Bluebeam, a leading developer of solutions and services for architecture, engineering and construction (AEC) professionals worldwide and part of the Nemetschek Group, has announced findings from its new global report – Building the Future: Bluebeam AEC Technology Outlook 2025.
The report reveals that AEC firms face significant roadblocks in driving greater technology adoption and digitisation, with a third (32%) reporting a lack of training and skills development within their employees as a key challenge to increased digitisation. Other barriers include integration (27%) and technical (26%) issues. This is despite the adoption of digital tools helping construction firms drive significant cost savings, with over a third (35%) of respondents reporting cost savings between US$100,000 and US$500,000 through the use of new technologies.
These challenges driving digitisation continue to hold AEC firms back from eliminating paper-based physical documents from the construction process, with almost three quarters (72%) still using paper during one or more phases of the building lifecycle. Of those firms who continue to rely on paper, the need for physical signatures or approvals was cited by almost half (46%) as the top reason behind continuing to use outdated paper-based processes.
“As digitisation and the use of AI within the AEC sector increases, reliance on outdated paper-based approaches will continue to shrink, helping to drive cost savings and improve sustainability efforts in construction,” said Usman Shuja, Chief Executive Officer at Bluebeam. “AI is already revolutionising the building process, so it is essential that educators, technology providers and construction industry leaders work together to produce new training initiatives that can capitalise on these innovations by helping bridge the AEC technology skills gap so we can continue to move the industry forward.”