The Future Scenario of Creating a Digital SME Community in the Irish Construction Industry

The problems associated with the Construction Industry not being able to manage and com-municate electronically product and project data between collaborating firms and within individual companies is compounded by the large number of small companies that have not adopted advanced Information Com-munication Technology (ICT). The typical nature of the service provided in construction, being an on-site and often highly customised service are generally identified as the reason for the low ICT uptake. The majority of Irish companies in the construction sector are Small to Medium sized Enterprises (SMEs). As eBusiness opens up the Irish economy to international competition Irish SMEs should use ICT as a generator of compet-itive advantage to become more effective and efficient with eBusiness technologies. The Construction IT Al-liance in Ireland has identified a programme that can create a digital SME community that will promote ICT services in the Irish Construction Industry in order to compete in the global economy