If 2025 was about reaching a digital tipping point, 2026 feels like it will be a year of Digital Reckoning.
1. The AI Bubble: Hammer vs. Nail
We are currently in a massive AI hype cycle. While the industry is racing to “AI-enable” everything, I suspect we are heading toward a bubble burst in late 2026 or 2027.
There’s an old saying: “When you’re a hammer, everything looks like a nail.” AI has its uses, but we shouldn’t force it into every corner of AEC. We’ve seen the buzzword graveyard before—BIM, VR, AR, Digital Twins. My approach for 2026 is to take what is useful and drop what isn’t. Don’t let the headlines distract you from the work.
2. Cracks in the Autodesk Empire?
With Autodesk raising prices again in January 2026 and removing renewal discounts, business leaders are starting to ask: “At what point do we stop getting a return on this investment?” While I don’t think the empire “crumbles” this year, we are seeing cracks. The rise of That Open Company and tools like BonsaiBIM (formerly BlenderBIM)—built on open standards—is providing a real alternative. 2026 might be the year the search for a “Plan B” goes from a hobby to a business strategy.
3. The Great Standard Simplification
I’ve heard from a few sources that ISO 19650 Part 2 and Part 3 are likely merging. Part 3 (Operations) is often overlooked, so pulling these into a single lifecycle process makes total sense. We are constantly releasing guides to explain previous guides. Simplifying is always better, and I’ll be welcoming this change if it happens.
4. The Turning Tide on SaaS
The October 2025 AWS outage was a wake-up call. It brought to light the “concentration risk” of relying entirely on cloud-based SaaS for critical infrastructure. While I’m no “doomsday prepper,” I think 2026 will see a renewed interest in local hosting and hybrid tools. Total reliance on a single data farm isn’t just a technical risk; it’s a business continuity risk.
5. People over Projects
Generally, AEC changes slowly. AI will grab the headlines, but the real progress will be made in the quiet conversations between teams. Standards matter, and tools matter, but people matter more. That’s what I’ll be keeping at the center of my practice in 2026.
Coulter BIM Information Management 
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