Nearly three fifths of respondents to recent poll of 800 small businesses operating in 17 sectors plan to invest this year in technologies that would improve their companies’ productivity.
Nearly half intend to invest in mobile technologies that could help them increase market share or cement customer relationships. And close to half of those polled say they’ll invest this year in cybersecurity tools to protect their data.
However, this poll—conducted by Kabbage (www.kabbage.com), a global financial services, technology, and data platform for small businesses—reveals less enthusiasm for tech spending among the construction small businesses.
The good news is that more than half of the 80 construction-related small businesses that responded to the poll plan to invest in technologies that would remove manual processes, reduce paperwork, or improve productivity. But fewer than two-fifths of construction companies that responded to the question about cybersecurity spending said they were “somewhat likely” or “definitely will invest.” Just over one third said they’d invest in mobile technology.
Only one third of construction busineses says they are willing to increase their ad spending by at least 20% on social media, compared to nearly half of all respondents.
None of the small businesses from any sector participating in this survey was too keen on spending for real-time analytics or big data solutions. Less than one-quarter—23.45%—of the construction companies were somewhat likely or definite about making such an investment this year. Only 28% of all respondents thought big data was worth in vesting in; in fact, marketing agencies and services was the only business sector where more than 40% of its respondents answered affirmatively to this question.
The survey also asked small businesses about their attitudes on economic conditions, and the construction respondents were among the most positive. More than 69% of construction companies somewhat or strongly agreed that the U.S. economy is headed in the right direction. That compares to 63.5% of the total survey’s respondents. Marketing agencies were the most buoyant about the economy (73.3%); law office and legal service small business the least optimistic (36.4%).
Seventy-seven percent of the construction companies expected their revenues to increase by more than 20% this year, compared to 73% of the total respondents. Insurance services, manufacturing, marketing agencies, and real estate companies expressed the highest confidence about revenue growth.
Related Stories
| Aug 11, 2010
Great Solutions: Business Management
22. Commercial Properties Repositioned for University USE Tocci Building Companies is finding success in repositioning commercial properties for university use, and it expects the trend to continue. The firm's Capital Cove project in Providence, R.I., for instance, was originally designed by Elkus Manfredi (with design continued by HDS Architects) to be a mixed-use complex with private, market-...
| Aug 11, 2010
Seven tips for specifying and designing with insulated metal wall panels
Insulated metal panels, or IMPs, have been a popular exterior wall cladding choice for more than 30 years. These sandwich panels are composed of liquid insulating foam, such as polyurethane, injected between two aluminum or steel metal face panels to form a solid, monolithic unit. The result is a lightweight, highly insulated (R-14 to R-30, depending on the thickness of the panel) exterior clad...
| Aug 11, 2010
Nurturing the Community
The best seat in the house at the new Seahawks Stadium in Seattle isn't on the 50-yard line. It's in the southeast corner, at the very top of the upper bowl. "From there you have a corner-to-corner view of the field and an inspiring grasp of the surrounding city," says Kelly Kerns, project leader with architect/engineer Ellerbe Becket, Kansas City, Mo.
| Aug 11, 2010
AIA Course: Historic Masonry — Restoration and Renovation
Historic restoration and preservation efforts are accelerating throughout the U.S., thanks in part to available tax credits, awards programs, and green building trends. While these projects entail many different building components and systems, façade restoration—as the public face of these older structures—is a key focus. Earn 1.0 AIA learning unit by taking this free course from Building Design+Construction.
| Aug 11, 2010
AIA Course: Enclosure strategies for better buildings
Sustainability and energy efficiency depend not only on the overall design but also on the building's enclosure system. Whether it's via better air-infiltration control, thermal insulation, and moisture control, or more advanced strategies such as active façades with automated shading and venting or novel enclosure types such as double walls, Building Teams are delivering more efficient, better performing, and healthier building enclosures.
| Aug 11, 2010
Glass Wall Systems Open Up Closed Spaces
Sectioning off large open spaces without making everything feel closed off was the challenge faced by two very different projects—one an upscale food market in Napa Valley, the other a corporate office in Southern California. Movable glass wall systems proved to be the solution in both projects.
| Aug 11, 2010
AIA course: MEP Technologies For Eco-Effective Buildings
Sustainable building trends are gaining steam, even in the current economic downturn. More than five billion square feet of commercial space has either been certified by the U.S. Green Building Council under its Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design program or is registered with LEED. It is projected that the green building market's dollar value could more than double by 2013, to as muc...
| Aug 11, 2010
Thrown For a Loop in China
While the Bird's Nest and Water Cube captured all the TV coverage during the Beijing Olympics in August, the Rem Koolhaas-designed CCTV Headquarters in Beijing—known as the “Drunken Towers” or “Big Shorts,” for its unusual shape—is certain to steal the show when it opens next year.
| Aug 11, 2010
World's tallest all-wood residential structure opens in London
At nine stories, the Stadthaus apartment complex in East London is the world’s tallest residential structure constructed entirely in timber and one of the tallest all-wood buildings on the planet. The tower’s structural system consists of cross-laminated timber (CLT) panels pieced together to form load-bearing walls and floors. Even the elevator and stair shafts are constructed of prefabricated CLT.
| Aug 11, 2010
Integrated Project Delivery builds a brave, new BIM world
Three-dimensional information, such as that provided by building information modeling, allows all members of the Building Team to visualize the many components of a project and how they work together. BIM and other 3D tools convey the idea and intent of the designer to the entire Building Team and lay the groundwork for integrated project delivery.
