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
| Nov 3, 2010
Sailing center sets course for energy efficiency, sustainability
The Milwaukee (Wis.) Community Sailing Center’s new facility on Lake Michigan counts a geothermal heating and cooling system among its sustainable features. The facility was designed for the nonprofit instructional sailing organization with energy efficiency and low operating costs in mind.
| Nov 3, 2010
Virginia biofuel research center moving along
The Sustainable Energy Technology Center has broken ground in October on the Danville, Va., campus of the Institute for Advanced Learning and Research. The 25,000-sf facility will be used to develop enhanced bio-based fuels, and will house research laboratories, support labs, graduate student research space, and faculty offices. Rainwater harvesting, a vegetated roof, low-VOC and recycled materials, photovoltaic panels, high-efficiency plumbing fixtures and water-saving systems, and LED light fixtures will be deployed. Dewberry served as lead architect, with Lord Aeck & Sargent serving as laboratory designer and sustainability consultant. Perigon Engineering consulted on high-bay process labs. New Atlantic Contracting is building the facility.
| Nov 2, 2010
11 Tips for Breathing New Life into Old Office Spaces
A slowdown in new construction has firms focusing on office reconstruction and interior renovations. Three experts from Hixson Architecture Engineering Interiors offer 11 tips for office renovation success. Tip #1: Check the landscaping.
| Nov 2, 2010
A Look Back at the Navy’s First LEED Gold
Building Design+Construction takes a retrospective tour of a pace-setting LEED project.
| Nov 2, 2010
Wind Power, Windy City-style
Building-integrated wind turbines lend a futuristic look to a parking structure in Chicago’s trendy River North neighborhood. Only time will tell how much power the wind devices will generate.
| Nov 2, 2010
Yudelson: ‘If It Doesn’t Perform, It Can’t Be Green’
Jerry Yudelson, prolific author and veteran green building expert, challenges Building Teams to think big when it comes to controlling energy use and reducing carbon emissions in buildings.
| Nov 2, 2010
Historic changes to commercial building energy codes drive energy efficiency, emissions reductions
Revisions to the commercial section of the 2012 International Energy Conservation Code (IECC) represent the largest single-step efficiency increase in the history of the national, model energy. The changes mean that new and renovated buildings constructed in jurisdictions that follow the 2012 IECC will use 30% less energy than those built to current standards.
| Oct 13, 2010
Test run on the HP Z200 SFF Good Value in a Small Package
Contributing Editor Jeff Yoders tests a new small-form factor, workstation-class desktop in Hewlett-Packard’s line that combines performance of its minitower machine with a smaller chassis and a lower price.
| Oct 13, 2010
Prefab Trailblazer
The $137 million, 12-story, 500,000-sf Miami Valley Hospital cardiac center, Dayton, Ohio, is the first major hospital project in the U.S. to have made extensive use of prefabricated components in its design and construction.
