For over two decades, openBIM has promised to transform the AEC/O industry through better collaboration, interoperability, and lifecycle data management. Yet the widespread revolution it pledged remains elusive. Despite the availability of IFC and COBie schemas, we’ve settled for exchanging files rather than meaningful data. This whitepaper explores why openBIM adoption has fallen short and how platforms like dRofus can reignite its original vision—by putting properly defined project requirements at the forefront of design, construction, and operations.

Introduction: Where’s the Revolution?

OpenBIM has been hailed as “the next big thing” since the late 1990s. But while file formats have evolved, the core processes in the AEC/O industry have not kept pace.

In today’s technology-driven world—where businesses across sectors harness data to streamline operations, optimize performance, and gain strategic insights—the building industry still lags behind. Many project teams continue to exchange digital equivalents of paper drawings, missing the broader opportunity to use structured data as a strategic asset.

The question remains: why has openBIM not delivered on the long-promised transformation, especially for owners and operators? And what can we do now to deliver true long-term value?

What is openBIM? A Brief History

openBIM is a collaborative approach to Building Information Modeling (BIM) that emphasizes open standards and interoperability between tools, platforms, and stakeholders throughout a building’s lifecycle. The goal is to enable seamless data exchange regardless of the software or vendor being used.

openBIM relies heavily on standardized schemas such as:

IFC (Industry Foundation Classes): Initially released in 1996, IFC defines geometry, spatial relationships, and semantics, enabling model-based collaboration across disciplines.*

COBie (Construction-Operations Building information exchange): Introduced in 2007, COBie focuses on the non-graphical data needed to operate and maintain a building, typically handed over at project completion.**

While major platforms like Revit, ArchiCAD, Tekla, and others now support IFC export/import, true interoperability remains elusive due to inconsistent data use, limited adoption of native schema support, and a lack of owner-driven requirements.

"Although IFC and COBie are data schemas, the industry has primarily treated them as file formats, reducing their potential as tools for integrated workflows."

Adoption and Impact of BIM

Over the past two decades, adoption of BIM has grown steadily. A survey during the buildingSMART Virtual Summit (2021) found:

• 48% of respondents use BIM on 76–100% of their projects
• 23% use BIM on all projects
• Top benefits cited were faster resolution of quality issues (65%), improved collaboration (63%), and better design decision-making (63%)***

Additionally, the global BIM in construction market was valued at $3.3 billion in 2021 and is projected to reach $11.77 billion by 2030, with a CAGR of 15.1%****.

These findings underscore a growing reliance on BIM, yet also reveal a persistent gap: while adoption is rising, the full potential of BIM—especially through structured data—remains untapped. This brings us to the heart of the issue: why data, not just tools, is the missing link.

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* buildingSMART International. (n.d.). What is IFC?

**National Institute of Building Sciences. (n.d.). COBie: Construction-Operations Building information exchange

***buildingSMART. (2021). Construction Industry Looks to BIM to Improve Decision Making & Collaboration

****Straits Research. (2022). Building Information Modeling Market Report