Research from Revizto has revealed that 96% of construction’s technology leaders worry about who controls their data, but remain divided on how to manage their tech stack
The debate is no longer primarily about cost or which tools to buy, but data ownership and what happens to it when vendor relationships change.
The Bridging the Gap Report, one of the first studies to examine technology integration challenges across AEC, draws on insights from 600 CIOs across the US, UK, Europe, Australia and the Middle East.
Marc Schütz, chief product officer at Revizto, explained: “CIOs are no longer just asking if a technology works. They’re asking if it delivers multifunctional value without adding bloat, and whether it keeps control of critical project data in their hands.”
Concerns over data ownership cause several barriers to tech uptake
Despite the industry’s appetite for AI, the research exposes a significant readiness gap.
The biggest barrier preventing firms from gaining value from AI is regulatory uncertainty, cited by 24% of respondents – followed closely by limited digital skills (23%), a lack of integrations (17%), and poor data foundations (15%).
Only 10% said they were already seeing value with no barriers remaining.
David Felker, CIO of Trilon, said: “The construction industry has more technology than ever, yet control has become more fragmented. This is not a tooling issue. It is a trust and data ownership issue. We must be intentional about retaining control of our data and using it to drive better outcomes.”
Lost value in project cycles
As complexity in multimillion-dollar builds intensifies, CIOs are on the front lines and under increasing pressure to do more with less.
However, many are split on how to manage this: 41% plan to expand their tech stack over the next 12-18 months, while nearly four in ten (39%) plan to consolidate.
Even with advances in technology, the industry’s track record on project delivery underscores just how high the stakes are: 92% of respondents report cost overruns of 6% or more.
A figure that points not to isolated failure, but to a sector that has quietly normalised missing its targets and effectively built in a tolerance of around 10%, representing billions in lost value across project cycles.
Can construction CIOs operate robust systems?
Overall, the report highlights that the challenge facing many construction CIOs is not access to better tools, but whether governance and data infrastructures are robust enough to deploy them in a sector that operates on tight margins, with long timelines and shared accountability across dozens of teams, stakeholders, and contractors.
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