PSMJ Senior Consultant Brian Burnett says that Deltek’s most recent Clarity: Architecture & Engineering Firm Study vindicates the position that AEC firms need to focus more on technology than they historically have. “I found it very interesting in the technology section that firm priorities are focused on planning for technology advances,” says Burnett.

The report authors noted, “More than half of all firms named prioritizing which trends are most applicable as a top challenge, especially large firms. Firms across the digital maturity spectrum have the opportunity now to work with internal and external experts to develop strategies and plans for identifying the most applicable technologies that will heighten competitive posture.”

Prioritizing applicable trends moved ahead of cost as the number one concern of survey participants, who were asked to name their top three concerns. Both responses were listed as a top concern by 20%. In last year’s survey, 27% said cost was #1, compared with 13% for prioritizing trends.

Burnett offers the following four tips to help firms “get their act together” around technology.

• Make technology a standing board topic (focusing on top strategies and necessary investments)

• Make technology a meaningful part of your strategic planning process (spending quality time exploring the company’s future with technology)

• Create a corporate-wide Technology Council (focusing on the key things outlined in the slide deck available on request)

• Develop technology metrics and investment approaches (focusing on how investments and strategies are analyzed for ROI)

If you’d like a free copy of Brian Burnett’s Questions & Activities for an AEC Firm’s Technology Council PowerPoint deck, send a request to Sarah Montague at smontague@psmj.com.

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