Illuminate Sydney 2025 set out to do something many in the sector have been calling for: create a forum not just to showcase technology, but to engage seriously with how digital transformation is unfolding on the ground.
The agenda focused on alignment, capability, and confidence; a nod to industry participants wanting more than just a product showcase. Digital tools were featured, but they were not the headline. Instead, they were positioned within
a broader context: What needs to shift in the way we plan, fund, procure, and manage infrastructure to make digital meaningful?
From the outset, there was an openness about the complexity of that task. The opening panel brought together Mark Coates (Bentley), Ian Lowe (Sydney Metro), Raj Aseervatham (Engineers Australia), and Kristy Eulenstein (Consult Australia).
Each offered a clear-eyed view of where we are, and what is holding us back. Eulenstein, in particular, brought a welcome framing of consulting firms not as fixers or implementers, but as trusted guides—helping clients translate
policy ambition into real-world delivery.
Coates described the event as an “invitation to think harder.” Not about what to buy next, but about what still needs to change: delivery risk, shared data environments, evolving digital standards, and how we embed trust
across contracts and teams. That framing echoed throughout the day.
The sessions were technically rich—digital twins, AI-assisted insights, infrastructure intelligence—but grounded in context. Bentley leaders, including Oliver Conze and Ashwin Nayak, focused on how technology can support
better decisions, not just faster ones. Importantly, Illuminate did not pretend transformation is easy or inevitable.
Digital transformation in infrastructure is real. It depends on shared standards, consistent leadership, and the cumulative impact of good decisions made repeatedly. The phrase heard more than once: “steady progress, not silver
bullets.”
That realism was backed by case studies. Jacobs, Arcadis, and ACCIONA each shared examples from current projects, focusing not on results, but on the processes behind them. What emerged was a picture of industry learning: integrating
teams earlier, using data to shape delivery, and getting better at navigating complexity across the supply chain. A standout session from the NSW Government was similarly grounded—sharing lessons from recent program resets,
and the importance of rebuilding trust and capability within public delivery agencies.
One theme that recurred across multiple panels was the widening gap between executive ambition and frontline delivery. Middle managers, several speakers argued, are being asked to deliver digital reforms without clear frameworks or
consistent support. “We do not have a technology gap,” one attendee said. “We have a leadership bandwidth gap.”
One of the most encouraging elements was the diversity of perspectives in the room—not just in discipline, but in mindset. Engineers, policymakers, digital specialists, and delivery leads each brought different lenses to the
conversation, but there was a noticeable shift away from siloed thinking. Several sessions surfaced the same theme: transformation is not owned by any one group. It requires shared language, shared standards, and shared responsibility
across the asset lifecycle. That cross-sector maturity—still developing but clearly growing—was one of the strongest signals of progress.
Productivity was another theme that consistently underpinned the day. Rather than treating it as an abstract issue, speakers linked productivity directly to decision quality, data accessibility, and project sequencing. Several attendees
noted that digital capability is often framed as a cost or compliance issue but its greatest potential lies in lifting how work gets done: faster decisions, fewer reworks, and clearer accountabilities. There was genuine optimism
that more integrated digital workflows —particularly in planning and early-stage design —could help move the needle on an issue that has stubbornly resisted improvement.
For a sector facing cost pressures, workforce constraints, and rising public scrutiny, events like Illuminate Sydney matter because they help build a shared narrative. It gives leaders across organisations a common frame to talk about
capability, systems thinking, and why alignment—not just ambition— will define the next phase of digital infrastructure delivery.
The Illuminate event is now going global and bringing the same delivery-focused conversations to the world stage. If the Australian experience is any guide, the opportunity is there to focus on the critical conversations the industry
needs to have to build confidence, capability, and coherence for the future of infrastructure delivery.
Learn more about Bentley Systems here.