Similar to most companies in a post-pandemic world, the construction industry is facing a host of complex challenges. An impending recession is creating massive budget cuts and financial issues, while a lack of skilled labour makes it harder to find the right employees. In fact, around 87% of construction employers in the UK struggle to recruit workers. 

On top of this, construction brands are struggling to keep pace with emerging technology trends like AI, IoT, and extended reality, all while trying to keep geographically distributed employees connected on a global scale. For most organisations, there’s a greater demand for digital transformation than ever before, starting with an update to communication strategies.  

Unified Communications provides construction businesses with an all-in-one environment for synchronising teams, boosting collaboration, and unlocking critical insights. The right solution not only improves team performance but can also reduce security risks and save money. Here’s how the state of the UC landscape in construction has evolved this year. 

The Demand for UC in Construction 

The UCaaS landscape is experiencing significant growth throughout virtually every industry as businesses struggle with the onset of remote and hybrid work. However, for construction companies, dealing with distributed workers is nothing new. Very little work is completed from the confines of an office in the construction space. This means business leaders need to find effective ways of keeping their mobile, field-based, and back-end staff connected.  

The UC environment provides a critical tool for keeping these scattered employees aligned and working towards the same unified goals. It’s also a critical tool in eliminating some of the major productivity issues construction teams face. According to PMI, poor communication is the reason why one-third of construction projects fail. Here’s how UC can solve the problems construction teams might be facing today: 

  • Enhanced collaboration: Poor communication and collaboration between distributed teams in the construction industry is a frequent cause of delays, mistakes, confusion, and errors. Relying on distributed tools for communication only makes the issue worse. Fortunately, unified communication tools can bring teams together wherever they are, through a multitude of platforms, including voice, video, messaging, and email.  
  • Greater safety and security: The construction industry has long suffered from a poor history with health and safety. One of the key reasons accidents take place in this landscape is due to poor communication and collaboration. A UC system or UCaaS solution in the cloud, can help to eliminate errors by ensuring professionals have the guidance and support they need in the field. UC systems can even store useful health and safety guidelines. 
  • Reduced costs: Limited budgets are affecting virtually every industry in today’s changing landscape. While switching from a legacy communication system to unified communications might come with an initial expense, the long-term benefits are huge. A UC or UCaaS offering combines all of the tools companies need for communication into one environment, allowing for easier financial management and cash flow analysis.  
  • Better data insights: In order to grow effectively, construction companies need to be able to keep track of data about how their workforce is operating on a significant scale. Unified Communication tools can come with built-in solutions for tracking critical metrics and key performance indicators. They also provide companies with an end-to-end way of viewing how the workforce performs on a day-to-day basis.  
  • Boosted productivity: Adding UCaaS solutions into the construction industry can also lead to increases in efficiency and productivity. When teams can communicate more effectively, project delays are less common. Teams can use UC solutions to collaborate over ideas and solve problems rapidly without the need for face-to-face interaction. Plus, employees can avoid having to switch between tools to reach different team members. 

The Trends Driving UC for Construction Companies 

Exceptional communication is at the heart of any successful company’s operation. In the construction industry, where companies are under increased pressure to innovate and transform, while remaining compliant with health and safety requirements, communication is key.  

Around 3 quarters of construction companies now believe digitalisation is critical to improving their business models and operations. However, only 13% of companies are well on their way to achieving their transformation goals. Fortunately, the emergence of new trends is likely to push more construction companies away from legacy tools and into the future in the months to come. Some of the biggest trends driving the adoption of UC for construction brands include: 

  • The evolution of the workplace: For years, construction companies have struggled to manage distributed employees in a range of environments. Today, the age of hybrid and remote work means many companies are beginning to hire specialists, analysts and consultants from all over the globe. A unified communication tool will be critical to keeping these staff members on the same page.  
  • The convergence of the cloud: As digitisation becomes increasingly essential to construction brands, various cloud tools are beginning to merge together. The UC environment can now connect with various other valuable tools, for an all-in-one digital workplace. For instance, brands can unify asset management, planning and project tools, as well as collaboration, workforce management, and CRM solutions in the same space. 
  • IoT and smart devices: Unified Communication solutions don’t just improve communication between people. They can also enhance the way people leverage other forms of point-to-point connections. Future UC solutions in the construction industry will allow companies to maintain better control over the IoT devices they’ll use to collect data and control machinery remotely.  
  • AI and analytics: As mentioned above, many construction companies are beginning to rely more heavily on analytics to assist with intelligent decision-making in the team. AI solutions built into unified communications tools could significantly help with boosting workplace productivity. These solutions could offer safety suggestions and guidance to teams in real time, as well as provide in-depth insights into performance.  
  • Extended Reality: The construction industry is one of the first sectors to take advantage of the rising demand for extended reality. With unified communication tools combined with XR services, future businesses will be able to bring professionals together for advanced, immersive experiences. We could even see a future where construction professionals can visualise a project in 3D before it’s built.  

The Rise of UC in Construction 

Communication issues have always been a significant concern among construction companies, thanks in large part to the way these organisations are structured. Fortunately, the rise of powerful unified communication tools, capable of connecting with various other innovative solutions, could lead to a new future in construction.  

Going forward, AI-enhanced, XR-ready, and extensible UCaaS platforms will pave the way to a more productive construction space.  

 

 



from UC Today https://ift.tt/A8McHme