A recent ENR survey of design firms, general contractors and subcontractors included two questions about technology. One asked what percentage of revenue the firms invest in research and development, and the other asked how the respondents feel about their data security. The responses suggest there might be a correlation.
Overall, of 208 executives who responded to the questions, 42% say they spend less than half a percent on R&D. Take the investment up to just under 1% and 14% more join the club. Add another half percent investment and the group expands another 10% before dropping back to a 6% increase in the next band. Only 10% of the respondents invest more than 2% of revenue in R&D, and almost 17% said they simply didn’t know what their company's R&D investment is.