Bentley Systems’s Illuminate 2026 Confronted Infrastructure’s Fragmented Data Problem Head-On

Europe alone requires €12 trillion in infrastructure investment by 2040. This statistic set the tone for Bentley Systems’s 2026 Illuminate conference in Berlin, which showcased how firms are leveraging digital technologies to transform the planning, design, delivery and maintenance of critical infrastructure.

The overarching message was clear: the sector is not heading towards a sudden breaking point, but a slow, predictable crisis that leaders can already quantify but are struggling to address. Mounting pressure from aging assets, climate stress and growing system complexity is converging, stretching infrastructure built in the mid‑20^th century far beyond its intended lifespan.

Against this backdrop, the event’s case studies and presentations highlighted the importance of connected data, open standards, interoperability and AI in infrastructure resilience. Three key themes stood out across the conference:

• Digital twins and subsurface intelligence are closing the gap between design and operations.

  Bentley Systems’s platform strategy centres on persistent lifecycle data, replacing static project handovers with digital twins that evolve alongside operational assets. As market pressures intensify, long‑term performance increasingly depends on accurate subsurface intelligence, geospatial context and lifecycle twins. At the moment, digital twins hold the greatest value during planning and design, with real-world case studies underscoring their impact. On the Tianshan Shengli Tunnel project, a digital-twin–based handover demonstrated clear advantages over simply transferring an as-built model, enabling richer operational insight and continuity. Similarly, a major 11km section of the A16 motorway in Rotterdam achieved virtual commissioning prior to construction through a digital twin built on BIM and 3D design data, highlighting the potential for improved planning, validation and risk reduction. Together, these examples illustrate how virtual commissioning and continuous data reduce risk before construction begins, while enabling operational feedback to inform design decisions to create a continuous cycle of improvement.

• AI is a powerful force multiplier, for better or worse.

  As workforces shrink and project complexity grows, AI is delivering step‑change productivity gains, particularly in early‑stage planning, performance reporting and risk analytics. However, speakers warned that AI is an amplifier of existing practices rather than a solution in itself, meaning that poor data quality, weak governance, unclear accountability and uneven AI literacy all increase the risk of costly errors. Knowing which AI tools to use – and when – is as important as the technology itself. While skills shortages are accelerating AI adoption, the technology should complement domain expertise – not replace it – and must be guided and validated by experienced engineers.

• Connected data and CDEs underpin lifecycle resilience.
  Despite digital maturity in design, much value is lost during handover into construction and operations, exacerbated by the industry’s chronic underuse of data. Given the fragmented nature of tech stacks in design and construction, solution interoperability was repeatedly described as the cornerstone of effective collaboration, especially across complex, multidisciplinary infrastructure projects. Integrated common data environment (CDE) platforms such as ProjectWise are becoming critical coordination layers, connecting BIM, geospatial data, project documentation and asset information into a shared operational context. Large-scale programmes such as Poland’s Port Polska illustrate both the opportunity and the challenge: standardized BIM requirements and CDEs can enable a single source of truth, but scale, access control and configuration remain significant hurdles in practice.

Keynote speaker Claudia Feiner cited Lisa Bodell’s concept of “future amnesia”: when leaders recognize the value of connected data and advanced analytics, but fail to act on it. To address this gap, integrated platforms, trusted data and AI literacy will define the next phase of infrastructure delivery and long-term performance. To read more about how digital twins, unified data environments and lifecycle data management are supporting infrastructure resilience and asset value across design, construction and operations, see Verdantix Market Overview: Industrial Engineering, Design And Construction Software and Verdantix Buyer’s Guide: Industrial Design And Engineering (IDE) Software (2025).