This press release was also distributed via Construction Dive on October 13, 2026.
SAN JOSE, CA, October 13, 2026 — Planera, a leading provider of modern, AI-enhanced CPM scheduling software for the construction industry, today announced rapid enterprise adoption and surging market momentum across the mission-critical and data center sectors. As the global race to build out artificial intelligence infrastructure compresses delivery timelines and escalates project complexity, Planera is now deployed across 10 of the top 20 general contractors in the data center sector—including HITT Contracting, Gilbane Building Company, Ryan Companies, RLW, STO Building and T5—alongside specialized trade partners such as Aldridge Electric and leading hyperscale owners.
The unprecedented surge in AI infrastructure development has pushed traditional Critical Path Method (CPM) software and disconnected spreadsheets past their breaking point. Modern hyperscale facilities frequently demand more than 500 progress updates a week—an administrative velocity that legacy tools like Primavera P6 cannot sustain. With schedules aggressively shifting left, joint-venture general contractor models becoming standard, and project teams facing steep learning curves, the industry requires an intuitive, shared planning environment that unites owners, general contractors, and trade partners in real time.
"Traditional scheduling tools are reporting tools, not collaboration tools, so by the time you see a problem it's too late; Planera brings owners, contractors, and partners into one shared environment to see risk early and model solutions together," said Mark Baracani, VP of Engineering at RK Mission Critical and former Director of Data Center Construction for Microsoft and Amazon.
Turning Scheduling from Administrative Overhead into Strategic Advantage
For hyperscale operators and mission-critical builders, time is the single resource that capital cannot buy back. With a single hour of unplanned downtime averaging approximately $540,000, schedule predictability is directly tied to bottom-line value.
Planera addresses these mission-critical pressures through several key capabilities:
- Eliminating Update Bottlenecks: Replaces fragile workflows reliant on manual spreadsheet exports and siloed executive reporting with a unified, live CPM schedule accessible directly from the field.
- Manny AI Automation: Planera’s built-in AI assistant, Manny, automates time-consuming grunt work—enabling teams to perform complex bulk resequencing across multiple data halls in minutes rather than days.
- Multi-GC and Trade Alignment: Streamlines multi-contractor and joint-venture job sites, allowing general contractors and specialized trade partners to coordinate handoffs without manual schedule reconciliation.
- Low Barrier to Field Adoption: An intuitive visual interface empowers newer field staff and trade foremen to actively engage with the schedule, democratizing planning across the job site.
"In the data center market, margins for error have vanished," said Nitin Bhandari, CEO and Co-Founder of Planera. "The speed of the AI buildout means general contractors and trades can no longer afford to spend days wrestling with clunky, legacy software just to understand where a project stands. Planera was built to give every stakeholder—from the executive suite to the field engineer—instant visibility, real-time collaboration, and the predictive insights needed to deliver critical capacity on schedule."
"On fast-tracked hyperscale electrical installations, our crews need clear alignment with the master schedule every single day," said Alec Hoffman, Lead Estimator at Aldridge Electric. "Planera takes the complexity out of CPM scheduling, giving our field teams direct visibility into upstream milestones and allowing us to communicate changes immediately. It eliminates friction and keeps high-stakes mission-critical jobs moving forward without delay."
To learn more about how Planera is modernizing data center and mission-critical construction planning, visit www.planera.io. For more, read why legacy tools weren't built for data center construction, the takeaways from our Built for the AI Boom webinar, or book a demo.
About Planera
Planera is a leading provider of modern, AI-enhanced CPM scheduling software that transforms project planning and management for the construction industry. Trusted by industry leaders including Balfour Beatty, Barton Malow, Big-D Construction, HITT Contracting, Ryan Companies, Skanska, and Zachry Construction, Planera empowers teams to build faster, smarter, and with greater clarity. Planera is backed by investors such as Sierra Ventures, Sorenson Capital, Brick & Mortar Ventures, Prudence, and Firebolt. Learn more at www.planera.io.
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