6 Red flags that your construction company’s IT is falling behind

As a proprietor of a construction firm, you may have difficulty knowing when your company’s IT system is falling behind. After all, you are a construction professional, not an IT expert. And with modern technology rapidly evolving, the technology you use today could easily become obsolete in a few years. So if you’re not paying close attention, your business may quickly fall behind your competitors in terms of efficiency and cost-effectiveness. Fortunately, there are a few signs that will help you determine whether you should update or upgrade your company’s tech.

1. Your construction company relies heavily on manual processes

Manually doing tasks like job quoting, workforce scheduling, project progress tracking, budgeting, billing, and invoicing, take a lot of time. It is also prone to human error. Fortunately, there are construction management software programs that can automate all of these tasks for you. By leveraging automation, you free up employees to do more important tasks. Automation also improves accuracy since it minimizes human error.

By leveraging automation, you free up employees to do more important tasks.

2. Productivity is down due to unreliable technology

Your employees may be having difficulty accomplishing their tasks for reasons such as:

  • Computers take so long to boot up.
  • Devices keep freezing, requiring frequent reboots.
  • Hardware failures often occur.
  • Applications keep lagging or crashing.
  • The IT network can’t handle the organization’s web traffic.

Whatever the reason, if your IT is hindering employee productivity, then you may need to update it. Otherwise, these tech issues will only frustrate your employees and may even demotivate them.

3. IT maintenance and repair costs are increasing

IT hardware needs regular maintenance to run optimally. Over time, it will require more frequent maintenance, as well as repairs, costing you more money. And the older tech gets, the more difficult it is to find spare parts or technicians who can conduct maintenance or repairs on it. This rarity makes them expensive, offsetting any savings you think you’re making by not investing in new tech.

4. Employees are relying more on their personal devices for work

If your employees have company-issued devices yet still use their personal devices for work, you may need to reassess your company’s IT. Perhaps they find that their company-issued devices aren’t fast enough or don’t have the right set of features. There may be certain apps or software they need for work but are not available on company-issued devices.

While using personal devices may help employees accomplish their tasks, these may also make your company vulnerable to cybercrime. This is because such devices won’t have adequate cybersecurity measures in place and you won’t be able to monitor their usage.

5. Your company is not taking advantage of IT for construction firms

Many IT solutions cater specifically to the needs of construction companies. These solutions include:

  • Computer-aided design software
  • Building information modeling software
  • Construction management application
  • Rugged mobile devices (i.e., devices that can withstand dirt, dust, rain, or snow)
  • Internet of Things (IoT) sensors
  • Augmented reality

Leveraging such technologies not only helps you stay organized and on schedule, but it also improves safety, increases jobsite efficiency, and boosts your bottom line.

6. New IT initiatives are scrapped because of gaps in your infrastructure

Investing in new IT projects is a great way to move your business forward. However, for certain technologies to work properly, they need to be compatible with your existing infrastructure. For example, if you want to roll out IoT sensors in your construction sites, you need to make sure that your network can accommodate the additional traffic from these devices. Additionally, your database must have enough space to store all the data those sensors will produce.

If your infrastructure hinders you from pushing through with new IT initiatives, then it’s time to upgrade it.

If you are experiencing any of these red flags, then you should seek help from IT experts. SpectrumWise can assess your current IT situation and recommend what you need to do to get your company back on track. Schedule a consultation with us today.

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