Author: Peggy Smedley

Partnerships are the fuel that drives innovation—and in some cases that means partnering with an organization that might typically be considered a competitor for the greater good of all businesses. While many companies take this approach, I recently had an opportunity to talk to two companies—IBM Consulting and Microsoft—about how their partnership will accelerate the cloud journey for many businesses. In August, the two companies announced IBM is expanding its collaboration with Microsoft to help joint clients accelerate the deployment of generative AI (artificial intelligence). Ultimately, this will deliver a new offering to companies. With this announcement, the companies will…

At the end of November, we were able to get a glimpse into where the construction market is headed, when the BLS (Bureau of Labor Statistics) announced total construction starts for October. The numbers tell a pretty interesting story, as always, and point to some larger trends that just may be on the horizon for 2024. We see total construction starts nosedived 7% to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of $1.1 trillion. Nonbuilding and residential starts plummeted 32% and 1%, respectively. Interestingly, nonresidential building starts gained 8%. Dodge Construction Network suggests the reason construction starts have weakened in the last…

We are seeing the rise of EVs (electric vehicles). In 2022 alone, we saw electric car sales soar by 62% compared with 2021, and IDTechEx estimates by yearend 2023 will see global sales rise by another 16%. But many are concerned about the sustainability of those darn batteries. But don’t let all the negative hype concern you. The good news is there is a lot of hard work being done surrounding battery recycling even right here in South Carolina. Redwood Materials takes an interesting approach to batteries, taking the batteries, recycling, and refining them down into mixed metal concentrates that…

This year, all the buzz has been around AI (artificial intelligence)—more specifically generative AI. Oftentimes, buzz around certain technologies tend to fizzle out at some point, but if we look closely at the history and recent news from some big players such as Microsoft, we see AI might just have some staying power. The reality is AI isn’t a new buzzword this year. Back in 1950, Alan Turing, a young British polymath, explored the mathematical possibility of artificial intelligence. In his 1950 paper, Computing Machinery and Intelligence, he explored how to build intelligent machines and test their intelligence. Five years…

We have been talking about the evolution of jobs in industries like construction, manufacturing, and logistics. Now, I had an up-close opportunity to see how it is unfolding right here in South Carolina—and how it is ultimately impacting how we produce things like EVs (electric vehicles). I recently had the chance to listen to a presentation from the SC Council on Competitiveness—also known as SC Competes—about the SC Logistics 2023 Economic Impact Study. The current economic impact of SC Logistics totals $48.3 billion, including 150,160 jobs and $8.9 billion in total compensation. This represents an increase of nearly 30% since…

Project stakeholders often have an interest in what is happening on a project, but it is even more exciting when they both have a vested interest in the project and a background in mechanical engineering. Such is the case with a recent 2023 Going Digital Awards In Infrastructure Winner. To help preserve one of the world’s most important architectural icons and religious history, Italferr S.P.A. created a digital twin for structural monitoring of St. Peter’s Basilica in Vatican City. The project required an extensive survey campaign, resulting in a large amount of data needing to be managed and processed into…

The pace of change is only going to continue to get faster. Businesses need to prepare for this as best they can. Of course, this is easier said than done. Technology is advancing and IT teams are already short-staffed of the skills they need. What comes next? One new report looks at how we can bridge the skills gap to unlock the potential of cloud technology. The SoftwareOne Cloud Skills Report surveyed the opinions of 500 IT decisionmakers from the United Kingdom, Benelux, North America, and Australia. The objective here is to understand how the cloud skills shortage is impacting…

Some shakeups are happening as it relates to the final rule to modernize the Davis-Bacon and Related Acts. Perhaps this will impact how your construction company conducts business in 2024 and beyond. Let’s take a look at what is currently going down. A little bit of a history lesson here first. In 1931, the Davis-Bacon Act was enacted to prevent nonlocal contractors from invading a region, using cheap labor, and disrupting local wage rates. The Davis-Bacon Act was passed initially to address the issue of unfair competition in the construction industry. Bringing us to almost present day, we see in…

We know energy efficiency is critical in our homes, but often that efficiency needs to start somewhere else—like at the data centers. Here’s a glimpse at how companies are making a big difference at the data center, and what is to come in the days ahead. Last week at Microsoft Ignite, Satya Nadella made several announcements from the stage. Naturally, he talked about the AI (artificial intelligence) infrastructure layer and the approach to Azure, which is redefining everything across the fleet and the data center, but of course that starts with how we power the data center. He explains, as…

Should you measure the maturity and performance of your security program? How often? A survey suggests 60% of CISOs (chief information security officers) measure their security programs at least once a month and 89% measure the maturity and performance of their full security program at least once each quarter. Let’s take a closer look at how they are measuring and evaluating potential threats. The report from Onyxia Cyber surveyed more than 200 CISOs across a wide range of industries in the United States and Canada. Aspects in the survey include evaluating what metrics CISOs are measuring and how they are…