Why We Chose Construction
Most IT companies serve every industry they can reach. We went the other direction and built the whole business around one.
Here is how that happened, and why it matters for the way your projects run.
Why I Started M-Squared Networks
I spent years leading IT for a Southern California advertising agency before deciding to build something of my own. M-Squared Networks started in 2012.
In the beginning I worked with businesses across a number of industries, solving whatever came up. Then I noticed something in the client list. A large share of the companies I most enjoyed working with were construction contractors.
The more time I spent with them, the more the same pattern showed up. Project managers working around systems that did not talk to each other. Field teams who could not get to the information they needed. Communication between the office and the jobsite breaking down in the same places, at the same points in the job. Different trades, different sizes, the same problems.
None of it was really a technology problem. Technology was supposed to be making these companies run better and it was doing the opposite.
I also figured out something about myself along the way. I like this industry. Construction moves fast, it is collaborative, and every project brings something that has not come up before. Helping a contractor get through a day with fewer interruptions turned out to be more satisfying than most of the work I had done before it.
So I stopped trying to serve every kind of business and committed to one, learning how contractors estimate, how they build, how they manage projects, and what actually keeps work moving. That decision is behind everything here, from the Construction Technology Framework™ to the Construction Technology Review™.
The goal has not changed. Help construction contractors use technology to run better projects.
Why We Built the Framework
The Same Problems, Over and Over
Working with more contractors made one thing obvious. The problems were not unique to any one company.
A general contractor with 60 employees and an electrical sub with 25 would call about completely different things, and underneath both was the same issue. Information that lived in the wrong place. A process that only worked because one person remembered it. A gap between what the office had and what the field could get to.
Treating each of those as its own IT ticket meant fixing the same problem forever, one company at a time.
So we stopped doing that.
Instead of asking what is broken, we started asking a different set of questions. Where does communication break down between the office and the field? What do field teams actually need, and can they get it? Is project information organized well enough to find two years from now? What would stop this company from operating, and what happens when it does?
Those questions became the Construction Technology Framework™, built on five pillars:
Connect Teams · Support the Field · Manage Project Information · Reduce Risk · Keep Work Moving
It is not a product list and it is not a security checklist. It is a way of looking at a construction company and understanding where technology is helping the work and where it is getting in the way.
Every recommendation we make traces back to one of those five pillars. That is the difference between advice and a sales pitch.
What It's Like Working With M-Squared Networks
You Work With Me
M-Squared Networks is small. The person who evaluates your environment is the person who manages it.
As the company grows, that stays the model. You will always work with someone who knows your business, not whoever is next in the queue.
Honest Recommendations
There is no product we need you to buy. No quota, no vendor pushing us to move a particular line.
Sometimes the right answer is to keep what you already have, or to fix a process instead of buying something. You will hear that when it is true.
Construction First.
Every recommendation starts with how your projects run, who needs what, and where the work happens. The technology comes after that.
Installing something is the easy part. Knowing what a contractor actually needs is the part that takes time in the industry.
We Are Not Going Anywhere
Some of these relationships are more than a decade old. That is the point.
Technology decisions get better when someone remembers the last five years. Starting over with a new provider means starting the learning curve over too.
Who We Support
General Contractors
- Commercial
- Public Works
- Institutional
- Design-Build
Specialty Contractors
- Electrical
- Mechanical HVAC
- Plumbing
- Concrete
- Painting
- Drywall
- Roofing
- Fire Protection
- Structural Steel
- Low Voltage
- and more…
Where We Work
- Orange County
- Los Angeles County
- Riverside County
- San Bernardino County
In Their Words
Since starting Pinmor Construction in 2019, M-Squared Networks has been our trusted technology partner. Mike has supported our company from the beginning, helping ensure our technology remains reliable as we’ve grown and taken on new projects. Having responsive IT support allows us to stay focused on managing projects and serving our clients.
Johnny Pinner
Pinmor Construction
M-Squared Networks has been our trusted IT partner since 2014. Over the years, Mike has helped us navigate technology upgrades, server replacements, cloud services, and the day-to-day support needed to keep our business running. When we experienced a ransomware incident, M-Squared Networks was able to restore our systems and get us back up and running quickly, minimizing the impact on our operations. We value having a technology partner who understands our business and is there when we need support.
Nicole Lugo
Borbon, Inc.
Now You Know Why We Chose Construction
The next question is what your technology is doing for your projects right now.
The Construction Technology Review™ answers it. About 45 minutes on how your company operates, then a clear picture of where technology is helping and where it is getting in the way. Yours to keep either way.