Pricing is uncertain, timelines slip, and the decisions that make or break a project are made long before anyone breaks ground. For years, the construction and development industry has run on spreadsheets, email chains and distributed teams, mixing highest-stakes decisions with idiosyncratic steps.

That’s starting to change. A new generation of technology, from collaborative platforms to data and automation tools to AI, is giving developers, contractors and their partners a faster, shared way to model scenarios, estimate costs and align stakeholders before those early decisions become expensive problems later in a project’s life. The question many teams are now facing is beyond whether to adopt these tools- it’s the decision to build them in-house or buy an existing platform.

Join Bisnow and Block and Mortar for a conversation on the build vs. buy decision now facing developers, contractors and capital partners: when it makes sense to build proprietary AI and data tools in-house, when to buy off-the-shelf, and how the best teams are making that call without giving up control of the process, or their pocketbook.

WHAT WE'LL COVER

• Predevelopment & Early Decision-Making

  • How new platforms, data tools and purpose-built AI are replacing spreadsheets and disconnected conversations to reduce uncertainty before a shovel hits the ground.

• Cost Estimation & Financial Forecasting

  • Where technology is compressing budget and feasibility analysis that used to take weeks into a matter of minutes.

• Collaboration Across the Development Stack

  • How developers, contractors, brokers and other partners are using shared platforms to align faster and cut down on costly miscommunication.

• Technology Across the Full Project Lifecycle

  • How digital tools, from scheduling and cost tracking to automation and AI, are extending beyond preconstruction to keep projects on time and on budget.

• The Build vs. Buy Decision

  • Why more enterprise teams, developers, GCs, insurers and banks alike, are weighing whether to build proprietary AI tools in-house or buy from vendors, and what's driving that decision heading into 2027.

WHO SHOULD ATTEND Developers, owners, general contractors, project executives and capital partners — particularly CIOs, CTOs and other technology decision-makers — evaluating whether to build or buy their next AI and data tools.

ABOUT BISNOW:

Bisnow’s digital events convene the biggest power players in the industry to help you grow your business across a complex market. With engaging discussions, exclusive insights and the largest and most equipped audience in the field, Bisnow’s unique perspective on the challenges and opportunities of the market makes attendance a value add for any CRE professional. 

For questions regarding content, please contact will.follett@bisnow.com.
To request disability-related accommodations, please contact catherine.rowntree@bisnow.com no later than seven business days prior to the event.