Technology Conference takeaways

Last month I attended the annual Lawn & Landscape Technology Conference and Top 100 Executive Summit in Las Vegas. It was another amazing event with many new vendors and cutting-edge discussions filling the weekend. As one might imagine, there was a steady buzz of talk around AI (artificial intelligence). The keynote speaker of the conference, Kevin Surace, gave an inspiring conversation on AI, the tools of AI and how to implement modern technology into your business. I have included a few takeaways below that can help push your business forward:

Here are (5) ways you can use AI in your business today:

1. ChatGPT: marketing and content creation, strategic planning, a sounding board for asking ideas to, an assistant for research and so much more.

2. Automated answering service

3. HR reporting and employee data searches

4. Legal reporting and contract review

5. Landscape design mapping (It is not going to complete the design, but it can do some of the leg work that bogs down our design teams)

Bonus: personal assistant to help you stay organized!

The next takeaway is the progression of robotic mowers. These machines are making leaps in technology to allow them to become a part of your crew. If you have a substantial amount of mowing on your accounts, robotic mowers could be part of the answer to your labor issue.

There are so many more software solutions on the market than there were four years ago. Each software has developed their product to solve a specific problem, so make sure when you are shopping for software you ask enough questions to determine which one is right for you.

Smart water management. More companies are entering the market with water management and smart irrigation services. We are also seeing the brands we have all come to love investing heavily into innovation and developing new platforms to help us manage water at a much higher level.

And of course, battery-powered equipment. It’s getting lighter, it’s getting stronger and it's lasting even longer. Many of the issues previously experienced with battery-powered equipment are being mitigated with recent technology. Make sure to test drive some battery-powered equipment and see if it could be a solution for your team.

You may be asking yourself, “Who is going to help select and implement all of this technology?” It would be ideal if every company could have its own chief technology officer; the thought of having someone dedicated to tech in your business sounds great, but for most of us, the salary and expenses just don’t make this possible. But what about an outside consultant that was able to provide innovation, technology solutions and be your part-time CTO? This could be the next best thing and for the smaller company, potentially a game-changer in innovation.

Whether you search for someone to assist your company or go at it alone, it’s clear that tomorrow’s leaders will be those embracing and utilizing technology. I encourage you to spend at least an hour this week thinking of how you can advance tech within your business.

Raise the bar is a monthly column by Justin White, CEO of K&D Landscaping, written to help improve professionalism in the green industry. He can be reached at jwhite@giemedia.com.