Leverage construction management software for small business success

Construction employment has risen in 65% of major metro areas over the last year, all in an effort to keep up with growing demand. Your small and medium-sized construction (SMB) business is still likely to be very busy despite high interest rates and economic uncertainty.

To keep pace, contractors could use construction management software for small business, along with hardware and devices to potentially build a foundation of increased productivity, greater connectivity and improved resilience. Beyond that, the right technology can help you overcome your most pressing challenges, including:

• Continued supply chain disruption: Materials like steel and timber took 12 to 16 weeks to arrive earlier in 2024, compared to two to four weeks before the pandemic.
• Rising materials costs: As of March 2024, construction input prices are up 41% since 2020.
• Massive labor shortages: In November 2023, skilled construction worker availability hit its lowest level since 2000 due in part to worker retirements and a lack of training programs.

The future of the worksite is here

Many contractors are working in ways that would have been considered science fiction to the previous generation, with high-tech tools like drones, artificial intelligence (AI), augmented reality (AR), connected machinery and other technology all being used in the design, build and operational process.

All this tech couldn't come at a better time. U.S. construction industry unemployment averaged 4.6% for the last two years, the second-lowest on record, with an estimated gap of an additional half a million workers needed to meet increased demand in 2024. Assuming that the competition for skilled workers will continue to remain sky-high, the time to begin competing for tomorrow's talent is today.

3 ways to help your construction business right now

Because good help may be hard to find, now is the time to think about how construction management software for small business along with hardware, connectivity and supporting solutions can help you and your employees work smarter. Here are three top construction technology trends to prepare for.

1. Construction management software for small business

If you haven't moved beyond paper or spreadsheets, don't put this off. You can use innovative construction management software for small business to streamline your process for producing bids, managing projects and tracking costs. This means you and your employees spend less time shifting paper and more time doing revenue-generating work.

Construction management software for small business can help you integrate project management, scheduling, budgeting and communication into a single platform. Making every aspect of every project accessible at your fingertips may give you the increased visibility you need to order the right materials, schedule the right crews and reduce risk.

In addition, solutions like fleet management software can help you keep track of your trucks and equipment so you can improve scheduling, reroute crews, track maintenance, analyze driver performance and ensure security.

2. Mobile connectivity and hardware for the worksite

All these insights are no good if they're stuck at the office. That means the next thing you need to think about is using the right mobile hardware and connectivity to make your data and apps accessible to on-site crews.

Smartphones, field management tablets and laptops equipped with mobile connectivity allow you and your employees to access site information, business data and powerful communication tools in near real time. This lets you do more from your truck or on site instead of waiting to get back to the office at the end of the day.

You can work even faster by using 5G business internet to connect your hardware and construction management software for small business. This ultra-fast, ultra-reliable connectivity solution helps you and your people stay constantly connected with your data while powering bandwidth-hungry applications like video conferencing, near real-time security monitoring and connected Internet of Things (IoT) devices.

3. Cybersecurity solutions for contractors

Just like you lock up your truck and your tools at the end of the day, you need to lock down your technology. While the big companies are the ones that make the headlines when they suffer an attack, even the smallest contractors are at risk. According to the Verizon 2024 Data Breach Investigation Report (DBIR), there is no substantial difference between large organizations (55%) and small organizations (47%) when it comes to basic web application attacks, which is one of the most common cybersecurity attacks.¹

Just like a good padlock, there are many simple things you can do to significantly reduce your risk against all but the most determined hackers. Key cybersecurity actions to take include:

• More than two-thirds (68%) of breaches are due to a human mistake.² Train your employees on how to detect, prevent and report phishing scams and malware so they don't accidentally invite hackers into your system.
• If an employee's password gets stolen, a hacker can remotely access your systems. By using tools like multifactor authentication and mobile device management plans, you can add controls for employees to confirm their login on their device.
• Just like you might check your worksite security fence for holes, you can also look at how to build a stronger perimeter by using third-party cybersecurity assessments to identify and remediate cybersecurity vulnerabilities.
• If something weird is going on, that can be a sign of a hacker probing for a weakness. Endpoint detection and response solutions can be used to automatically scan connected devices for abnormal traffic patterns that may indicate an attack.
• One third of breaches involve ransomware or extortion which can lock up your systems, preventing you from being able to work.³ The faster you can respond, the less costly it will be in terms of lost money and downtime. Make a data breach management plan now so you can use it to improve response time instead of improvising your response on the fly.

Learn more from cybersecurity experts as they analyze recent cyber threats and discuss how you can help protect your organization.

Build your business with connected construction technology

Today's construction technology trends can help you improve your productivity, profitability and security. Using construction management software for small business, mobile-connected hardware, ultrafast connectivity and advanced cybersecurity solutions can help SMB contractors overcome their staffing challenges and prepare for future growth.

To learn more about how SMB contractors are leveraging technology to get ahead, check out our construction technology solutions.

The author of this content is a paid contributor for Verizon.