From the desk of your IT Support Team

2025 was a watershed year for construction technology. We saw the “AI hype” finally turn into usable tools, a massive shift in hardware standards, and the final sunset of a beloved operating system. As your technology partner, we’ve been working behind the scenes to keep your render farms humming and your site data secure.

Here is the rundown of what defined our year in AEC technology.

OS & Infrastructure: The Great Migration

Windows 10 End of Life: The October 14, 2025 deadline came and went. It was the year’s biggest IT project, with firms scrambling to upgrade fleets to Windows 11 to maintain security compliance. We saw a massive push to retire older workstations that didn’t meet the TPM 2.0 security requirements.

Hardware & Rendering

Nvidia RTX 50-Series (“Blackwell”) Arrived: Early 2025 brought the release of the RTX 5090 and 5080. For visualization teams, this was a game-changer. Render times in Enscape and Twinmotion dropped by nearly 40% compared to the previous generation.

The “NPUs” Took Over Laptops: 2025 was the year the “AI PC” became a requirement, not a gimmick. New mobile workstations launched with dedicated Neural Processing Units (NPUs) to handle local AI tasks—like background blur in Zoom and noise cancellation—freeing up the GPU for Revit and Rhino. NVIDIA also released their DGX Spark a compact, desktop-sized AI supercomputer designed for developers, data scientists, and researchers.

Software & AI Evolution

Revit 2026 & GPU Acceleration: Released in April, Revit 2026 finally brought the long-awaited “Accelerated Graphics” tech preview into the mainstream. For the first time, Revit began properly utilizing modern GPU power for 2D/3D navigation, making orbiting complex BIM models significantly smoother.

Autodesk “Neural CAD” & Agentic AI: At AU 2025, the focus shifted from simple chatbots to “Agentic AI.” We began testing tools where designers could describe a change (e.g., “Move all partitioning walls 100mm to the left”), and the AI executed the geometry edits directly.

Cybersecurity & Data Protection

Ransomware Targeted Construction: 2025 saw the rise of the “Gentlemen” ransomware group, which specifically targeted AEC firms in August. They focused on “double extortion”—stealing blueprints and bidding data before locking systems. This drove a 300% increase in firms adopting “Zero Trust” security policies and immutable cloud backups.

Blueprint Theft Protection: With intellectual property theft rising, we implemented stricter Rights Management (IRM) for many clients, ensuring that PDF drawing sets sent to subcontractors could not be forwarded or opened outside of authorised geo-locations.

Increase in Cyber Compliance Requirements: The biggest shift in 2025 wasn’t just about defense, but revenue. We saw a massive uptick in developers and government bodies requiring proof of cyber compliance (like ISO 27001 or Cyber Essentials) just to accept a bid. Security is no longer just IT insurance; it has become a mandatory credential for winning new work.

Sustainability & Compliance

Carbon Reporting Data Mandates: New regulations in 2025 turned “Carbon Calculation” from a nice-to-have into a legal requirement for public projects. IT teams had to integrate API connectors between BIM models (Revit/Archicad) and carbon calculators (EC3/One Click LCA) to automate the reporting of embodied carbon data.

Looking Ahead to 2026

As we close the book on 2025, the focus is shifting toward security and compliance, audits and system refreshes. We already have a lot lined up for the new year and expect more to be coming our way as the demands form external forces or factors or something else demanding an increase in cybersecurity

If 2025 proved anything, it’s that the gap between “design” and “IT” has completely closed. Navigating this year’s major shifts—from mandatory OS migrations to defending against targeted industry threats—required strategic planning, not just reactive support. We are proud to have been in your corner through it all, ensuring your technology empowered your projects rather than hindered them. Let’s connect in the new year to ensure your infrastructure is ready for the next wave of innovation. Wishing your team a restful break and a prosperous 2026 ahead.