To Host or Not to Host: Is Cloud-Based Construction Management for You?

There are a few big reasons to move to cloud based construction management:

• A single set of connected data—accessible anywhere, any time. When data is collected and stored in the cloud, it can be accessed securely, through a laptop, tablet, or smartphone and get up-to-date information at your fingertips. Gain insights in real time, from a single source of connected data from across the organization.
• Increased productivity through smarter, faster decisions and fewer business risks. The ability to access real-time data and workflows means you can get the job done faster with fewer continuity risks. On-premise catastrophes like fires or ransomware can mean lost data and delayed projects; cloud-based data is not tied to any single location and is backed up regularly, so business continues even after a potential disaster.
• Better data security with immediate access to system updates. Digital information stored in the cloud is more secure, with encrypted, user-level permission controls, single sign-on, and multi-factor authentication. Look for SOC II, Type 2 certification for security, and be sure that your connected cloud solution gives you immediate access to the latest software versions, features, improvements, and security updates.
• Reduced personnel burdens and lower overall costs. The best cloud construction platforms should not require an army of IT folks just to get your technology moving. Instead, cloud-based software removes the need to maintain your own servers, roll out software updates across the organization, perform daily backups and monitor for security threats. Your cloud construction software provider should be saving you money on third-party IT spending and other on-prem hosting costs like hardware maintenance.
• Role-based licensing to fit the needs of every user. The ability to add or remove licenses to quickly adjust for seasonality and growth opportunity within your organization. Digital cloud-based software also offers dashboards that cater to the role that the individual owns. The ability to add external users to help with larger project teams is huge, with collaborative workflows to remove organizational silos and keep your teams working closely together—even when they’re apart.
  
  

  The benefits of moving to a connected cloud environment go beyond what your users and employees see everyday—it should showcase its efficiency and effectiveness over time. Much like a modernized infrastructure approach, things like the “commodity maintenance” of hardware and software to care for your servers, which vacuums up valuable time and money, should deplete over time and leave your employees with more room to do their job.

  These tasks may include responding to tickets, running backups and other software updates, and other things like ensuring sufficient system redundancy and that critical security updates are in place.

Depending on the types of jobs your organization does, working on federal government projects requires SOC II, Type 2 data security—so right away, it’s a requirement. (If you’re looking to get into federal contracting, moving to the cloud will help put your security requirements into place).

Even if you’re not contracting for the fed anytime soon, SOC II Type 2 is an industry-wide best practice that helps shore up cybersecurity.

There’s the compliance angle to consider, and situations in which quickly accessing data for compliance reasons might be particularly important. If a license or contract has expired and needs to be renewed, cloud-based construction management helps the back office to quickly assess what’s needed in the field in real-time.

With built-in workflows that automatically collect and track compliance documents, you’ll also have documentation for these activities in the event of an audit or compliance event.