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Construction Industry IT Challenges Stressing You Out
Any construction firm, regardless of the size, will face a number of ongoing challenges. Whether it’s a strict deadline, harsh industry regulations or aggressive competition, the construction industry will always offer its share of difficulties.
You know this, and you probably think it’s just the cost of doing business. But it doesn’t have to be – depending on the challenge, it (and the stress it causes) can be eliminated, with help from an IT company.
Common Construction Industry Challenges – And How To Overcome Them
If you’ve encountered any or all of the following challenges, don’t worry, you’re not alone:
Managing Mobile Technology
Mobile devices have made it easier and easier to get work done while on the go. Laptops, tablets, and smartphones are a simple way to share and review data, stay in touch with employees, and more while on the road. As you well know, a lot of your firm’s work is on the road and at job sites.
However, mobile technology is not without its share of difficulties. No matter what kind of cybersecurity you have in place at the office, it won’t extend to the mobile devices that have access to your data.
This is a critical limitation of your cybersecurity software, and it’s obvious when you think about it – if your firewall is only installed on your work devices, but you let employees use personal devices and home workstations to access business data, then obviously you won’t be totally secure, and you’ll be left open to critical vulnerabilities that will only be more common in the coming years:
- Lost or stolen devices can do major damage to you, leading to compromised data and lost work.
- Unsecured Wi-Fi hotspots and other vulnerabilities allow intruders inside your private network.
- Mobile devices are becoming bigger targets for cybercriminals, who use malware and other methods to attack smartphones and tablets.
Protecting Data & Maintaining Cybersecurity
How safe do you think you are from today’s cybercrime threats? How about ransomware?
Ransomware is an undeniably major threat to businesses around the world today. Maybe you can accept that ransomware is real, but don’t believe it’s all that costly. You’d be wrong.
According to Beasley Breach Response’s 2019 noncompliance report…
- The average ransomware payout is $116,000
- The highest ransomware demanded by cybercriminals was $8.5 million
- The highest ransom paid by a target organization was $935,000
Experts agree that cybersecurity should be a bigger concern for construction firms. Phil Weaver, senior director for Warfel Construction’s IT, doesn’t think the industry is ready to defend itself.
“I don’t think general contractors and construction managers are worried enough about the impact a cyber incident can have,” said Weaver to enr.com. “I think there is just a lack of understanding or realization that it can happen to us.”
The construction industry has been hit before, and it will undoubtedly be hit again – just consider the ransomware attack against Saint Gobain, which cost them an estimated 80 million Euros. The question is – do you have an IT company to protect your firm from ransomware?
- Managing Compliance
It probably feels like, with each passing year, you’re subject to more and more complicated compliance regulations. No matter whether it’s OSHA, ADA, HUD or EPA, these regulatory systems can be costly to keep up with, and are constantly changing to reflect an increasingly tech-based world. - Updating Legacy Technology
Despite being so crucial to a firm’s bottom line, one challenge that is often overlooked is IT. Specifically, the ongoing maintenance of its lifecycle.
If your old tech is working so poorly that it stops you and your crew from working, then it’s time to replace it. The downtime caused by old hardware isn’t worth the money you’re saving by hanging on to it.
Whether you agree or not, it’s a fact – Ponemon Institute estimates that every minute of even partial downtime can cost as much as $5,600.
The main cost of downtime is not the fix itself, it’s the halt in your firm’s’ productivity. If an IT-related or natural disaster occurs and takes critical systems offline, employees will be unable to complete their tasks, yet your normal business expenses will carry on.
Similarly, if you’re relying on extremely outdated line of business software, it’s probably affecting your productivity as well. As dependable as it may be (and let’s be honest, mileage varies) software like this has a core flaw – it only works for those who are fluent in it. After all, it’s not that accessible if you’re not familiar with it.
While some members of your team, depending on their experience and skill set, may be an expert with your legacy software, what about the wider community of subcontractors you have to work with?
As you may have noticed, all these issues have one thing in common – they’re technological. With the right IT company on your side, you can overcome these obstacles. Boston HelpDesk can take care of it for you.
Our team has the knowledge and experience to meaningfully consult on the effectiveness of the IT solutions and practices implemented in your place of work, and help improve your IT environment to mitigate and eliminate these common challenges.
Like this article? Check out the following blogs to learn more:
Are you starting the New Year with Old Technology?
The Cost of Running Outdated Technology in Your Construction Company
