Is the future of IFC moving beyond file-based data exchange — and what does that actually look like?
buildingSMART is actively developing the next generation of open standards, and the direction is clear: away from file-based, fixed packets of information and toward cloud-based, AI-capable, modularised, and connected data environments. In this future model, a design model, an asset register, and a GIS system are not three separate things requiring manual reconciliation — they are three views of the same underlying dataset, accessible via APIs and connected systems.
File-based transmission using formats like IFC will continue for some time — IFC files are engineered to remain accessible for 30 years or more without depending on a specific software version, which makes them a durable and neutral format for archival and handover. But the longer-term trajectory points toward information being accessed rather than sent. The shift is from exchanging snapshots of data to querying live, structured environments that multiple systems and stakeholders can connect to simultaneously.
Rather than exporting a design model, an asset register, and a GIS dataset as three separate files that must then be reconciled, future environments expose all three as different views of one governed, connected dataset. Software tools — including AI systems — query that dataset via APIs, always working from current, structured information rather than a static file generated at a fixed point in time.
The role of structured, governed data becomes especially critical as AI enters the construction industry. As Eric Bugeja explains in this episode of the Digital Construction Podcast, AI cannot fix fragmented or ungoverned information environments — it amplifies their problems. Moving to connected, modular data standards is not just a technical upgrade; it is the prerequisite for AI to deliver meaningful results at scale in construction and infrastructure.
"AI systems are only as good as the data that they are trained on. If our information environments are fragmented and inconsistent and ungoverned, then AI doesn't solve that problem. It actually scales it."
— Eric Bugeja, Chairperson buildingSMART Australasia & Director buildingSMART International
buildingSMART International, which has grown to 40 chapters worldwide as of 2025 and was originally founded in the late 1990s by software vendors seeking to enable information sharing, is now directing that collective effort toward this connected-data future — one where open standards like IFC, IDS, and BCF underpin an interoperable, vendor-neutral layer that the entire industry can build on.
About Eric Bugeja
Bugeja began his career as a mechanical engineer in an unusually formative environment: a two-person firm where a highly experienced Dutch engineer in his 60s gave him complete freedom to explore emerging design technologies from the outset. That early exposure shaped a career-long pattern of pushing digital tools beyond conventional boundaries.
He subsequently worked in manufacturing automation and food processing consultancy before transitioning into BIM leadership roles at large design and construction firms. In those roles, Bugeja led the development of digital strategy and championed the adoption of structured, governed data across complex project environments — the exact foundation he now argues is essential for AI to deliver meaningful results in construction.
Bugeja now runs Kefron, his own consulting and training business focused on open standards and technology adoption, while volunteering as Chairperson of buildingSMART Australasia and serving as a Director on the board of buildingSMART International. His work spans standards development across IFC, IDS, and BCF, as well as engagement with ISO and the global digital engineering community across Australia, New Zealand, and beyond.
His authority on the future of IFC and open standards rests on direct participation in shaping those standards at the international level — not as an observer, but as a decision-maker within the organisation responsible for their development.
See also
A common mistake is that designers simply export an IFC file with no specific instructions, resulting in massive, unmanageable files containing every element and property — rather than targeted, purpose-built exports aligned to a defined use case.
If one or two software vendors become dominant and an organisation's data is locked into their proprietary format, that organisation faces serious risk if those vendors change pricing, discontinue products, or shift strategic direction — open standards like IFC protect long-term data accessibility.
Bugeja began as a mechanical engineer in manufacturing automation and food processing consultancy, where his passion for adapting technology led him to explore digital tools early in his career, eventually moving into BIM leadership roles at large design and construction firms.