Construction Vertical Represents Upcoming Growth Opportunity for Technology Vendors

The high-tech market research firm finds that this industry is transitioning from a low-tech industry to one that is adopting wireless, the Internet, and collaboration tools to improve efficiencies, communications and overall project management. The construction industry will require cost justification and return on investment on technology purchases because of shifting priorities stemming from the sluggish recovery. According to Atkinson, in targeting this specific vertical, telecom and IT vendors must first understand the various parties involved in major construction projects, then understand the various operational and planning activities that are required, and last be able to adapt solutions to meet the varying challenges the construction industry is faced with on a day-to-day basis. A recent report by In-Stat/MDR also finds that: By years end, the US construction market is expected to support roughly 1.4 million firms and 6.5 million employees. The most robust employment growth is expected to occur in smaller firms. For the most part, decision-makers in the construction industry are fairly optimistic about this year, in terms of economic performance. In a recent In-Stat/MDR survey, 61% of the decision-makers surveyed working for construction providers indicated that they were either very positive or somewhat positive regarding their expectations for the economy in 2004. The report, State of the Industry: Market Size and Forecasts of the US Construction Sector, is the first report published from In-Stat/MDRs new Vertical Market Deep Dives practice, which provides the information needed to carry out successful vertical marketing strategies by exploring the specific needs of key verticals. The report provides current and forecast demographic data such as number of employees and number of firms for the construction industry. This is also broken down by size of construction business such as SOHO, Small Business, Middle-Market, and Enterprise. Construction industry subsegments are also detailed in the study, along with construction market trends, technology trends, applications driving spending, and the overall opportunities for technology vendors in the construction vertical.