As we move through April 2026, the industry is officially entering what many are calling a “Digital Reckoning.” Between a massive software price hike, a major revision to international standards, and the first cracks appearing in the AI hype cycle, we’ve reached a point where theory is finally being forced to meet the reality of the construction site.
1. The Great “IM” Rebrand: Don’t Throw the Baby out with the Bathwater
The biggest news this month is the release of the ISO 19650:2026 Draft, which signals a formal shift from “Building Information Modelling” to “Information Management” (IM). The draft proposes a unified 9-step lifecycle process that attempts to bridge the gap between project delivery and asset operations.
I generally welcome this. For too long, we’ve treated handover as a “wall” to throw data over. However, as we embrace the “IM” title, we have to be careful not to be too dismissive of 3D geometry. 3D is still the backbone of setting out and coordination. When the geometry is wrong, it leads to costly rework and mistakes that no amount of metadata can fix. By all means, let’s focus on the “Information,” but let’s not throw the 3D baby out with the bathwater.
2. The AI Bubble: Hammer vs. Nail
We are currently in a massive AI hype cycle, but I suspect we are heading toward a bubble burst in the next 12 to 18 months. There is an old saying: “When you’re a hammer, everything looks like a nail.” Right now, the industry is trying to force AI into every corner, even where a simple, well-managed spreadsheet would work better.
AI won’t replace jobs overnight. Instead, its real value lies in “Agentic AI”—small, automated tools that plug gaps and handle the repetitive tasks that make up the wider job. But before we get carried away, we have to remember: AI is only as good as the data you feed it. You can’t feed a bunch of random PDFs and disorganized emails into an AI and expect a miracle. We need to focus on getting the basics right—useful, structured data.
For me, the real win is getting that data from the site on a cold winter morning from a burly builder and turning it into something structured that we can actually use. That is where the real value lies, not in the flashy marketing demos.
3. Open Standards and the “Plan B”
Software costs reached a breaking point this year. Following the January 2026 Autodesk price hikes (a 10% global increase alongside the removal of renewal discounts), business leaders are finally asking: “Are we getting a return on this investment?”
I’ve felt this coming for a while. You have to look after the cow if you want the milk, and right now, the proprietary vendors are pushing their luck. We are seeing a significant rise in “Plan B” options—open-source tools like BonsaiBIM (formerly BlenderBIM) and platforms supported by That Open Company.
The downfall of the “giants” may not come from a rival software, but from the ability for practitioners to code their own add-ons for open-source tools. When you combine AI-assisted coding with robust open standards like IFC, the barrier to creating custom, fit-for-purpose tools is collapsing.
4. The SaaS Vulnerability
Finally, we have to address our over-reliance on SaaS (Software as a Service). Following the major cloud outages in late 2025, the industry is waking up to the risks of “concentration.” Total reliance on a single data farm isn’t just a technical risk; it’s a business continuity risk. In 2026, I expect to see more firms looking at hybrid models—keeping their critical data local while using the cloud for collaboration.
Looking Ahead
If 2026 has taught me anything so far, it’s that progress won’t come from more complexity. It will come from better conversations, simpler processes, and a genuine focus on the people on the ground. Standards and tools matter, but they are only useful if they help that builder on a cold morning get the job done right.
Coulter BIM Information Management 
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