Debunking Construction Myths Series: Technology Adoption is Stagnant
Is construction a technology laggard? Are digital twins only for equipment? Is the worker of tomorrow lazy? We are currently in the middle of a blog series looking at some of the most common assumptions in the construction industry today and we are identifying if they are fact or fiction—if they are truth or myth. [...] The post Debunking Construction Myths Series: Technology Adoption is Stagnant first appeared on Connected World.
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Is construction a technology laggard? Are digital twins only for equipment? Is the worker of tomorrow lazy? We are currently in the middle of a blog series looking at some of the most common assumptions in the construction industry today and we are identifying if they are fact or fiction—if they are truth or myth. Today’s assumption: Is technology adoption stagnant?
We all know the economy has been a rollercoaster the past few months. It usually is during an election cycle. Geopolitical tensions, worker and material shortages, an uptick in natural weather events, and other factors have led to much uncertainty around the world. But there is one thing we can say for certain: technology adoption is in fact not stagnant.
Let’s look at a few numbers to back this up. Every fall, Gartner forecasts worldwide IT spending for the year ahead. Its most recent prediction suggests worldwide IT spending will grow 9.3% in 2025. For 2024, that prediction percentage was 8%; for 2023, it was 5.1%.
While the numbers are adjusted as the year goes along, the trend is clear. IT spending is most certainly trending upward—and the construction industry needs to be prepared. What exactly is ahead in 2025? There are a few very key areas to keep an eye on.
For starters, data center systems spending is growing—in fact in 2024 it grew by nearly 35%. While this segment will not see the same jump, it is still set to grow by almost $50 billion. Gen AI (artificial intelligence) will certainly help here, as it will impact cloud and outsourcing vendors, helping to triple server sales from 2023 to 2028.
Key for construction, we see software and IT services will also continue to grow. Software will grow 14% in 2025, up from 11.7% growth in 2024. Additionally, we see IT services will grow 9.4% in 2025, up from 5.6% in 2024.
Perhaps this goes without saying, but gen AI will continue to be king in many industries, including the construction industry. As this happens, the construction industry will need new skilled labor that can leverage the AI and digital transformation that is bound to occur.
Gartner suggests a whopping 85% of business leaders agree the need for skills development will dramatically increase. According to a June 2024 Gartner survey of 330 business leaders, 93% agreed their role is to ensure their workforce has the time and resources to continuously learn.
The big takeaway here is technology adoption is not slowing down any time soon. In fact, as Peggy Smedley always says, the pace of change is only going to continue to speed up. Now is the time to look at the benefits new technologies bring—and identify how it might make sense for your organization. What are your thoughts?
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The post Debunking Construction Myths Series: Technology Adoption is Stagnant first appeared on Connected World.
