Anything, Anytime, Anywhere: A Vision For Construction Software

What is the vision for the future of construction software? As Bill Gates famously cited, Access to Anything, Anytime, Anywhere. The principle is the same; Data analytics for your business, available to you on any device, anywhere you may be and at any time.

The central objective of aligning cost and accounting is to achieve data in real-time. If construction companies have this then they are able to put cost-decisions directly in the palm of the hand of managers on any device; no matter whether they are on-site, at home, on the road or at HQ, and at any point in the day or night, or time zone.

What’s even more exciting (in the world of data, anyway), will be the insights generated from integrating this real-time data. When important strategic decisions can be made in a moment by connecting the data from the Commercial Manager on-site with the Procurement Manager at HQ and the Project Manager on the road, then construction companies can start leveraging every tiny piece of value out of every hour of their build time – and that’s when margins can start increasing or potentially become guaranteed.

In our world, it’s not just about data, it’s about outcomes. How we use that data to draw meaningful insights that allow us to make smarter business decisions. Often though, it is hard to imagine. You don’t know, what you don’t know is one of the core reasons there aren’t more construction companies taking advantage of this intelligence.

Many companies have been around for many years, decades, even generations. They are considered a going concern and despite some low margins, continue to execute great projects with high quality and value throughout. But you don’t know, what you don’t know is also what’s holding them back.

Interchanging data is essentially sharing information for added insight. Integrating data is more like giving birth to something totally new. And importantly, it will be unique to your business and your client. But this can only happen when the three aspects; Anything, Anytime and Anywhere, co-exist.

Excellent software runs data analysis at speeds and volumes that the human mind cannot conceive. At some point, businesses need to understand the role of man vs. machine. When machines can be used to lighten the load and reduce menial tasks, man can be more effective. Commercial managers can shift from assessing costs, to strategically assigning costs based on the real-time data in the palm of their hand.

Now begin to think, what can ‘Anything, Anytime, Anywhere’ achieve for your business and where are the menial tasks that can be transformed into meaningful insights?