Our industry sits on the threshold of tremendous advancement as multi-faceted data capture sources align with greater analytical capabilities. The technologies driving this new digital, data-focused environment are becoming an essential piece of every project delivery, no matter the scope or scale.
Underlying the integration of these solutions is the need for true connectivity, a digital ecosystem that seamlessly ties the tools — and more importantly — the data together.
This year, digital boundaries that have long plagued the industry will continue to be broken down at an accelerated rate. Here are a few emerging developments facilitating the construction industry’s technology transformation.
The industry has worked for decades to develop open standards and development platforms that allow data to move seamlessly across otherwise proprietary systems — and those efforts are foundational to every successful connected digital ecosystem.
As an example, the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) recently introduced the ISO/TS 15143-4:2025 work site data exchange standard for earthmoving machinery and mobile road construction equipment. This standard establishes common data formats and communication protocols to enable true plug-and-play interoperability between machines and software platforms — something that to-date has not been possible. Industry leaders including Trimble, Caterpillar, John Deere, Komatsu, Topcon, and Leica Geosystems are members of the standards development working group committed to delivering that interoperable environment in the near term.
| Your local Topcon Positioning Systems Inc dealer |
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| Star Equipment LTD |
Open development platforms also continue to improve additional field-to-office integrations. The construction industry can expect to see more collaboration between leading technology companies and third-party developers as a way to integrate value-added functionality to existing solutions.
One example is the Universal Scene Description (USD), which is an open-source software promoted by the Alliance for OpenUSD for data interchange within 3D environments. While this might sound like a better resource for film production, it’s significant to the construction industry as well.
In one case, an urban planning and design firm relied on OpenUSD computer graphics standards to combine a design generated in Trimble software with NVIDIA and SimScale, producing an animated wind simulation of a road and rail tunnel intersection. Further, the firm used the Trimble SketchUp USDZ exporter to transfer 3D models from SketchUp to the Omniverse App USD Composer for editing, refinement, and the addition of enhanced visual effects.
Reality capture is another area of continued investment, with the emergence of new ways to analyze and share massive reality capture data sets. For instance, a new reality capture platform service is now available as an extension to the Trimble Connect cloud-based common data environment.
| Your local Takeuchi Mfg Ltd dealer |
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| Kirby Smith Machinery |
| Star Equipment LTD |
“The new platform service enables our workforce to more easily access data and collaborate between the job site and office, creating additional efficiencies across our operations,” said Christopher Pynn, digital leader at Laing O'Rourke for Eastern Freeway — Burke to Tram Alliance in Australia.
Integration is also allowing data to move seamlessly across the software systems contractors use to manage enterprise resource planning (ERP), estimating, and operational workflows. This eliminates manual effort, errors, and lag time associated with relaying essential information ranging from bid, budget, and billing figures to labor hours, production quantities, safety forms, equipment repair requests, and more. The enhanced efficiency, collaboration, and access to real-time insight lead directly to improved project outcomes.
For example, many project management and ERP solutions are being automatically integrated, helping to streamline core information related to project execution and financial reconciliation. When real-time data flows between the two systems, job costs sync more immediately with the budget, allowing project managers to see the actual costs for their project from the ERP, track what’s being paid out, and use that data to make better-informed decisions.
As construction technology continues to evolve, so too do the ways in which contractors can purchase it. Technology subscriptions are gaining in popularity because of the inherent flexibility they provide, and even the subscriptions themselves continue to become more flexible. This year, for example, tiered subscription offerings have made their foray into the market, with varying coverage and price points to meet the needs of a wider variety of customers.
| Your local Manitou dealer |
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| Star Equipment LTD |
Expanding distribution channels are also opening up new opportunities to contractors to integrate technology into mixed-fleet workflows. For instance, Acheson, Alberta, Canada-based SMS Equipment recently became the first Trimble Technology Outlet, a new channel that enables dealers of a wider variety of equipment to sell and support technology for the brands they represent. Kirby-Smith Machinery became the first in the U.S.
According to Mike Brown, Executive Vice President of Technology and Innovation at SMS Equipment, this new distribution channel gives customers greater options. “Now, our Komatsu and BOMAG customers can purchase Trimble technology from SMS Equipment and know it will be supported as part of their machine purchase,” he said.
Along with greater options and opportunity, the construction space is also a hotbed of growing investment, namely from venture capitalists.
According to BuiltWorlds’ 2024 Annual Venture and Investments Report, construction tech venture capital inflows increased to $2.265 billion in 2024 from $1.705 billion in 2023 — representing an increase of $560 million, or 32.9 percent. Construction tech venture capital activity has been largely driven by investment for startups providing labor productivity solutions, the report’s authors said.
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| Laser Specialist inc |
An example of venture capital investment is the recent collaboration with Xona to integrate Trimble correction services with Xona's PULSAR high-performance navigation service — a partnership made possible by Trimble Ventures, a fund focused on investing in early and growth-stage companies. This collaboration will enable secure, high-precision positioning for applications ranging from geospatial to low-power mass mobile and IoT.
Others have formed similar capital investments. For instance, Turner Ventures, Turner Construction Company’s venture program, supports early-stage startups focused on decarbonization and digitalization.
Finally, the role of artificial intelligence continues to expand in the construction space. Fortune Business Insights reported that the global AI in construction market size, valued at $3.93 billion in 2024, will jump to $4.86 billion in 2025 and $22.68 billion by 2032. North America dominated the construction AI market with a market share of 38.93 percent in 2024.
Over the coming years, AI technology will become more sophisticated, automating the point cloud-to-BIM process and identifying critical structural elements with minimal human intervention. AI solutions that have already begun to emerge range from tools that automatically detect and count symbols on construction drawings to generative AI in architecture and design software and tools that automate data import, export, and workflows.
| Your local Iowa Mold Tooling Co Inc dealer |
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| Star Equipment LTD |
The importance of standards in this emerging AI-enabled ecosystem is also top of our list. Upcoming ISO 9001 standard revisions will likely introduce more explicit requirements for digital technology and a globally recognized AI standard. ISO announced the 2025 International AI Standards Summit earlier this year, designed to address the complex challenges posed by AI while promoting the development and adoption of interoperable AI standards that uphold reliability, sustainability, and human rights.
From AI to open standards, the rapid evolution of emerging technologies continues to redefine the way projects are planned, designed, built, and maintained. Leveraging the power of interoperability, capitalizing on new investment opportunities, and harnessing the potential of AI and extended reality are foundational pieces to this more efficient, connected, and sustainable world.
