A Comparison of CIPO as an Alternative to Smartsheet
If we were to boil it down to one sentence
CIPO is purpose-built for owners.
Standardize processes, centralized project data, and manage the full construction lifecycle. It's designed around owner-side requirements like capital program oversight, compliance, and multi-department collaboration.
Smartsheet is a general-purpose tool.
With spreadsheet-like views, it can be adapted for construction projects, but it's not built specifically for the construction industry. It's more about flexible task tracking and deep industry workflows.
Industry Focus
CIPO
Focused on construction, capital improvement programs, and infrastructure. Comes with built-in construction terminology, approval flows, submittal/RFI tracking, and compliance frameworks.
Smartsheet
Industry-agnostic. Popular in marketing, IT, PMO, and general project coordination. Any construction-specific workflows must be built manually or via templates.
Workflow & Process Control
CIPO
Emphasizes process standardization across projects and departments, ensuring every submittal, change order, and inspection follows the same path. Great for owners managing many contractors and consultants.
Smartsheet
Gives you flexibility to design your own processes, but without enforced workflows or owner-side controls. Easy to customize, but easy to lose consistency across teams.
Data Management
CIPO
Single source of truth for construction data—integrates schedules, budgets, documents, and correspondence in one owner-controlled environment. Historical data is easily auditable.
Smartsheet
Stores project data in sheets and dashboards, but data governance is user-managed. Not inherently designed for long-term capital project recordkeeping.
Compliance & Audit
CIPO
Built-in compliance tracking (safety, environmental, contractual), audit trails, and role-based permissions—critical for public works and regulated industries.
Smartsheet
Has permissions and activity logs, but compliance features must be built manually and aren’t tailored to construction regulations.
Integration
CIPO
Integrates with ERP, GIS, document control, and asset management systems commonly used in construction.
Smartsheet
Integrates widely with general productivity tools (MS Office, Google Workspace, Salesforce) but may require extra work to connect to construction-specific systems.
Quick Summary Table
| Feature |
 CIPO |
 Smartsheet |
|---|---|---|
|
Primary Audience |
Construction owners, utilities, public works |
Any Industry |
|
Built-in Workflows |
Yes – RFIs, submittals, inspections, change orders and more |
No – must build manually |
|
Data Management |
Robust, searchable, centralized, structured |
Decentralized, sheet-based, file attachment |
|
Compliance & audit trails |
Yes – baked in |
Basic activity logs |
|
Integrations |
ERP, GIS, asset mgmt, scheduling |
General productivity tools |
|
Reporting |
Construction KPIs & Dashboards (Power BI embedded) |
Reporting is grid-based and generic; advanced analytics require separate BI tools. |
|
Long-term program history |
Yes |
Limited |
CIPO is a dedicated command center for capital construction programs. Smartsheet is a flexible spreadsheet-based project tracker that can be adapted for construction, but it is not specifically designed for it. Choose CIPO if you prioritize owner-specific functionality and features.