Egnyte, the most secure platform for content collaboration and governance, today released its AEC Data Insights Report. The study is based on an analysis of data trends among more than 3,000 customers in the Architecture, Engineering, and Construction (AEC) industry, which has experienced exploding growth in data volume and usage. On average, Egnyte’s AEC customers increased storage by 31.2 percent compound annual growth rate (CAGR) from 2017 to 2021.
While Egnyte serves a diverse range of industries that require varying amounts of storage, the average AEC firm stores more data in the platform than customers in other industries like Real Estate, Retail, Manufacturing, and Life Sciences. According to the report, the typical AEC firm manages 149 percent (2.49x) more files than the cross-industry average. In addition, AEC firms interact with these files on a more frequent basis than other sectors, which can lead to several usability and management issues.
“The flood of AEC data that is collected, shared, and managed throughout the design and build process – coupled with the high level of engagement in terms of link and document sharing – can make it difficult for firms to secure their content effectively without disrupting productivity,” said Ronen Vengosh, Vice President of AEC at Egnyte. “The findings of our study, in line with other industry reports, indicate that AEC firms are coming to rely on data storage at a rapid rate. The industry will need to address the challenges associated with this pace of growth by leveraging data management tools like workflow automation and internal/external risk management.”
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Egnyte’s AEC Data Insights Report also identifies the following key trends:
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- Data sprawl is a growing challenge. The number of individual files stored by AEC firms grew by 23.4 percent CAGR from 2017 to 2021 as they rely on larger file types from various sources, such as drone footage and 3D imagery.
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- Usage patterns vary widely across disciplines. General Contractors share files at a higher rate than any other discipline (Architecture, Engineering, Owners, and Specialty Contractors).
- Data security issues vary by company size and discipline. Egnyte flagged a staggering growth of ‘high-severity’ data issues from Q4 2020 to Q4 2021, a 325% increase across all AEC domains.