By Matthew Sprague, Senior Manager of Product Marketing, Trimble
A recent Data-Centric Owner SmartMarket Report from the Dodge Construction Network confirms that asset owners are driving technological change to produce better project data and reach new levels of insight, productivity and quality. Trimble Owner and Public Sector solutions support and align with these efforts, delivering a unified software platform that enhances asset management, operational efficiency and data-driven decision making. Now is a good time to reflect on this Dodge study and on opportunities to improve performance in 2026 and beyond.
Over the past decade, infrastructure owners have steadily increased investments in digital workflows and advanced technologies, recognizing that successful capital planning, design, construction, operations and maintenance depend on access to high-quality project data. This strategic shift signals a fundamental reimagining of how the industry approaches project delivery and asset lifecycle management.
The Dodge SmartMarket report reveals that forward-thinking owners prioritize project data that is timely, accurate and seamlessly usable across all organizational functions and project phases. By eliminating traditional data silos, these pioneering organizations foster enhanced collaboration across project teams, reduce total cost of ownership, achieve superior project outcomes and establish themselves as the most effective stewards of public and private assets.
The study delivers a clear message: owners with strong data strategies extract greater benefits from key digital technologies. However, while digital technologies promise impressive improvements in project outcomes, only 23% of owners are highly engaged in data-centric approaches. The rest are evenly split between limited and moderate engagement.
Connected intelligence transforms raw data
Construction projects and ongoing management generate massive amounts of information, with constant data streams of field measurements, progress photos, material deliveries, quality inspections, schedule updates and cost tracking. However, most organizations struggle to transform this raw information into actionable insights that improve decision making.
Data collection represents only the first step in a larger process. Systems that capture, analyze and redistribute information back to project teams in formats that drive better decisions create a multiplier effect. Each data point contributes to improved outcomes across multiple projects and phases.
The Trimble Unity asset lifecycle management (ALM) software suite provides the digital advantages referenced in the Dodge report. The applications ensure access to centralized, GIS-centric data, while connected workflows cover all aspects of ALM from planning, design and construction to operation and maintenance. The seamless syncing of field-to-office data supports efficiency and promotes collaboration between all stakeholders. Integration between Trimble Unity and Esri's ArcGIS platform maximizes the value of comprehensive geospatial databases with powerful embedded GIS capabilities.
The study confirms a data-centric approach works. Organizations with robust data strategies report major improvements ranging from 64% to 81% across different technology categories. Project management software emerges as the most beneficial tool, with 81% of users reporting major positive impacts when supported by strong data practices.
Seamless integration across project lifecycles
Data-centric organizations break down the barriers created by information silos by implementing integrated workflows that connect field collection, office analysis and operational use within a single information ecosystem. This integration ensures that measurements taken in the field automatically update design models, progress tracking systems and future maintenance planning tools.
The benefits compound over time. When field data flows seamlessly to office systems, project managers track progress more accurately, identify potential delays earlier and make informed decisions about resource allocation. When this same information carries forward to operations teams, facility managers can plan maintenance schedules, track asset performance and make data-driven decisions about future capital investments. This capability represents a fundamental shift from treating each project phase as a separate activity to viewing the entire asset lifecycle as an integrated information system.
Construction data powers operational excellence
The traditional view treats construction data as a project deliverable to be packaged and handed over at completion. This approach wastes enormous value by disconnecting the detailed information collected during construction from the ongoing operational needs of the completed asset. Forward-thinking owners recognize construction data as the foundation for operational excellence throughout the asset lifecycle. Accurate as-built data provides essential information for maintenance planning, performance optimization and future renovation decisions.
The Dodge SmartMarket study reveals this opportunity remains largely untapped. While 76% of owners require at least some type of digital as-built data from their project teams, only 38% report using digital technology and data to compile record deliverables at project completion. This gap represents millions of dollars in lost value as facility managers struggle to locate installation details, warranty information and performance specifications years after project completion.
Digital twins represent the ultimate expression of this approach, with 41% of users successfully leveraging their data during operations and maintenance phases. These comprehensive digital representations of physical assets enable predictive maintenance, performance optimization and evidence-based decision-making throughout the asset lifecycle.
The performance gap reveals opportunity
Currently, 80% of infrastructure owners use at least one data-driven project management approach. However, 86% of highly data-centric owners report improvement in project outcomes such as reliable cost and schedule estimates and enhanced quality, safety and sustainability performance. Only 74% of general owners experience improvement in these same benefits.
The gap widens when examining process improvements. While 80% of data-focused organizations see better progress tracking and increased collaboration, only 67% of traditional owners realize these benefits. Most striking is the difference in effective data utilization: 83% of highly data-centric owners successfully use project data for planning, operations and asset management, compared to just 64% of their peers.
The path forward
Digital transformation centers on effective asset lifecycle management made possible by integrated field-to-office-to-field data management software. Owners that invest in comprehensive data strategies consistently extract more value from their technology investments across every category measured in the Dodge study.
By building the data foundation that makes digital tools truly valuable, owners who currently implement highly data-centric approaches enjoy substantial competitive advantages in project outcomes, process efficiency and operational performance. The study's findings point toward a future where data-driven decision-making promotes construction and asset lifecycle management excellence and leads to industry advancement.
Trimble Owner & Public Sector solutions enable successful end-to-end asset lifecycle management.
