Autodesk Global Construction Survey 2023

Deloitte Access Economics was commissioned by Autodesk to analyse the level of digital adoption in the construction industry across North America, Europe, and the Asia Pacific.

Over the past four years, the construction industry has faced significant challenges due to widespread COVID lockdowns, supply chain challenges, global inflationary pressures, and rising interest rates. One crucial enabling factor for businesses to navigate those challenges will be the successful integration of data usage in business operations.

There are clear benefits for businesses who have adopted data practises into their day-to-day operations. This report reveals that the most commonly cited benefits of greater data use were reducing operational costs (73%), supporting the identification of new projects (67%), and improvement in the ability of a business to track performance (67%). Businesses which are leaders in data adoption report a 50% average increase in profit growth when compared to those classified as data beginners. 

The most common barriers to adopting digital technology were found to be a lack of access to skilled staff, and poor data quality. These were found to be significant barriers to greater data adoption, with each reported as a challenge by 54% of businesses.

In order to address these barriers and many others, this report recommends that businesses to focus on progressing certain key priority areas, including developing in house data skills, fostering internal appetite for data adoption, and developing an organisation-wide data strategy.