Technology construction in 2026
The new critical path: people, power, data
Paul Fitch
Senior Director, Global Technology Sector Lead
Technology will continue to expand fast this year. Construction costs are going up. The global race for AI is driving huge demand for power, land, skills, and materials. Volatile energy prices, rising MEP (mechanical, electrical and plumbing) component costs, and a shortage of technical talent are driving sharp cost increases across technology, particularly for data centres. Add in the need to adapt to growing regulatory complexity and policy shifts, and it’s clear why costs are climbing.
But the real story isn’t cost. It’s delivery. Technology programmes move at pace, but the inputs they rely on often do not. Securing the right people, power and procurement up front, with enough built-in flexibility to adapt to ever-changing conditions, is critical.
The key question in 2026 is not “what will it cost?” It’s when and how pressure will hit. This is why preparation beats prediction.
What will shape technology construction in 2026?
1. Power
In 2026, power and energy capacity must sit at the centre of technology planning. For data centres, the constraint is not only skilled labour. It’s also power and water availability, and the policy question of who pays for the grid and utility upgrades needed to support them.
In practical terms, power strategy has to run alongside site choice and programme strategy from day one, because the lead times are long. Major grid upgrades can take 6–12 years, so decisions made now may not translate into usable capacity for some time. That’s why many owners are looking at interim options and new approaches. We’re seeing interest in solutions like small modular reactors (SMRs) as a stop-gap, for example. But 2026 will be about balance. No single answer will close the gap on its own. I expect more experimentation too. We’re already seeing one organisation take a novel approach, repurposing EV batteries to help power mobile AI data centres.
2. Labour
Skilled resource availability will remain the most persistent pressure point. It drives cost. It also drives programme risk.
According to our Construction Certainty Index data, 74% of data centre organisations find that labour shortages have a high impact on their ability to deliver projects. 33% of data centre construction projects have been delayed due to skilled labour shortages. And 53% of data centre construction leaders expect this to get worse in the next two years.
In any one city or region, technology projects don’t just compete with other data centres or semiconductor fabrication plants. They compete with everything else being built using the same people, skills and resources. The pinch point is often in the technical trades and supervision, particularly where very large programmes are planned.
What I’m seeing is three broad patterns, depending on the market:
— Not enough depth locally. The necessary skills and experience just aren’t present in the market. This is the case in new and emerging markets.
— Labour exists, but it’s already booked. Demand is so strong that availability just isn’t there.
— Transfer is possible. Although demand is high, there’s a wider pool of skilled resources that can move sectors with the right planning and incentives.
The response to each scenario cannot be one-size-fits-all, but the principle is: define what you need early, find where it is, and secure it.
In addition to the usual incentives, we’re seeing some organisations investing upstream in workforce capacity, rather than hoping the market catches up. For example, Google has announced support for an effort to train 100,000 electrical workers and 30,000 new apprentices in the United States, explicitly tied to the need to build new energy infrastructure. ²⁴
3. Data
In 2026, faster programmes will not be delivered by instinct alone. The advantage increasingly comes from data plus expert judgement.
The critical differentiators?
— Benchmarking early: how does this project compare to the rest of the market? What design changes might result in greater efficiency or reduced cost?
— Forecasting demand: what labour and material volumes will be required over the life of the build — and what else is competing for them in the local area? Where there is genuine location flexibility, early intelligence can become a strategic asset.
— Testing scenarios: if speed is the priority, what needs to change (scope, standardisation level, procurement route, location, phasing) to protect it? What might happen if material availability changes? Or more sustainable materials are used?
Data is also what makes standardisation workable at speed. In 2026, standardisation is not about ‘cookie-cutter’ builds, it’s about using proven components, repeatable details, and consistent specifications to shorten design cycles, simplify procurement and protect programme certainty.
This aligns with the direction we set out in our report, Building Certainty in an Era of Relentless Change: Construction Certainty Index research: use data with purpose, prioritise quality, link it across programmes, and interpret it through real-world experience. With the right data up front, organisations can make clearer choices based on what matters most: speed, cost, certainty, or scale. Agility in 2026 isn’t reacting faster. It’s being ready, because you’ve already done the analysis that shows where the levers are.
4. New markets
We’re seeing investment pulled into new locations for structural reasons. Data sovereignty is driving investment into new markets, including India and the EU, and India is pushing to compete with China in advanced manufacturing.
That shift is an opportunity, but it comes with a trap. One risk I see consistently underestimated is new players entering the market, increasing competition for resources, sometimes with limited delivery experience. That combination can create volatility in labour availability, supply chains, and procurement behaviour, especially in hotspots where multiple large programmes overlap.
When building in a new market, it’s easy to assume that because the facility is “the same”, delivery will be “the same”. It won’t be. The build may look familiar. The local delivery environment (process, labour availability, contracts, approvals, market behaviours, and relationship norms) can be very different. And those differences can make or break a project.
It’s important to work with experienced partners in a new market that have an in-depth understanding of both the local set up, as well as the sector and build requirements.
Construction Certainty Index: Technology snapshot (2025)
Currie & Brown’s Construction Certainty Index measures confidence in delivering projects on time and on budget, aligned to goals, and how much external risks are affecting delivery. Each area is scored from 1 to 100. A high score shows strong delivery confidence and resilience.
In 2025, technology scored 58 overall. This indicates a lack of confidence that could cost the sector billions.
What risks are driving this lack of confidence?
According to our survey, technology construction leaders are anticipating a challenging year ahead. With key risk factors expected to get worse.
Top global risk factors that impacted project delivery in 2025 (% indicating ‘high impact’ on ability to meet project goals) ²⁵
Top global risk factors expected to worsen in 2026-2027 (% expecting situation to deteriorate) ²⁵
24 Google funding electrician training as AI power crunch intensifies | Yahoo! finance
25 Findings taken from research undertaken among 1,060 senior decision-makers involved in construction and infrastructure planning. Construction Certainty Index | Currie & Brown.
What I’d do now to be ready
1
Plan earlier than current practice. Understand requirements, identify potential challenges and build in adaptability.
2
Use data early to benchmark, forecast and test options. Before the market forces your hand.
3
Treat people and power as strategy, not logistics because in 2026 they’re the constraints most likely to decide the outcome. That may mean building internal energy teams, partnering earlier with utilities and locking in talent years in advance.
4
Standardise and tighten programme efficiency to protect speed and delivery certainty.
Technology will keep pushing the pace in 2026. Speed to market remains the prize. Not haste. Controlled speed, backed by early decisions. The organisations that stay ahead won’t just build faster. They’ll remove friction earlier, with clearer planning, smarter data, and deliberate strategies for people and power.
Case study
Unlocking growth in a new data centre hub
A global technology company is building a major data centre campus just outside Milan, Italy. Designed for performance, resilience and sustainability, with serious planned power capacity.
Milan is fast becoming a hotspot for data centre investment. But growth markets come with complexity, from permits and power to connectivity, incentives and access to skilled labour. Getting the basics right, early, is critical.
That’s where we come in. We bring global data centre expertise and firsthand local market experience. As cost consultant, we use data to benchmark costs, test options and flag risks early — so decisions are clear, timely and based on evidence.
The result? Greater visibility from day one, and greater confidence as delivery begins.