning so your system of record manages users automatically. Geo-fencing, IP access controls, threat analytics, and a centralized security and compliance dashboard that gives IT one place to manage authentication, enforce policy, and monitor access across every user in the organization. SOC 2 Type II certified.
At login, users authenticate with their email address. Password requirements move to a 10-character minimum, fully user-controlled with self-service reset. Depending on your organization’s policy, users may also be prompted for MFA verification. User allocation is now fully managed through the SSO module.
The API Portal
The V13 API portal is a major advancement. It delivers a modern, standards-based integration approach and eliminates legacy connection methods. API capabilities are introduced through a new program called the Import Manager, which provides a centralized, controlled environment for managing inbound integrations.
The API portal connects ALMobile to the systems you already run. Your ERP, your HCM, your project management platform, your BI layer. Field data flows where it needs to go without manual exports, middleware workarounds, or integration projects that take six months. Documented endpoints, published patterns, and a real developer experience. The portal will continue to expand the platform’s integration ecosystem, connecting more seamlessly with HCM, project management, and other enterprise applications.
Productivity Intelligence
ALMobile has always captured field time. V13 goes further. Time automation saves 5 to 7 percent of payroll. Production tracking, layered on top, saves another 5 to 7 percent of the job budget by catching cost overruns while the crew is still on site. That is the productivity intelligence story. Not a time tool. A platform that owns the field data layer and connects it to every system that needs it.
Performance
The new synchronization logic delivers faster and more reliable sync performance, which matters in the field where connectivity is inconsistent. To support your rollout, Austin Lane will provide a concise Micro Learning Video, under two minutes, to help users understand what to expect during their first deployment of ALMobile 13.
Why This Matters Now
The construction industry is changing. Buyers are evaluating fewer vendors and expecting more from each one. Security is the top investment priority for software buyers. PE-backed platforms are consolidating trades and demanding architecture, scalability, and price predictability from their technology partners. The companies that run field operations on disconnected point tools are going to fall behind the companies that run them on a connected platform.
V13 is that platform. We have been building it for 25 years. It is ready.
To see V13 in action, schedule a walkthrough at almobile.com or reach out to our team directly. For current customers, your account team will walk you through the upgrade path.
