Cloud computing in construction industry: Use cases, benefits and challenges

Bello, Sururah A.; Oyedele, Lukumon O.; Akinade, Olugbenga O.; Bilal, Muhammad; Davila Delgado, Juan Manuel; Akanbi, Lukman A.; Ajayi, Anuoluwapo O.; Owolabi, Hakeem A.

doi:10.1016/j.autcon.2020.103441

Cloud computing in construction industry: Use cases, benefits and challenges

Bello, Sururah A.; Oyedele, Lukumon O.; Akinade, Olugbenga O.; Bilal, Muhammad; Davila Delgado, Juan Manuel; Akanbi, Lukman A.; Ajayi, Anuoluwapo O.; Owolabi, Hakeem A.

Authors

Sururah Bello Sururah.Bello@uwe.ac.uk
Senior Research Fellow - Redistributed Manufacturing in Deployed Operations

Lukumon Oyedele L.Oyedele@uwe.ac.uk
Professor in Enterprise & Project Management

Olugbenga Akinade Olugbenga.Akinade@uwe.ac.uk
Associate Professor - AR/VR Development with Artificial Intelligence

Muhammad Bilal Muhammad.Bilal@uwe.ac.uk
TSU Research Fellow Timesheet NOM

Manuel Davila Delgado Manuel.Daviladelgado@uwe.ac.uk
Associate Professor - AR/VR Development with Artificial Intelligence

Dr Lukman Akanbi Lukman.Akanbi@uwe.ac.uk
Associate Professor - Big Data Application Developer

Anuoluwapo Ajayi Anuoluwapo.Ajayi@uwe.ac.uk
Associate Professor - Big Data Application

Hakeem Owolabi Hakeem.Owolabi@uwe.ac.uk
Associate Professor - Project Analytics and Digital Enterprise

Abstract

Cloud computing technologies have revolutionised several industries (such as aerospace, manufacturing, automobile, retail, etc.) for several years. Although the construction industry is well placed to also leverage these technologies for competitive and operational advantage, the diffusion of the technologies in the industry follows a steep curve. This study therefore highlights the current contributions and use cases of cloud computing technologies in construction practices. As such, a systematic review was carried out using ninety-two (92) peer-reviewed publications, published within a ten-year period of 2009-2019. A key highlight of the research findings is that cloud computing is an innovation delivery enabler for other emerging technologies (building information modelling, internet of things, virtual reality, augmented reality, big data analytics, mobile computing) in the construction industry. As such, this paper brings to the fore, current and future application areas of cloud computing vis-à-vis other emerging technologies in the construction industry. The paper also identifies barriers to the broader adoption of cloud computing in the construction industry and discusses strategies for overcoming these barriers.

Journal Article Type	Review
Acceptance Date	Oct 23, 2020
Online Publication Date	Dec 17, 2020
Publication Date	Feb 1, 2021
Deposit Date	Nov 26, 2020
Publicly Available Date	Dec 18, 2021
Journal	Automation in Construction
Print ISSN	0926-5805
Publisher	Elsevier
Peer Reviewed	Peer Reviewed
Volume	122
Article Number	103441
DOI	https://doi.org/10.1016/j.autcon.2020.103441
Keywords	Cloud computing; emerging technologies; construction industry; future trends
Public URL	https://uwe-repository.worktribe.com/output/6896146