The AEC industry is currently going through an unprecedented transformation. In the last few years, essentially every market in the world has seen a significant change. Additionally, many macro changes to our markets that would have typically taken more than a decade to manifest have been expedited by the epidemic. The engineering, construction and design firms are and will be significantly impacted by these developments. Project plans are still being hindered by supply chain bottlenecks, labor & resource shortages, shifting regulatory constraints, and rising costs. Let’s examine the key trends for AEC organizations to keep in mind as they move forward while still adjusting and adapting to the new normal of 2022 and beyond.

1. AEC Industry Trends 2022- Top 10
Opportunities
The AEC industry is currently going through an unprecedented transformation.
In the last few years, essentially every market in the world has seen a significant change.
Additionally, many macro changes to our markets that would have typically taken more than a
decade to manifest have been expedited by the epidemic.
The engineering, construction and design firms are and will be significantly impacted by these
developments. Project plans are still being hindered by supply chain bottlenecks, labor &
resource shortages, shifting regulatory constraints, and rising costs.
Let’s examine the key trends for AEC organizations to keep in mind as they move forward while
still adjusting and adapting to the new normal of 2022 and beyond.

2. AEC Industry 2022 – What has Changed?
The year 2020 marked a turning point for the AEC companies.
The COVID-19 pandemic upended the global corporate environment and hastened the adoption
of digital solutions and our capacity for remote work.
Today, there is a tremendous demand for global infrastructure and construction services, which
has led to tremendous development and new prospects.
On the other hand, the global market is concurrently witnessing new heights of political and
economic turbulence. Additionally, many macro changes to our markets that would have
typically taken more than a decade to manifest have been expedited by the epidemic.
Project plans are still being hindered by supply chain bottlenecks, labor & resource shortages,
shifting regulatory constraints, and rising costs.
Therefore, having a research-based awareness of how the industry trends are shifting and how
your peers and competitors are adapting to the new industry dynamics is crucial for AEC firms
looking to expand and keep a competitive edge over their rivals.
Keep your Eyes Open and Your Feet Moving Forward. A wide range of opportunities and
challenges accompany such profound change.
Top 10 Key Challenges/Opportunities for The AEC Industry
– 2022 & Beyond
1. Unpredictability

3. Needless to say, market volatility is the paramount concern of any business out there.
More than ever, AEC companies must delve deeper into their customers and prospects. Only
when a company fully comprehends its audience can you stand out as a business partner or
employee.
Understanding how your company differs from its competitors is necessary to confidently
identify key differentiators. Companies need to speak with their customers, staff, and partners to
learn what has differentiated them from the competition and what hasn’t.
On the other hand, architecture, engineering, and construction (AEC) businesses are facing
significant challenges as it aims to meet the rising demand for assets to be constructed,
operated, built to a standard, and maintained more quickly, at a lower cost and risk. Most firms’
current non-integrated business systems and processes will simply not be enough if they want to
compete in the future.
Without a unique value proposition, firms will eventually find themselves in a difficult position.
Businesses need to specialize and figure out how they uniquely add value to tasks and clients.
Therefore, Technological & Collaborative solutions are growing as an essential requirement in
the competitive AEC industry.

4. 2. Rising Costs
Rising costs are a major concern for AEC organizations of all sizes. Budgets are being reviewed by
AEC experts, who are also searching for ways to cut costs and limit price rises for clients.
AEC executives are looking at technology and collaborative solutions that help save time, money,
and energy to achieve corporate goals. You may lead your businesses into the next decade and
beyond by concentrating on sustainable business practices.
Working with an offshore workforce, on the other hand, has a number of advantages, one of
which is the ability to obtain more for less. Larger teams, competent specialists, and greater
back-end assistance could be examples.
The CAD outsourcing companies already have delivery centers and skilled resources who have
been pre-trained on the AEC industry standards and codes. Because of international currency
exchange rates, organizations in the Global North frequently use outsourcing companies in the
Global South to help them manage their businesses at a reduced cost.
3. Digital Transformation/Collaboration

5. Traditionally, industry has prioritized gradual and slow improvements. This, however, will no
longer suffice. Projects are becoming increasingly larger and more complex. The increased
demand for ecologically conscious construction means established approaches must alter. The
scarcity of competent resources and technological competence will only worsen. These are
complex concerns that necessitate novel approaches to thinking and doing.
Even though the AEC sector is primarily concerned with the actual construction of sites and
buildings, technology is constantly changing how we do everything. The application of
technology and procedures to how we do business is known as digital transformation.
Technology is being used increasingly often and in a wide variety of ways. Technology is now
being used for new purposes, such as the advanced rendering of the built environment, 3D laser
scanning, reality capture, and the removal of paper from our operations in favor of digital ones.
Architecture, engineering, and construction firms must comprehend the digital revolution of
their industry and start moving in that direction if they want to compete. If not, they risk falling
behind.
4. Remote/Hybrid Model

6. Collaboration capabilities are even more essential for simplifying workflows in remote and
dispersed teams. Your project stakeholders should be equally connected because technology has
virtually everything connected.
Consider what you can Control. Emphasize fostering a wonderful work culture, robust business &
financial models that support team growth, and development and growth possibilities.
The job market is the one factor you have no control over. Both job seekers and your workers
are in a stronger position to choose where they work. Due to the expansion of the architecture,
engineering, and construction industries, workers can simply find another fantastic employer
where they can earn more money and have more flexibility.
5. Restructuring Your Firm

7. For most of its lifespan, a firm goes through various stages. Depending on the company’s success
and the broader economic outlook, some of these phases will involve expansion or recession.
Employee strength, company goals, budget allocations, technology adoption, and so on all
undergo significant change and instability during these phases.
Using a third-party service provider to assist the primary organization speeds up the transition
process. With the help of an outsourcing partner, you can easily reduce or expand your team’s
size.
6. Expansion

8. If you want to keep your business lucrative and successful, it must grow & evolve. Growth
demands far more than just new ideas. It calls for additional office space, infrastructure,
production and development capacities, equipment, large teams, and more people to lead and
manage these teams and guarantee that they continue to grow.
Many AEC businesses fail to grow because they lack the finances and resources to take their
ideas through to completion. These challenges can be avoided with the help of a CAD
outsourcing partner. It’s a practical and logical approach for a business to work with offshore
teams to meet its growth objectives.
7. Meeting Deadlines/Lack of Resources

9. The AEC industry is developing rapidly, and there is fiercer competition for the best employees. A
desire exists to make investments in technology that will improve everyone’s jobs. Your team will
be able to focus more on improving design and less on repetitive, non-value-added chores that
can be automated with the correct design solution. Maintaining and even enhancing current
processes is one of the most important criteria to consider when looking at new CAD products.
CAD Outsourcing is a powerful tool used by companies around the globe to leverage the global
talent pool and get competitive. You have the flexibility to build your dream engineering and
design team by selecting from a large pool of technical resources.
Also, because of the time zone differences, the outsourcing partner working as your extended
arm can work on projects and solve problems outside of the primary company’s business hours.
A company in the US time zones may shut its offices in the evening every day, but its
CAD outsourcing partner in India is just getting started on a fresh day. The virtually opposite
operating hours enable a continuous flow of assignments, deliverables, and outcomes that
benefit the client and their customers.
8. Interoperability

10. The future of interoperability in construction is facing three main challenges to developing the
understanding of interoperability beyond the standardized semantic interoperability of
integrated systems, including a growing number of systems that are emerging, and making a
transition from information to knowledge management
Industry is transforming as a result of digital transformation and will continue to do so.
Construction professionals are embracing cloud computing, virtual reality, and other
technology.
The inherent collaborative character of the domain is one of the reasons why interoperability
has been and continues to be an essential issue for the architecture, engineering, and
construction (AEC) business. Interoperability is a major challenge due to the exchange of
information across organizational boundaries and disciplines. This cross-organizational aspect
has complicated the application of models for information exchange in the case of AEC.
9. Preparing for the Next Generation

11. The dynamics of the workplace are changing, and younger generations are entering the
workforce with varying expectations from earlier generations. To maintain the diversity of ideas
and a strong pipeline for future talent in the AEC industry, where expertise is such a highly prized
resource, firms must balance the experience of older personnel with the addition of new blood.
The younger population has different expectations and ambitions than older workers, which
presents a problem for AEC companies. The younger generation demands a solid technological
environment in relation to technology, in addition to wanting it. Younger generations have less
patience for outdated technology and procedures, which ultimately causes turnover and
corporate churn.
10. Embracing Change

12. We don’t often seek out change, especially when your team has been using the same CAD
software for many years. Even when your application is no longer serving you, it’s easy to
become complacent. Creating new values and growth frequently necessitates thinking outside
the box to see what new tools and processes we can adopt.
The advantages of incorporating outsourcing into a company’s business plan are numerous.
According to a Deloitte report from 2019, the outsourcing and shared services market would
develop “at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of over 7.4 percent from 2019 to reach US$
971.2 billion by 2023.” According to the report, the OSS market will exceed US$ 1 trillion in the
next six years if current growth rates continue.
According to another report, at a cumulative annual growth rate (CAGR) of 13.6%, the global
market for drafting services is anticipated to increase from $4.69 billion in 2021 to $5.33 billion
in 2022. The COVID-19 impact, which had previously resulted in restrictive containment
measures like social isolation, remote work, and the closure of commercial activities that
resulted in operational challenges, is largely to blame for the growth of the companies as they
reorganize their operations and recover. The market is anticipated to grow at a CAGR of 12.0
percent to $8.40 billion in 2026.

13. Outsourcing CAD services contain an inherent added value over in-house design/drafting
processes. Commencing from an early phase of the conceptual design process to the final design
delivery, multiple benefits as associated which contribute to economic planning, design, and
construction phases.
The Future of Construction lies in Collaboration
Each stakeholder in the construction value chain will need to create their own plan for navigating
or instigating disruption. Particularly vulnerable to commoditization and falling proportion of
value for certain of their activities are engineering and design, materials distribution, logistics,
general contracting, and specialist subcontracting. Businesses might attempt to uphold existing
positions while adapting to the changing environment, or they can reinvent themselves to
benefit from developments in the sector. Everyone will need to spend money on tools like agile
businesses.
The demand for computer-aided design (CAD) services is predicted to increase, which will fuel
the market for drafting services. The practice of designing and drafting products, structures, or
other things while using computer technology is known as computer-aided design (CAD). Due to
the enormous advantages that CAD offers to consumers, architects, interior designers, and real
estate developers, CAD outsourcing has emerged as being particularly pertinent in the field of
architecture and building design. For instance, the American software business Autodesk
reported that its revenue from the sale of its building, engineering, and architectural products,
as well as its AutoCAD and AutoCAD LT products, increased by 37% in 2019. The market for
drafting services is therefore expanding as a result of the rising demand for CAD services.