AEC Summit
watch on-demand
ON-DEMAND VIDEOS
AI Won’t Disrupt AEC, but Organizations That Redesign Work Will
AI is rapidly transforming industries, including AEC, but the real disruption is not technological; it’s organizational. As AI automates routine tasks and accelerates design, analysis, and decision-making, competitive advantage will no longer come from better tools alone, but from how organizations rethink the way they work, lead, and create value. The firms that thrive will move beyond adopting AI to redesign workflows, redefine roles, and enable people to collaborate effectively with AI.
In this keynote, Dr. Sam Zolfagharian explores how leaders can prepare for this shift and move from experimentation to meaningful transformation. Attendees will learn how forward-thinking organizations are using AI not only to increase productivity but also to unlock new opportunities and build more adaptive, resilient workplaces. Because the future will not be defined by technology alone, but by leaders who know how to redesign work itself.
From Project Data to Project Knowledge: Capturing, Connecting, and Using What Your Teams Already Know
Egnyte is introducing a new set of capabilities designed to solve one of AEC’s biggest challenges: fragmented project knowledge. In this product highlight session, see how Egnyte brings email, project systems, and design tools together into a single, governed record—then applies AI to make that information structured, searchable, and usable. Through a series of use cases and demos, we’ll showcase how teams can evolve from digging through systems to asking questions and getting answers grounded in real project data—enabling faster decisions, reduced risk, and the seamless reuse of knowledge across every project.
From Ransomware to Resilience: How Titan AEC Rebuilt for Secure Always-On Operations
A ransomware attack doesn’t just test your defenses; it exposes how your entire business operates. In this session, Shobhit Baadkar, CEO of Titan AEC, shares how a real-world attack became the catalyst for rethinking how his firm protects, manages, and works with project data. What started as a rapid response to contain a threat evolved into a broader transformation, improving data access, strengthening governance, and ensuring teams can keep projects moving under any conditions. Learn how Titan AEC moved beyond recovery to build a more resilient, secure, and operationally efficient foundation for the future.
Beyond the Hype: How ESI Built a Governed AI Framework for 500TB of AEC Data
Forensic engineering sits at the intersection of AEC and litigation, where data must be more than just accessible; it must be governed, traceable, and defensible. Join Egnyte and the Sr. Director of IT at ESI for a candid look at how a 30-year-old firm with more than 100,000 projects and 500TB of data transitioned from AI exploration to implementation. The conversation will explore how they've built a governed AI deployment, based on NIST's AI frameworks. Attendees will learn how to apply AI to real-world use cases, scale it across complex project environments while maintaining compliance, and turn decades of research and analysis into a strategic business asset.
Guardrails, Not Gatekeepers: How VLK Architects Governs Information Without Slowing People Down
In AEC firms, governance breaks down when data is entered multiple times across disconnected systems, leading to inconsistency and a lack of trust in project information.
Join VLK Architects’ Practice Technology Director, Stephen Olson, for a practical look at how the firm built a governed information layer as the single source of truth for unstructured project data. By enforcing consistency through structure, naming, and version control, and connecting systems like Autodesk Forma, ERP, and Smartsheet, VLK ensures information stays accurate across the stack. This approach is rooted in a simple principle: the right data entered once, by the right person, in the right system. By leveraging integrations that move data across platforms without duplication, VLK has turned this principle into a functional reality. Attendees will learn how to embed governance into everyday workflows, create a trusted system of record, and ensure information remains consistent and usable across systems.
How AI Is Reshaping Value, Pricing, and Competition in Engineering
As AI accelerates design, analysis, and decision-making, the real disruption facing engineering firms is not technology, it’s how firms create, deliver, and price value. In this session, Dan Larson, Chair of ACEC, shares how engineering firms are starting to think about using AI. We’ll explore how small to large firms can compete in an AI-driven landscape, why the shift from billable hours to value-based pricing is inevitable, and how firms can turn their data into a strategic asset. The future of engineering won’t be won by those who adopt AI fastest, but by those who rethink how their firm operates.
400 Terabytes and Counting: HOK's Evolution From File Storage to True Collaboration
When global architecture firm HOK migrated 400 terabytes of active project data to Egnyte, the goal was simple: give 2,000 staff worldwide access to files without a VPN. But what started as a cloud storage play has grown into a full collaboration platform.
Join HOK's Eric Bogenschutz as he shares how HOK moved beyond basic file access to enable real-time co-editing, onboard external project partners as standard users, and use Egnyte's AI to surface decades of project data on demand. You’ll walk away from this session with practical lessons on phased rollouts, strategies for driving user adoption, and a framework for turning a file system into a connected collaboration layer across the entire firm.
Turning Fragmented Servers into Firm Intelligence: Fisher German’s Path to an AI- Ready Data Foundation
Data fragmentation is a silent killer of AEC productivity. With data spread across servers, how do you prepare your firm for the age of AI?
Fisher German joins Egnyte to share how they migrated fragmented legacy server data into a single, governed platform. We’ll explore how moving beyond basic file storage has helped Fisher German accelerate collaboration, unlock AI driven insights, and overall improve access to information. Join this session to gain practical strategies to eliminate data sprawl and set your business up for AI.
Turning Governance into an Operational Advantage
AEC firms have moved their file servers to the cloud—but governance hasn’t kept pace. In this session, Moffatt & Nichol shares how they evolved from basic storage to a governance-driven operating model in which project managers—not IT—own access, accountability, and data decisions. Learn how they operationalized concepts like data ownership, CUI classification, and GDPR response, while balancing strict retention requirements with the need to delete data quickly. This session will explore what it really takes to move from policy to practice—and how governance, when done right, becomes a driver of efficiency, compliance, and trust across projects.
How IT Decisions Drive Financial Performance: The New AEC Strategy
Technology strategy now plays a direct role in the financial performance of AEC firms. In this fireside chat, Egnyte sits down with Neil Shah, CEO of the Construction Financial Management Association (CFMA), to discuss how technology investments—from collaboration to emerging AI capabilities—are influencing risk, efficiency, and profitability across the industry. The conversation will explore what these shifts mean for IT leaders as they help guide their firms through the next phase of digital transformation.
From On-prem to Cloud to AI: How Leading AEC Firms Are Redesigning Work
AEC firms are under pressure to modernize—but the real challenge isn’t adopting new technology, it’s doing so without disrupting how work actually gets done. In this panel, industry leaders explain how they balance traditional on-prem high-performance workflows with cloud collaboration, strengthening governance as complexity grows, and laying the foundation for secure, effective AI. From real-world lessons on what’s working today to where firms are still struggling, this session explores how leading organizations are evolving their operations to drive productivity, reduce risk, and prepare for what’s next.
Preconstruction Modernization: How AI Accelerates Project Readiness
Preconstruction determines the trajectory of project success, but it’s often slowed by fragmented data and manual workflows. In this session, Egnyte’s Construction Practice Leader, Satyam Verma, explores how contractors are modernizing preconstruction by centralizing project information and applying AI to accelerate decision-making. Discover how AI-driven insights improve alignment, reduce risk, and strengthen constructability readiness before construction begins.
One Question, Every System: What MCP Makes Possible for AEC Teams
Show me all open RFIs on this project and any related emails from the last 30 days." That's a simple question with a complicated answer, unless your systems are connected. In this session, you’ll learn how Egnyte's MCP connectors link your content platform to Procore, Gmail, Outlook, Slack, and more. You'll see live use cases, learn how enterprise-grade permissions and audit trails carry through every connection, and leave with a clear picture of what a connected, AI-ready content layer looks like in practice.
How the Final Steps to Achieve CMMC Compliance Help You Win the Bid
When the U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) announced a multi-year rollout of the Cybersecurity Maturity Model Certification (CMMC) for its contractors and subcontractors in December 2025, many AEC firms were surprised to find CMMC included as a bid or contract requirement almost immediately. In this session, attendees will learn practical steps that DoD contractors need to take to achieve CMMC compliance, so their firms can keep bidding on and winning lucrative federal contracts. The discussion will dive into common stumbling blocks to avoid during the CMMC compliance process and how working with an experienced technology partner can reduce the time to compliance.
Connected Workflows: Egnyte’s Latest AEC Integrations
As AEC firms look to streamline operations and improve project visibility, connected technology ecosystems are becoming essential. In this session, Director of Strategic Alliances at Egnyte, Aviram Barfi, will be joined by guests from Deltek and SmartPM to showcase the latest additions to Egnyte’s growing AEC integration ecosystem. Attendees will learn how to implement integrated workflows across project management, collaboration, and analytics help reduce silos, improve efficiency, and make better project decisions.
Stop Working Around Your Platform: How a 90-Year-Old Engineering Firm Finally Found a Single Source of Truth
Managing more than 3,000 active projects across eight disciplines is challenging on its own; doing so with a geographically diverse workforce and separate storage systems makes it even more complex. Join Horner Schifrin’s IT Director Jeff Stahlhuth and CAD Manager John Bailey as they share their journey from ProjectWise, network drives, and BIM to a single source of truth across every discipline. This session explores the drivers behind the change, the realities of the transition, the resulting collaboration benefits, and how the Egnyte platform supported their internal AI journey.
Delivering AI Value in AEC: The Role of Data, Context, and Control
AI in AEC is moving quickly, but without the right data foundation, context, and controls, it struggles to deliver real project value. In this session, Egnyte’s Chief Product Officer, Prasad Gune, breaks down how firms can move beyond experimentation to practical application. From aggregating and protecting project data to enabling early AI agents across the value chain, he’ll explore how a context layer, content enrichment, and built-in safeguards make AI usable, trustworthy, and actionable. Attendees will gain a clear view of what it actually takes to turn AI into a working part of AEC workflows.
A Look Ahead
In this closing session, we’ll explore what’s next for the industry and Egnyte’s vision for the future. From connecting project data across systems to embedding AI directly into workflows, we’ll explore how forward-thinking firms are redesigning how work gets done. Because the future of AEC isn’t something to wait for—it’s already being built.