What construction actors should consider when developing a digital strategy

The end of 2020 is in sight, and most organisations are working on their strategies for the coming year. In this article we have put together a few points that might be worthwhile taking into consideration when developing your digital strategy.

1.      Your digital strategy is part of your overall strategy

The main purpose of adopting modern digital technologies is to enable organisations to increase efficiency, improve quality and reduce environmental impact. These are all important strategic goals for most construction actors today. Therefore, it is essential that your digital strategy is an extension and an integral part of your overall oranisational strategy.

2.      Lead from the front

Most construction companies have a lot of in-house expertise when it comes to digital technologies – ICT experts, BIM specialists, etc. Yet, delegating your digital strategy to your technical experts might not be the best approach. As knowledgeable as they are, the success of your strategy depends on “leading from the front”. It is the management that should define the goals and actively participate in the planning of the digital strategy to ensure that it is aligned with and supports the overall organisational strategy.

3.      Involve all stakeholders

Your digital strategy can and must benefit all departments and aspects of your business. This is why, it is essential to involve all important stakeholders – from Sales, Administration and Logistics to Project management and Production. Find out what their needs are and how you can ensure the successful adoption of your new digital strategy.

4.      The importance of changing work processes and business models

Your organisation is not an island. It depends, and will increasingly do so, on digital interaction with customers, suppliers and public authorities. Make sure that your digital strategy enables efficient information exchange – not only internally but also with external stakeholders. The success of your digital strategy depends on how well it is aligned to the ongoing digitalisation efforts within the construction industry at the national level and worldwide.

5.      Capitalise on your data

Building Information Modelling is an important process that should be adopted as part of your project information management. But being “digital” goes beyond BIM. It has to do with how you manage your data, and most importantly how you harness your data.

Make sure that the data you collect as part of your BIM processes can be used, shared and reused by all stakeholders within your organisation – across projects, teams and even subsidiaries. Take full advantage of the information that you already have. Turn it into knowledge and make it work for you.

As part of our consultancy services, we can help you develop a digital strategy tailored to your organisation’s needs and implemented as part of your existing IT-infrastructure.

6.    Partner up with Technology providers

With the skyrocketing number of digital solutions available on the market we will soon be seeing the decline of the strategic importance of the ‘self-service’ software. This means that software that have been implemented by your technical experts as ‘ready-made’ solutions, which you as a business leader probably have not even heard of, will stop being useful for your organisation. Why? The connectivity and interoperability between various software will become increasingly important. We will stop thinking of singular solutions by different providers but of CONNETED Technological ECOSYSTEMS. These ecosystems need to be governed in sync and need to deliver tangible results as a whole, not as a sum of disconnected parts. That is why, even starting today, you should be setting up conversations with your software vendors and thinking about them more as strategic partners that can work together with you to bring your business a step forward. Based on our experience, this is what they are also getting ready for: to find the best way to collaborate in order to help you grow.