BIM skyrockets

According to AEC Weekly, one of the top 10 trends of last year is the growth of building information modeling (BIM).

As a result of that growth, other trends include the growth of analysis, contractors driving model-based processes, MEP users driving BIM adoption, and the proliferation of third party BIM products.

For example, 225,000 people use Autodesk Revit, a jump of 35,000 from 11 months ago. Autodesk customers are building a lot more models, and analysis is becoming an important component. Autodesk's purchase of Robobat speaks to this trend, and Inventor, Autodesk's 3-D mechanical modeling software, is moving to the forefront, being pushed as an important tool for engineers and contractors.