The age of systems integrators – why so many construction projects fail and how do we do things differently?

This is not a cynical construction industry saying. It’s Mike Tyson – and although he didn’t push BIM, it comes to mind a lot in the early months of our projects.

Why?

Because everything seems to be in place: plan, model, contract, team. Yet: the end result is often not what we imagined. But we work with good professionals, motivated clients, and deliver designs that we are really proud of. And yet it doesn’t come together.

Where did we start?

When we started BuildEXT, the goal was not to become a big design agency. We wanted the model we created to live on after the build.

So we moved further and further in:

• First, just the BIM-based design.
• Then we went out to the site, because we saw that without a model, everything could be misunderstood.
• Then we started to manage and control projects.
• And finally: we connected the separate data and systems.

This is how we became system integrators – without having planned it.

Familiar characters – or why do so many projects fall by the wayside?

Because all the individual players in the construction industry – with one exception – live in their own bubble:

• The client: clever, motivated, but bargains down the design fee.
• The project manager: he has been using a chequered booklet for 40 years (because it works).
• The designer: passionate, but not thinking in terms of data structure and technology.
• The engineer: will tell you straight away why it can’t be done.
• The BIM manager: makes a model, but nobody knows what it could be used for.
• The contractor: either requests a printed PDF or creates his own optimised model.
• The operator: gets 300 pages of documentation – but nothing that works.

In fact, everyone is a good specialist in their own field.
They just don’t work in the same system.

The solution: a systems integrator who sees the whole project

There is only one missing character who:

• links the design, construction and operation phases,
• ensures a validated, up-to-date data model,
• structures information and creates consistency between stakeholders.

This is the system integrator.

Not a “facilitator”, not a “BIM coordinator”, but a data-driven project manager who does not close a project, but builds a lifecycle.

How does this work in practice?

This is how an ideal project is built:

1. The client commissions a system integrator at the very beginning of the project.
2. He develops the project platform and the information structure.
3. Designers and engineers work in this – not in separate files, but in a common system.
4. Implementation is done through the platform – pre-production, real-time model updates.
5. The technical check scans the real condition back into the model.
6. The end result is a realistic digital twin.
7. This will build on the FM system and even AI-based operations.

This is not the future. It can work today – you just have to take a different approach.

What is needed?

• Digitized, structured data models
• A well-built project platform
• A partner who sees the whole picture, not just their own section
• And most importantly: customer awareness

If you want not only walls, but also functionality

At BuildEXT, we don’t just design. We build digital operations.

We do few projects, but we take the data through from concept to operation.

If you want a system that works in the long term, don’t just build a house, build a partnership.

Contact us – let’s start on this journey together.

This post is taken from a presentation

…originally delivered at the Proptech Hungary 2025 conference. If you’re interested in learning how to implement BIM in practice, consider attending one of our meetups or joining us at professional events. And if you haven’t already, sign up for our newsletter and we’ll let you know about the next one!