The Cloud Revolution

But want it or not, technology's pace of innovation is as relentless as the weather. These days, it's a heavy pour.

Many of the most significant developments are leveraging "the cloud," or cloud-computing technologies. The shorthand term represents an immense global data-storage barn; a delivery system for high-end software running across the internet, and super-computer processing for previously unobtainable calculations—for example, running thousands of simulations to find optimal solutions to difficult problems, such as complex designs or site layouts.

Another respondent, Irtishad Ahmad, chairman of the Dept. of Construction Management at Florida International University in Miami, says the cloud has the potential to "revolutionize project management and the entire industry."

Scheduling is a prime candidate, Ahmad says. "Instead of buying expensive scheduling software, they can now rent the software on a time-share basis through a third-party vendor. You can pay on a project basis," he says.

Using cloud services could allow companies to have just one scheduler on a job instead of two or more—and sometimes no scheduler at all.

"It affects the whole [project] organization," Ahmad says. "This kind of scheduling service can easily be shared between contractors, subs and engineers. Usually, they all have to have the same system, but this way, they're all able to access the same information through the third party."

Another respondent, Brandon Fenton, an estimator with Colorado Springs, Colo.-based plumbing contractor Fenton Plumbing and Heating, agrees with Chen, but predicts the benefits of cloud computing won't be realized until use reaches critical mass.

"It works great for us. We use it internally, but other companies just aren't interested, at least not yet," he says.

"You look at a typical job with several contractors, and scheduling is very important. But the spreadsheets are a mile long, and they're not all formatted the same. You end up with 50 different printouts. It would make the world a lot easier to just do it through the cloud: Changes are available to everybody immediately. But the thing about this industry is people don't adapt. They're stuck in their ways."

When use of the cloud hits critical mass, Fenton says "it will be huge" in reducing barriers that "really slow things down."

Cloud Security Concerns

Although some worry about the security of the cloud, others note that software engineers continually make improvements to ensure data safety. "One way to mitigate security concerns is to access the cloud through your company's own intranet," Ahmad advises. "The mechanisms are there to ensure security. And if you're using a service controlled by a third party, part of the package absolutely must be a guarantee your information is secure," Ahmad adds.

Another concern expressed is the potential difficulty of transferring data from one cloud service to another without losing control of information. "How do you get off the cloud?" one CIO asked recently. Ahmad predicts competition will take care of those issues, too.

All Things BIM

BIM is prime example of a long-evolving technology with an accelerating rate of adoption. Like Chen, an anonymous respondent also wrote of a need for making better use of the technology we have. He noted that while BIM has been on the way for many years, in many ways it has not changed nearly as much as has the willingness of users to adopt it.

"Most of the older IT tools that have been updated work just fine," the respondent wrote. "In my view, only so many tools can or could be used to help the industry perform to a higher level. The means and methods of achieving success rely more on the conductor than on the instrument [he uses]."

He adds, though, "With that being said, there is so much that can and still must be learned [about] using BIM. I would say that BIM is such a powerful tool that its full potential may not be realized for many more years."