Is Your Head in the Cloud?

A mobile project team will benefit from a cloud service by finding new ways to communicate, coordinate and evolve.

In a recent Microsoft study of small- to mid-sized businesses, 30 percent of respondents admitted their companies already used cloud services. Even more surprising, 48 percent of companies responded that they would use cloud services in the next two to three years. If true, this prediction would put cloud computing adoption somewhere among the fastest growing technologies of the decade—right up there with DVD adoption.

Technology fads don’t always deliver tangible benefits for companies or their owners. However, in many cases, businesses can increase productivity and lower costs by adopting cloud computing.

Web-enabled devices and cloud services can provide several options for accessing project data on- or off-site. Cloud computing gives you and your employees the ability to access the latest job cost reports, log in time remotely, review documents, plans or agreements and instantly see comments from other job participants. Simply put, when partnered with a successful cloud computing service, mobile devices save time by eliminating an office visit or conference call.

Team Building 
Imagine a jobsite visit from your client. With cloud computing, you can access vital project information instantly on your mobile device, instead of waiting for the report to arrive.

Cloud services securely share job-related documents with any set of project staff you specify, including those outside your organization. Your team can work jointly from the same document and view the review and approval history. Email conversations—a common review method—lead to multiple reviewers and conflicting edits. A single version of a specific document avoids the risk of confusion and miscommunication.

Imagine the amount of time your project managers will save by not having to stop by the office for reports. Subcontractors could simply visit a cloud-based project portal page to obtain agreements, plans and other project-related information to execute. The page could also serve clients by posting the most recent change log.

As construction projects continue to become more complex, a broader, more mobile project team will benefit from a cloud service by finding new ways to communicate, coordinate and evolve.

Savings
A recent study by MeriTalk Cloud Computing Exchange, a community of federal government leaders focused on public-private collaboration, found that the federal government has saved about $5.5 billion annually by moving to cloud services. The same study estimated that if federal agencies had moved to cloud services sooner, the savings would be closer to $12 billion.

Mid-sized organizations also leverage the cloud to save money, increase efficiency and even plan for disaster recovery. Cloud adoption allows these companies to stop shopping for advanced servers and expending resources maintaining them.

Security
While the productivity and collaboration benefits are apparent, some business owners still worry about security and other risks. The level of security, data backup/recovery and certifications all play a vital role in choosing the right cloud computing service. However, in cases in which you can ensure reasonable data security standards and that the service is verified through a third party, storing data in the cloud may be more secure than storing data in on-site systems.

Real-Time Solutions
The beauty of the cloud lies in transforming stored, static data into an active part of your jobsite and business management. As contractors adopt mobile devices and make them part of the daily routine, new opportunities will continue to arise for employees, managers and clients to use this technology in a productive and collaborative way.