Technology Trends: Collaboration Leads to Innovation

The importance that collaboration plays in developing innovative solutions to challenging problems has been one of the hottest topics in the construction industry this year, shaping conversations across the country, including the ones that took place at this year’s Procore Groundbreak conference. From the opening keynotes to the plethora of workshops, the consistent message throughout the conference was that increased collaboration has led, and will continue to lead, to increased innovation.

Procore itself has taken a huge lead in making it easier for construction professionals to connect with one another and share information across multiple departments. In the opening keynote, one of the primary topics that Procore’s CEO Tooey Courtemanche discussed was their “partnership ecosystem,” which is the collection of companies who use the Procore platform to enhance their current offerings. He mentioned that none of the work Procore has accomplished has been accomplished in a silo – it’s all borne from a team effort with the companies they partner with.

This is no easy task in an industry that is notorious for being tight-lipped and averse to sharing problems and solutions, for fear of giving competitors an edge. It is all too easy to get bogged down in inefficient processes and workflows by looking for a solution in a vacuum.  Without hearing other voices and perspectives, it’s almost impossible for a company to create large scale innovation if they don’t engage with their peers, whether they are general contractors or vendors.

With collaboration as part of our DNA, Beck Technology has been one of the latest additions to this partnership ecosystem. As a preconstruction data lifecycle company, Beck Technology has partnered with Procore on several software integrations that make it easier for preconstruction teams to create a single source of truth to better inform their decisions.  Both Beck Technology and Procore have also made it easier for product users to exchange feedback and ask questions by setting up peer forums. Additionally, Beck Technology hosted a series of preconstruction coffee events this year, where anyone involved in the preconstruction industry – owners, architects, subcontractors, general contractors – could come and brainstorm solutions to the most common challenges in preconstruction.

As construction technology continues to evolve, it’s important to remember that collaboration with like-minded peers is what powers large scale innovation. Companies that make it a priority to partner with those who have a shared vision will ultimately be the ones who create the right solutions and revolutionize the industry.