| | September 20158CIOReviewIt is a bold title I know, and one your colleagues will probably scoff at--but hear me out. The construction industry sustains residential, social, and economic infrastructure all over the world. Without the construction industry, you would have no house to live in, no bridge to cross to get to work, and no building to work in. And modern technology has brought us great advancements: the ability to walk through your home before breaking ground, build a bridge using robots, and the ability to connect to everything. Today, the construction industry is experiencing three major technology-driven disruptions, catalyzing a new phase that we call the Era of Connection. As CIO, your position is crucial in helping the industry embrace new technologies to understand and maximize the opportunities from these disruptions.Changes in the Means of ProductionThe first disruption is to the way project teams undertake the planning and design of buildings and infrastructure, including how teams land on the most appropriate commercial strategies and contract terms. The means of physical production is changing, as easier access to complex and offsite production methods is bringing down time and/or cost requirements, and raising quality and value. Technology continues to shrink the boundaries between the physical and virtual worlds; for example, cloud computing enables contractors to access vast amounts of processing power on demand, and big data technologies enable the capture of large amounts of highly trustworthy information--opening the door to the long-sought ability to predict the future by mining that data.Changes in the Nature of Demand for Construction ServicesWith the rise of economic prosperity around the globe, there is a larger, more educated population of consumers, which increases and changes the demand for construction products and services. These consumers are more connected and educated about products, and they have more choices about which products they purchase. Aesthetics, personalization, sustainability, and manufacturing location have a greater impact, as these factors are important to consumers. This shift in demand translates into not only the consumer-driven residential sector, but equally so into the expectations of business consumers of all forms of constructed building and infrastructure assets. As the development of desktop, cloud, and mobile products and services continue to grow, so do customer's expectations. Changes in ProductAt the same time, product intelligence is increasing. Physical things are now deeply connected--to each other and to other systems. Things increasingly interconnect and relate to each other, both physically and digitally, and this is opening the door to new ways of adding value to buildings and infrastructure. This growing interconnectedness also better aligns supply with demand across many dimensions--occupancy levels, energy performance, water usage, passenger journeys, refinery throughput, and more. There is an opportunity to move beyond the individual asset and build new relationships with your By Jeff Brzycki, CIO, AutodeskIn MyOpinionNo Industry more Important than Construction, No Role more Important than CIO
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