The use of technology to improve or simplify our lives and jobs is a fundamental part of everyday life. This is true no matter what job you have, or what industry you are in, the only fungible aspect is exactly what the technology you use is. Despite the fact that everybody and every industry uses technology in some way, some useful technologies are sometimes overlooked, or some industries lag far behind the curve in the adoption of certain technologies. This is likely due to a couple of reasons, these industries are ‘afraid of’, and thus slow to, change – or they have just not yet realized how much simpler, easier, cleaner, and more efficient the proper use of new technology could make their outdated and inefficient current process, even if their current process utilize technology in some way.
Construction Industry Technology Implementation – Status Quo
There are very real hazards associated with lagging far behind others in your field when it comes to the adoption of technology, including lowered efficiency when compared to competitors and the corresponding difficulty in competing in the market. As an example, think back to how companies that were slow to adopt an internet presence fared in the 90s. That initial adoption of the internet was a game-changer both for companies on the leading edge, and those that lagged behind. Since then, technology, and the internet, has charged ahead to web 2.0 and now to The Cloud and web 3.0.
[quote style=”left”]the technology most utilized by construction industry participants is still Microsoft Excel[/quote]A fairly recent survey of the construction industry performed by JBKnowledge highlighted some interesting truths about the current state of construction companies’ use of technology. Broadly, the construction industry is lag gin behind other industries in technology adoption. In fact, construction companies spend only 25% of what companies in other industries spend on technology. And, notably, the technology most utilized by construction industry participants is still Microsoft Excel. While a useful tool for what it was designed for, Excel is being pressed into duties for which it was not designed, even when technology exists that is much better able to accomplish the task at hand.
The vast majority of construction companies are using software that doesn’t communicate with their other programs. 85% of construction companies claim to be using an “accounting software”, but fully one-third of those are only using Microsoft Excel. Likewise, construction companies’ use of Client Relationship Management (CRM) Technology is similarly proportioned. Only 21% of the construction companies surveyed use CRM technology, but again, one-third of those that do are only using Microsoft Excel.
The Cloud
The term “cloud” has been tossed around so much it seems to have lost meaning – what is it exactly? The core concept of the could, however, is simply the maturation of the Internet’s capabilities.
The original application of the internet for businesses was as a virtual business card – merely providing information about the company oat issue. This quickly changed, however, and the use and purpose of business internet usage changed dramatically. As the internet and business web presence became more sophisticated the internet became more interactive, this was “Web 2.0”. These Web 2.0 conversations evolved into conversations of the “cloud”, which is the promise of having access to everything, everywhere, via your internet browser.
While cloud-based technology has reinvented many aspects of business technology use, even in the generally slow-to-adapt construction industry, it’s not just the improvement promised and realized by the cloud that matter. Just as, or even more important than all the individual improvements and promises brought by cloud technologies is the fact that these technologies are now there to serve as a foundation for new advancements. Web 3.0.
Web 3.0 – Artificial Intelligence & CFMs
Web 2.0 made the internet more interactive, Web 3.0 will make the internet more personal. Machines can utilize big-data information, and in doing so, learn things about specific situations, people, businesses, and so on. Web 3.0, artificial intelligence, big data, and other popular phrases all rely upon the idea that a machine can be programmed to learn things using this information and then “act” accordingly.
There doesn’t need to be a philosophical debate about the role of computers and humans in the grand-scheme of things just yet, necessarily. This “learning” and “Acting” is not yet Matrix-like. But it is undeniable that computers are good, and even better than humans, at doing many tasks. One task that computers are especially good at is data-analyzing, and applying specific actions to the output of those calculations. Indeed, things like advertising, or political messaging which, at their core depend on aggregation of data and taking action based on those calculations, are already better performed (at least in some instances) by computer-driven processes.
[quote style=”right”]“[t]echnology is not a necessary evil, but rather a competitive differentiator.”[/quote]Web 3.0, and machine-based decision-making is already here, not just in a Jetsons future, and that has huge implications to CFMs. Because some of the most core functions of CFMs are right in the wheel-house of computer driven artificial intelligence decision making. As mentioned previously, the tasks that computers excel at are data-based – and CFMs are in the data business.
There wis an urge to look at this with skepticism, after all, while potentially coming to good data-based conclusions, the computer will not manage relationships, right? The construction industry in particular is likely to brush off these Web 3.0 considerations, at least for a time. Most construction industry participants are still stuck with paper-heavy manual processes, or if they are lucky Microsoft Excel or maybe some Web 2.0 adoption.
As construction is lagging behind in the use of technology, there is still time for construction industry participants to catch up. There is not a stampede toward Web 3.0 tech in the construction sector, nor is it likely to happen overnight. But, as they say, you have to walk before you can run, so construction companies should pay attention to, and start to utilize cloud-based technology applications. Companies that are able to use the technology available to them will understand that, like the authors of The Gifted Technology Driven Contractor mention, “[t]echnology is not a necessary evil, but rather a competitive differentiator.”
Conclusion
The construction industry has been traditionally slow at adopting new technology, but that is not an excuse for CFMs to table the potential use of Web 3.0 technologies for another time. In fact, innovative and forward-thinking CFMs have the opportunity to gain a competitive advantage. The use of available cloud-based technology now can position the early-adopter CFM to gain the advantages of the things that are upcoming; and, their business will be better off because of it.
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