Author: Peggy Smedley

As we head into a new year, we must keep a pulse on how technologies are evolving—and how technology partnerships will enable new opportunities. For today’s blog, let’s look at the state of the hyperscale and hybrid cloud to help paint a picture of what is to come in the months ahead. To start, we see some companies are switching to hyperscale cloud computing for faster speeds, reduced downtime, and more. This is also driven by the rise of AI (artificial intelligence), big data, machine learning, and the IoT (Internet of Things). Grandview Research suggests the hyperscale computing market size…

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Is construction safety a priority at your company? There has been an evolution that has happened with safety in the past several decades—from not a priority at all to something companies are considering more heavily for a variety of reasons. But what do numbers show us? What trends have emerged? And where are we headed? Let’s start by identifying that an unsafe construction jobsite costs companies some serious money—okay a lot of money! One head injury claim now costs construction companies in the United States on average $94,285. That’s because for each $1 of insured costs, the uninsured costs range…

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Technology continues to race onto the automotive scene—and as 2025 and CES begin, many are asking a plethora of questions. Perhaps the biggest heading into CES 2025: How will the technologies and conversations seen and heard shape the automotive space in the year ahead? It’s that very question that has me pondering and eagerly taking a closer look at the automotive industry and what people will be discovering at CES and the rest of 2025. For starters, the automotive space at CES has evolved since its early beginnings—moving from a pure auto focus to a greater range that includes industrial…

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As we head into a new year, we must first take a pulse of where we have been so we hopefully can identify where we are going. This will be key for the construction industry, as we ramp up the anticipated work in the year ahead. So, let’s take a moment to assess exactly what is happening. Construction is adding work—and jobs—but contractors are still struggling to fill all the open jobs. Seems a bit screwy right? The most recent numbers are very revealing. Work is rising. Construction employment rose in 238—or 66%—of 358 metro areas between October 2023 and…

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Roughly 71% of companies believe AI (artificial intelligence) offers the best ROI (return on investment) for customer engagement—but are we running too fast and furious at a solution that might not ultimately yield the best results? That is the question I would like to explore this week. Apply Digital surveyed 500 senior leaders from large enterprises across North America about what customer engagement tactics are proving most successful. Certainly, AI entered the conversation and was cited as the most valuable. But where AI is being used in customer engagement is interesting to consider. The Role of AI in Customer Engagement…

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This is the time of year to peer into that crystal ball and take a closer look at what is to come in the year ahead. Many analysts and construction companies are throwing their predictions into the ring, helping paint a picture of how 2025 will unfold. Today, let’s take a close look at where we are today—and then look at where we are headed in 2025. Where We Are Now JLL suggests the first three quarters of the year brought consistency in costs and the start of interest rate cuts, along with high levels of construction activity. In 2024,…

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Last week, companies all around the world came together at Microsoft Ignite to look at how technologies are transforming business, and one technology took center stage. You guessed it: gen AI (artificial intelligence). IDC suggests gen AI usage jumped from 55% in 2023 to 75% in 2024 and worldwide spending will reach $632 billion by 2028. For today’s blog, let’s take a look at some powerful case studies and what’s in store for 2025 and beyond. To start, let’s better understand the impact of gen AI in particular. For decades, companies have been working with structured data, which is typically…

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Last week I had the opportunity to attend Procore’s Groundbreak event, where we looked to the future of technology in the construction industry. The biggest takeaway: AI (artificial intelligence) is here, and it is going to completely transform how the construction industry does business. But let me be the first to caution all my construction readers not to rush into AI without having a plan. Let me be clear about this before everyone freaks out. I say play with GenAI. Get a good feel for it. And then plan your strategy. Perhaps this doesn’t come as a big surprise. We…

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No one company can achieve success alone. This has proven to be an undeniable fact. Many industries often have had to painfully learn that it takes collaboration and collective participation. To achieve great innovation, it truly takes a village. Partnerships, alliances, and ecosystems, all working in tandem, are essential to ensuring long-term success of any technology implementation. We are all beginning to witness this unfold repeatedly, especially with the rise of gen AI (artificial intelligence). In research conducted, Gartner finds 59% of CEOs and senior business executives acknowledge AI as the new technology that will impact their industry most in…

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2024 will be wrapping up soon and we will ring in 2025. With the New Year comes new opportunities. New opportunities to grow our workforce, grow our adoption of technology, and, in turn, grow our businesses and bottomline. But the question always lingering at this time of year is: what technology will rise to the top of the CIO’s priority list in the year ahead? Perhaps the first point goes without saying, but let’s just lay the foundation for this discussion. In the past few years, gen AI (artificial intelligence) has taken the world by storm. In fact, it has…

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