Inside one of my cupboards is a collection of ancient BluRay and DVD discs. I’m not even sure what’s on half of them any more. These silvery circles are now like sundials – once indispensible, does anyone really need them any more? But at least this particular footnote in our home entertainment history can lay claim to success during its era. Betamax, which lost a battle to VHS, and BluRay, which never quite took off, hold a little less sway when it comes to notable footnotes in technology.
And that’s part of the challenge – match-making technology to the problem it solves, at exactly the right time to render the technology viable, relevant and useful. Timing is everything.
It’s just one of the barriers that prevents technology going from experimental to mainstream, and it’s even more tricky in an industry such as construction.
There’s never anything small or easy to manage about a construction project. Construction is always big, and construction is always about as complex an endeavour as you can get. Multiple stakeholders, owners, clients, suppliers and manufacturers all overlap in aspects of the project, seldom working entirely in sync. Any ‘learnings’ from one project are difficult to apply to the next due to the fact that each project is so unique.
In addition, combinations of companies, teams and individuals rarely find themselves meeting up to work on projects more than once, so there’s a lack of opportunity for the transference of information there too – which means change, innovation and ultimately the adoption of new technology slows too.
These are just some of the challenges that have historically faced those who introduce new technology at an industry-wide level. Despite this, following the economic downturn in 2018 and the effects of the Covid-19 pandemic, the signs for construction technology are looking upbeat.
Funding for construction technology showed signs of growth in 2020, according to market intelligence experts CB Insights, who cite notable contech funding mega-rounds in 2020 – Katerra raised $200 million, while site coordination and project management start-up Procore raised $150m going public.
There’s never anything small or easy to manage about a construction project.
This trend has been echoed by smaller tech start-ups that are solving pain points both thanks to Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) tools but also with a new focus on artificial intelligence, robotics and other new technologies. Prefabricated construction start-up Prescient raised $90m in June 2020.
The fact is that cutting-edge technology is no longer limited to software or hardware – it’s now influencing the very materials and literal building blocks of the industry itself, such as highly innovative prefabricated concrete.
The construction tech landscape is becoming more sophisticated and as such, attracting more investment. From technology that helps design and plan the site itself, to artificial intelligence systems that assist with finance, procurement and personnel, construction is finally experiencing its ‘uber moment’.
At Procurified, some of our biggest clients work on the region’s leading projects, including Expo 2020 Dubai. Our clients include global construction giants and highly specialised suppliers.
Cutting-edge technology is influencing the building blocks of the construction industry, such as highly innovative prefabricated concrete.
If there’s one thing big projects and large organisations can benefit from, it’s nimble, smart solutions that save time and money – with our platform we have sought to address a series of very specific ‘pain points’, helping estimation & procurement teams get back one-out-of-five days a week.
2020 was a strong year for the contech sector, with $1.3 billion in deals. The pandemic pushed innovation and the adoption of digital technology in every sector – and construction was no different.
Since construction is an industry with tight budgets and strict deadlines, it is ideal for tech innovators who offer solutions that save time and money.
In order to enable easier and swifter adoption of their products, technology creators need to demonstrably understand the industry better – both its pain points and unique obstacles. Those that don’t are destined to gather dust, a little bit like my mysterious pile of BluRay discs.
Rupert Tait, co-founder of Procurified, a cloud-based platform that instantly connects contractors and suppliers in the construction industry.
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By Rupert Tait
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Solving the contech challenge
Big projects need smart solutions – so why is so much new technology gathering dust?
Inside one of my cupboards is a collection of ancient BluRay and DVD discs. I’m not even sure what’s on half of them any more. These silvery circles are now like sundials – once indispensible, does anyone really need them any more? But at least this particular footnote in our home entertainment history can lay claim to success during its era. Betamax, which lost a battle to VHS, and BluRay, which never quite took off, hold a little less sway when it comes to notable footnotes in technology.
And that’s part of the challenge – match-making technology to the problem it solves, at exactly the right time to render the technology viable, relevant and useful. Timing is everything.
It’s just one of the barriers that prevents technology going from experimental to mainstream, and it’s even more tricky in an industry such as construction.
There’s never anything small or easy to manage about a construction project. Construction is always big, and construction is always about as complex an endeavour as you can get. Multiple stakeholders, owners, clients, suppliers and manufacturers all overlap in aspects of the project, seldom working entirely in sync. Any ‘learnings’ from one project are difficult to apply to the next due to the fact that each project is so unique.
In addition, combinations of companies, teams and individuals rarely find themselves meeting up to work on projects more than once, so there’s a lack of opportunity for the transference of information there too – which means change, innovation and ultimately the adoption of new technology slows too.
These are just some of the challenges that have historically faced those who introduce new technology at an industry-wide level. Despite this, following the economic downturn in 2018 and the effects of the Covid-19 pandemic, the signs for construction technology are looking upbeat.
Funding for construction technology showed signs of growth in 2020, according to market intelligence experts CB Insights, who cite notable contech funding mega-rounds in 2020 – Katerra raised $200 million, while site coordination and project management start-up Procore raised $150m going public.
This trend has been echoed by smaller tech start-ups that are solving pain points both thanks to Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) tools but also with a new focus on artificial intelligence, robotics and other new technologies. Prefabricated construction start-up Prescient raised $90m in June 2020.
The fact is that cutting-edge technology is no longer limited to software or hardware – it’s now influencing the very materials and literal building blocks of the industry itself, such as highly innovative prefabricated concrete.
The construction tech landscape is becoming more sophisticated and as such, attracting more investment. From technology that helps design and plan the site itself, to artificial intelligence systems that assist with finance, procurement and personnel, construction is finally experiencing its ‘uber moment’.
At Procurified, some of our biggest clients work on the region’s leading projects, including Expo 2020 Dubai. Our clients include global construction giants and highly specialised suppliers.
If there’s one thing big projects and large organisations can benefit from, it’s nimble, smart solutions that save time and money – with our platform we have sought to address a series of very specific ‘pain points’, helping estimation & procurement teams get back one-out-of-five days a week.
2020 was a strong year for the contech sector, with $1.3 billion in deals. The pandemic pushed innovation and the adoption of digital technology in every sector – and construction was no different.
Since construction is an industry with tight budgets and strict deadlines, it is ideal for tech innovators who offer solutions that save time and money.
In order to enable easier and swifter adoption of their products, technology creators need to demonstrably understand the industry better – both its pain points and unique obstacles. Those that don’t are destined to gather dust, a little bit like my mysterious pile of BluRay discs.
Rupert Tait, co-founder of Procurified, a cloud-based platform that instantly connects contractors and suppliers in the construction industry.
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