Companies in the architectural, engineering, and construction (AEC) industry require a high level of IT infrastructure and applications to meet their complex business needs. In this article, we will explore the seven ways an IT Managed Service Provider can help your AEC company more effectively reach its business goals.
Why High-Performing IT is Important for the AEC Industry
Companies in the AEC industry utilize complex applications, large design and project management files, and remote work teams as they strive to achieve complex project goals under strict time constraints. These businesses also need smoothly performing cloud solutions, powerful communication solutions, and the highest level of cybersecurity. Operational efficiency is the main factor for success in this competitive industry, and an elite level of IT infrastructure and services is necessary to reach this goal.
How an IT MSP Can Help Your AEC Company
Augmenting or replacing in-house IT resources
IT is the key factor in improving complex tasks such as project management, budgeting, and scheduling, and there is a shortage of trained IT staff working at AEC companies. ProCore reports that of the 44% of AEC firms that employ dedicated IT staff, more than half have only 1-5 employees, and most of these staffs do not work under a chief information officer (CIO) or chief technology officer (CTO). There is also currently a global shortage of skilled IT workers, especially in cybersecurity, AI, and robotics, which impacts the AEC industry directly.
An IT Support partner provides an invaluable service by augmenting your existing in-house IT staff and/or filling critical IT resource needs for performing valuable IT functions.
Keeping critical IT applications and systems working optimally through IT expertise
An IT MSP will help your company select and implement the best project management software to minimize project delays. An IT partner will also help in implementing the latest Building Information Modeling (BIM), Augmented Reality (AR), and Virtual Reality (VR) technologies. These advanced technologies enable an AEC company to access digital representations of construction projects, which helps them find and address potential problems before they occur at the site.
An IT Support partner will also recommend the latest AI and ML solutions to assist your AEC company with managing and analyzing substantial amounts of data. FMI recently reported that 96% of construction project data sits unused, and companies spend 13% of staff time looking through data to find the information they need.
An IT MSP will ensure that your cloud-based applications and any network components are performing at peak levels. Your IT partner will monitor your network and ensure all software and application licenses, patches, and updates are current and that your operations are streamlined.
Implementing enhanced communication and collaboration solutions
AEC projects often have teams working in different office and field locations making effective communication tools necessary. With complex projects on tight deadlines, AEC companies need to stay seamlessly connected to coordinate their activities and give timely project updates. A skilled IT partner will help your company by recommending and implementing the best virtual meeting and communication tools, which will make remote collaboration run as smoothly as possible.
With enhanced communication and collaboration solutions your project efficiency will improve, and your business will be able to respond better to any new challenges.
Ensuring the highest level of cybersecurity
AEC companies work on multi-tiered projects with a large amount of data including valuable personal information about their employees and partners, which makes them an appealing target for cybercriminals. Too often, a lack of outsourced IT support and in-house expertise along with antiquated cybersecurity solutions make AEC companies vulnerable to data breaches. As a result, security experts note that more than 75% of construction and engineering businesses reported experiencing a cyber incident within the last year. Construction companies have also been flagged as one of the most likely industries to pay ransoms after a ransomware attack. Data shows that the average ransom paid was more than $170K per incident.
In response to this increasing threat, cybersecurity must be a top priority for your AEC company. An IT MSP is a data security expert that will implement, monitor, and update the most powerful and effective cybersecurity tools to keep your data secure and protect your network from costly downtime. An IT Support partner will also help you establish security protocols and procedures, and they will provide cybersecurity training to your employees. For greater protection, your IT partner will periodically evaluate your employee’s internet and email behavior to reinforce good cyber hygiene.
Maintaining data backups to ensure business continuity
Your AEC company requires continuous real-time access to your project data even if a catastrophic natural or human-caused disaster occurs. To guarantee peace of mind, your IT MSP will install robust backup systems to protect and preserve your firm’s crucial data. These powerful backups will allow your company to operate uninterrupted no matter what negative event happens.
Along with these important IT recovery services, your company should also purchase a comprehensive cybersecurity insurance plan. If your cyber defenses are successfully breached, these measures will allow you to continue your productive business operations without disruption.
Providing predictable IT budgets and scalability
In an industry extremely sensitive to time and budgetary constraints, your IT MSP will keep your network and operations running optimally within a predictable monthly budget. Your company will also benefit from the reduction in IT costs associated with in-house IT personnel. Your partner’s IT expertise will streamline your operations, improve collaboration, and ensure that any potential technology problems will be quickly detected and resolved without impacting your firm’s daily business or the bottom line. With a dependable IT Support partner, your AEC company will not have to worry about increasing your budget to cover unexpected IT issues.
IT managed services such as cloud-based solutions will enable your AEC business to scale your IT resources up or down based on project requirements ensuring the best utilization of your IT budget. Your outsourced IT team will be with you every step of the way offering flexible IT solutions and services that will help your business grow with continued success and no unnecessary capital expenditures.
Maintaining IT compliance requirements
ACE companies have partners, vendors, and clients around the globe and some work as federal, state, or local government contractors. Many of these entities are in different industries and sectors, some of which may have strict IT compliance requirements. Different project locations also have a variety of compliance requirements. A dependable IT Support partner will be knowledgeable about the IT and security compliance requirements of your work locations as well as those required by your clients, partners, and vendors and will update your systems and networks as necessary.
Select an Experienced IT MSP
Having learned about the many ways an IT Support partner can help your AEC company, we recommend you make the effort to find one that has demonstrated experience in this industry. Most importantly, your IT partner should have an exemplary record with AEC clients and the expertise to support complex IT cybersecurity and compliance requirements.
A trusted IT Support partner, like Network Depot, will help your AEC company select and integrate the right IT tools and processes, which will work best for the construction, engineering, architectural, or design services you provide. Your dependable IT partner will also keep your sensitive data secure with the most advanced cybersecurity solutions and support. With your IT functioning at an optimal level, your AEC company will be able to stay focused on meeting your unique goals.