The CAD Insider

How to Justify over $3K for the Latest Apple iPad Pro? SketchUp

There you have it! Converting an interior space right into SketchUp with the iPad Pro (M4). No export or import took place. 

“I can use it to scan into a SketchUp model, honey.” I realize I am begging. 

It was being honest. My old iPad Pro 12.9 4th generation was not up to the task. SketchUp had announced a Scan-to-Design feature which promised that lets you simply wave your iPad around the interior of a house, office space, what have you (okay, I'm oversimplifying now) and it would be automatically converted into a 3D SketchUp model. This normally takes having to scan with the iPad, use a separate scanning app (I prefer Polycam) and exporting to SketchUp. It is not always a straightforward process and, as is common with converting formats, not always foolproof.

But the real roadblock was my aging iPad, now over two years old. Even though it had LiDAR and was letting me scan most of the time, it would get confused and stop scanning. If I was lucky enough to make it to the end of the scan, it would freeze or close down the app when came time to upload it for the conversion to a SketchUp model.

“What's the problem with SketchUp?" I demand an answer from the SketchUp product manager (editors can get away with this) who patiently explained to me that it was not SketchUp's fault, that having an iPad with LiDAR is not enough, I had to have on of the newer generation of iPads.

I would have known that if I had read the product specs. But who does that?

Chastened, I had to go shopping. Apple had recently introduced the iPad Pro with the M4 chip. It was the first device to use it. I was sure that this superfast, super thin iPad, could handle the scanning without problem. 

Now this was getting exciting. Over $3K* later, I touch the Scan-to-Design button in SketchUp viewer on my new iPad. The camera turns on but the image freezes. I am breaking out in a sweat. Have I just bought something the most expensive iPad ever to watch NetFlix on?

I practice saying, “But just look at double OLED screen, honey.”

I restart the app again and thank God, the camera stays on and a mesh grows over the walls frozen no longer like an invasive ivy -- just like it should. Whew. I am free to move about the space and scan. I hold my breath and touch the Process button so my scan will upload and be processed into a SketchUp model.  I make a cup of coffee. When I return, the screen shows a SketchUp model of my office space.

Success!
_____
*$2199 for iPad Pro with 1 TB storage, $129 for the Apple Pencil Pro, $349 for the Magic Keyboard, $169 for Extended Coverage, tax, 

Only 3% of Us Want to Work from Home? Can this be Right?

Only 3% of employees want to work from home 100% of the time, says Kim Dabbs, Global VP, ESG + Social Innovation at Steelcase, citing her company’s survey at Autodesk’s Accelerate 2022 conference currently taking place in New Orleans. Can this be right? Most employees we hear from are fine where they are, mostly working from home except for going to the office “as needed.” That’s code for “as little as possible.”

Consider the source. Steelcase exists to make office furniture and fixtures and a permanent and complete change to a work at home status for workers in their markets is an existential problem. Steelcase is asking the question and presenting the result in a manner that is to their advantage. The same question to a US market increases the figure of employees wanting to work from home 100% of the time by 40% (5%). Asking the same demographic whether they want to work at home most of the time may yield a result much higher, more in keeping with the common perception – and less advantageous to a manufacturer of office furniture.

Bentley IPO was Impeccable Timing

Bentley Systems, makers of MicroStation and every imaginable software for the infrastructure industry, finally came through with an IPO. The Bentleys had been flirting with an IPO for ages, offering it and withdrawing it, then settling into a quasi-public company  that would revealed certain aspects of their business (revenue, employees) but not others.

The timing was never right. 

This year, everything changed. The pandemic threw conventional business practices out the window, workplaces changed and the workforce disbursed, thousands of business failed or were in jeopardy and entire industries found themselves in an existential nightmare (airlines, hotels, trade shows, restaurants…) and, inexplicably, IPOs became a thing.

There has been more money raised in IPOs so far this year than ever, more than in the dot com boom.

(Picture courtesy of WSJ, source: Dealogic)

The wave started to build in 2016 ($24 billion) and grew ever year until it inexplicably took off in 2020 (already at $94.5 billion by September). Time to strike,  I would have said if I were a Bentley brother.

It may be too early to tell, but in the short term, the Bentley IPO has proved to be a smart move, going from initial offering of $22 a share to $33.49, a 52% increase in one day for the lucky investors. At the end of the week, it closed at $34.79, down from its high earlier in the day of $35.12.

Who are the investors? The stock is available only to Bentley employees, the 4,000 or so, most of them in near the company headquarters in Exton, Pennsylvania, near Philadelphia.

The IPO offers a chance for liquidity for employees of Bentley, as every employee is now a stockholder. The IPO puts the  valuation of Bentley at $5.7 billion initially and at $8.7 billion by the end of the first trading day, according to the Philadelphia Business Journal.

By comparison, Bentley’s chief competitor, Autodesk, is valued at around $50 billion.

You Won't Like What the New Autodesk CEO is Saying – But You Need to Hear It

Good morning, America… or is it? CEO Andrew Anagnost kicks off Autodesk University with thoughts of an overcrowded earth and the impending loss of jobs. Not yours, though --  if you pay attention. (Picture from Autodesk video of AU2017)

Autodesk University, named for the classes it offers, is where 10,500 of Autodesk’s faithful have converged, crowded into the Sands convention center in Las Vegas, waiting for the show to begin. It may be record attendance. Strange when you consider the city’s biggest attractions seem to be gambling, drinking and prostitution. Only a few weeks ago, a shooter in the Mandalay Bay hotel rained bullets from on high, like the angel of death, over a music concert across the street -- the worst mass shooting in US history.

We're here in spite of that. The show must go on. It’s 10AM Tuesday morning and it is about to go down. A deejay charges the atmosphere with electronic music. The crowd is pumped. The new CEO, Andrew Anagnost, addresses the crowd.

“Good morning,” says Andrew. But immediately he questions himself. “Or is it?”

Andrew won’t mention the massacre specifically – but he will take the take the gloom that hangs over Las Vegas and apply it to the world at large. It is a world of robots taking your jobs, of a crumbling infrastructure, an unrestrained population. We’re projected to have 10 billion people by 2050 (it has 7.5 billion now). Infrastructure is crumbling.

“While we are having parties, were we dangling our feet over the chasm of job destruction?” He is talking about the upcoming robot revolution.

The new CEO is obviously not afraid of shocking a crowd to its senses. This is not like previous Autodesk Universities. The crowd is hushed.

It was Andrew’s wake up call to the Autodesk faithful. He was going to build on that, deliver his view of the world, provide solutions, build hope…

But we’re going to need to recover. The message just delivered weighs heavy. It is a reminder of our anxieties. Users all feel the pressure of trying to keep up and a fear of falling behind. AU is their chance to reenergize, to jump ahead into the lead, once again. Take a bunch of classes, taught by the best instructors, get certified, fill up with the latest software and technology, and emerge once again: top dog.

Too Many People? We Can Help with That

Not a cause for alarm -- an opportunity. Autodesk, the design, simulation and manufacturing software vendor that refers to itself as an "automation company,” suggests its products can help house, move and improve the lives of the billions we will be adding to the Earth over the next couple of decades.

After the crowd is properly subdued comes the message of hope. To house the billions yet to come, we’re going to have to build a thousand buildings a day. Software applications can be automated the design process. The current AEC process is flawed, full of one-off designs, painstakingly and wastefully built on site, outdoors. Why can’t they learn from what manufacturing has known for years? Bring it inside, use robots, automate the sh*t out of it.

We see an architect using generative design, able to make customized living arrangements, using pre-built walls.

The Dutch firm Van Wijnen hunkered down during the recession, armed themselves with the latest tools and technology, then jumped back in with digital workflow. It serves as an example of what companies can do when they make the jump, catching the next wave of technology.

The waves that are coming with increasing frequency. You might be afraid the wave will take you under…and it might. But let’s look that the bigger picture, Autodesk is telling us.

ATMs Make for More Tellers

The ATM machine, first introduced in 1967, was going to get rid of bank tellers. It didn’t. In the 20 years after 1995, when ATM machines quadrupled to 400,000, the number of bank tellers actually increased. Why? Automation let banks do more with less, the banks thrived, opened more branches. So, more tellers.

Publishing: Andrew acknowledges many journalists are wondering about their future. Everybody can publish now, The amount of written material online has skyrocketed. The technology has actually made more of us into content creators.

Movies, instead of a few movies at a $100 million each, there are countless movies and video by independents. There has never been more to watch. And more of us are watching. The market has expanded.

Manufacturing, if you think robots are going to cost jobs, you’re wrong. Technology makes more jobs. Robots need people to take care of them. “China will have a shortage of 3 million skilled robot operators.”

“Autodesk is not only going to help you survive it, we’re going to help you thrive in it.”

 

Architects Better Believe in Disruptions -- They Are In One

ATLANTA, GA (AIA Convention 2015) — Phil Bernstein, Autodesk’s chief visionary in all things architecture, never fails to impress. In what may already be a tradition, he holds court at an invitation-only evening event on Day 1 of the AIA annual meeting. Phil is talking about disruption.

But leave it to Phil, who is somehow paid by Autodesk to not only be their visionary but to also hold down a faculty position (at Yale) to point out that: What may be seen as continuing and increasing waves of pressure and distraction have really been several discrete disruptions. According to Phil, we’ve had several disruptions — and we are currently in one right now!

Disruptions

The disruptions we are about to hear about affect the way we design and make things. And the latest one is starting to radically change our industry. Some of the noticeable trends are:

• Smart buildings.
• More prefabrication of buildings. Example: “Just-add-water” hotels in China. Buildings are being made offsite and assembled in place.

Somehow Phil manages to weave in a mention of Tesla Motors. So glorious is the Tesla brand, it has to be mentioned at every conference. It’s a law. But to smoothly insert it into an AEC/BIM spiel is a credit to Phil’s talents; part of his ability to recognize trends wherever they are.

But I digress. Back to disruptions.

The first one Phil noticed in the architects’ world was about documentation. Drawings, in other words. How AutoCAD initially got famous? The computer replacing the drafting board.

The second disruption was 2D to 3D. 

Third was BIM. Building information modeling. More that just 3D geometry. Brought to you by Revit. [Ed. note: Or was it Graphisoft?]

The fourth disruption — and the one we are in the middle of — is the Data Disruption. “The best designers manipulate data, not forms,” says Phil. “I'm going to say that again for the older people in the room.”

It's Not Just Forms -- It's Data

The older architects are still enthralled with shapes. Either the exterior shapes or interior space. But Phil knows that these days, design is being created by data.

We see a truly awesome example of an architecture firm so advanced it has created a CNC machine to bend rebar in a variety of shapes, tag each one so the construction crews knows exactly where to place it, and then the architects can watch the building being made each day using 3D scans and point clouds against the 3D model of the building design. The building in progress compared to the building that was meant to be. How cool is that?

The data Phil speaks of is not just from point clouds but also from programs. Little programs that form the heart of “computational design.” If this is a new term to you, you probably are one of those older architects Phil has addressed. All the young ones are learning “computational design.”

 Learn Computational Design, Young Man

I ask Phil if all the architectural schools are teaching computational design. Could it be like 3D is to 2D, as severe a disruption, I am wondering. Is it in all the undergraduate architecture programs? “It’s in all the best graduate programs,” says Phil. I'm sure Yale is one of them.

CEO Sean Flaherty Wants to Grow Vectorworks to 3 Million Users

I'm with Sean Flaherty, CEO of Nemetschek Vectorworks, and he's on a roll. He has successfully delivered a string of one-liners to the 350 or so in attendance at the first ever Vectorworks Design Summit (April 27-29, 2015). They’re not rolling in the aisles (architects don’t do that), but in a mostly buttoned-down industry with humor and humility are in short supply, his jokes are doubly appreciated.

Perhaps his sense of humor has allowed him to survive and rise at Nemetschek Vectorworks, which is celebrating its 30-year anniversary, though the exact date is not clear.  

The company was started by Richard Diehl, who took Sean in as an unpaid intern in a crowded apartment. The product was called MiniCAD. At the time, minicomputers were superior to microcomputers, says Sean, but when MicroCAD went away, we were just left with an unfortunate name. 

By time the German company, the Nemetschek Group, acquired them, MiniCAD had already changed the product name to Vectorworks.

Nemetschek Vectorworks currently has more than half a million users, and 75,000 of them are on subscription.

While Vectorworks users are a minority in the CAD world, they maintain a loyal following. They are number one among AEC CAD users on the Macintosh, with a 75 percent market share. In lighting and stage design, no one else is close. They are also the number one BIM application in the UK. Which doesn’t stop Sean from poking fun.

"We’re stuck with feet and inches. Thanks, England."

A Bit of History

He also thanks the British for burning down Washington, DC, in the War of 1812.

"They got mad when they found out we had nothing to steal."

The history lesson continues.

Herbert Hoover promised us “a chicken in every pot” in 1928. 

"It was a great slogan. Better than 'national bank reform.' But you know what happen after that? 1929. The stock market crash. "

Vectorworks' Place in the Universe

So where does Vectorworks fit? Is Vectorworks for architects? What class of products includes rendering? He gets that a lot. Vectorworks defies categorization. “We don’t fit neatly into any category,” says Sean.

As CEO, Sean is finally being paid, but he has to think of big ideas. That’s what CEOs do. Sean wants to grow his users five fold again, from 500,000 to 2.5 million.

From where, I wonder.

“From other CAD vendors,” says Sean.

I ask, “Why would they switch?”

“They are discovering we do things better. Take our landscaping software. There’s nothing else like it,” answers Sean, since Vectorworks is the only product that can combine a BIM model with GIS and urban planning information. 

Vectorworks’ competition isn’t just with other companies, it’s amongst the group of Nemetschek companies. The Nemetschek Group holds Graphisoft and Allplan, both AEC/BIM software companies, each with a CEO. I ask Sean how he competes with the other Nemetschek CEOs? Who is winning?

“It’s a friendly competition, more or less,” says Sean.

Few software developers actually get to lead their company for long. I ask Sean about his least favorite part of the CEO job.

“The legal part. There is no doubt,” replies Sean.

We seem to have reached a common ground.

Architects Could Love the Microsoft HoloLens

While this new headgear may be great for games, we wonder what it might do for serious applications. 

SAN FRANCISCO, May 1, 2015 - Microsoft's announcement of the HoloLens at its Build 2015 developer conference made a giant splash in the tech world. I'm not surprised. Microsoft has more marketing dollars than some countries.

They've rented out an entire floor at the Intercontinental Hotel next to the Moscone Center where the Build is taking place. All the furniture is cleared out and rooms are stocked with their products and people -over 200 of them.

A hotel staffer tells me President Obama with both the White House staff and Secret Service was less trouble.

 

They are routing the media into the rooms, one at a time, with carefully rehearsed pitches. We are not allowed to take pictures, but we can take notes. Still, the techverse lights up with reports of the new augmented reality (AR -- it's not holograms, as it name would imply) headset.

Ok, Microsoft, I get it. It’s cool. I'll have a better Minecraft experience (Microsoft owns Minecraft). I can make my apartment wall show me pictures of Hawaii. I can fix the plumbing under my sink as a virtual plumber tells me "righty tighty."

But can I use it for architecture? Engineering?

Trimble Sees Me Coming

I’m shown their SketchUp product like I’ve never seen it before. There is a interior of a building in mid-construction, but what's this? An I-beam blocks the door? I can change that. Easier to move pixels than heavy steel objects.

A physical architectural model viewed through the HoloLens allows me to see the SketchUp model superimposed upon it. I can raise and lower several of the roofs.

A convention center looms over a seedy urbanscape. The neighborhood is real, having been scanned in. The convention center is only a dream in SketchUp, but you can see the two combined through the HoloLens.

Engineering applications were unfortunately not touched upon, but you can see what might take place for manufacturing applications in the picture above.

Trimble says SketchUp was the first AEC app to go live with with HoloLens, which is why they are enjoying the adulation of the media army assembled by Microsoft. I hear Autodesk has already announced a connection to HoloLens, but they must have missed the Build conference.

"Let me get your interpupillary distance," says a technician with a device seemingly from an optician’s office. "The final version will not require this." I ask if I have to take off my glasses. "HoloLens is glasses-friendly."

They really did know I was coming.

Bigger than the Google Glass, but smaller than the Oculus Rift, the HoloLens lets you see the world around you while projecting into it what you might be designing. You can walk around with it, as I was able to do. At no time did I feel disoriented or unsure (Oculus Rift can do this to users, some even get nauseous, and some fall). The unit is comfortable enough, though I was only allowed 10 minutes with it.

Although the HoloLens is not yet available, the look and feel has been finalized.

What Might the Users Think?

Virtual reality in its various forms has delighted the tech press yet gained only limited acceptance.

The world has been told that we will all experience "true 3D" soon, but most of us resist even using 3D glasses. The novelty of a weird creature coming at you from movie screens has worn thin.

Google tried to make it cool to wear Glass, but for those who thought they were being filmed, it was not. Microsoft desperately needs to be seen as cool. Its cool stock has been taking a beating the last few years. Their latest CEO is bent on HoloLens as its ticket back into Cooldom.

Satya Nadela, Microsoft CEO, who appears to be more the hipster than his predecessors, has been given the reins to wrest cool back from Apple. He seized upon HoloLens after seeing it in early development, still a mess of wires and many times its current size. He is reported to have picked the HoloLens as Microsoft’s first technological breakthrough under his command.

Will Engineers and Architects Love it?

Engineers have resisted strapping anything on their heads for any length of time. Architects, being more style-conscious, will appreciate the HoloLens' look more than the Oculus Rift, but might not be inclined to spring for expensive hardware for themselves.

However, being able to sell their next big project because Mr. Moneybags the customer, is suitably impressed by cool technology and is dazzled by architect’s grand vision. Not to mention a definite business advantage over the last firm with their (yawn) page after page of sketches and silly little balsa wood models.

What do you think? Would you wear the HoloLens if your software could use it? Use comments to reply.

For More Information

• HoloLens - the official Microsoft product site
• Microsoft (Yes, Microsoft) Has a Far-Out Vision - Nick Wingfield, Apr 30, 2015

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Interview: Truman Du, CEO of ZWSOFT

GUANGZHOU, China (ZWSOFT GPC 2015) — Truman Du, ZWSOFT's founder and CEO, made time to talk to TenLinks during his company's Global Partner Conference. The 43-year-old Truman (I am told it is okay to address him by his first name) is exceedingly polite and quite the gentleman. He apologizes for his English. I am compelled to mention that my grasp of Chinese is non-existent. But he has made a point of having English be the language in which GPC is conducted — part of his effort to "internationalize" ZWSOFT. He has confidently delivered a keynote speech. 

Truman has visited the United States 15 times since 2005, mostly to see the Florida offices of former VX, which ZWSOFT acquired in 2010. He tells me that ZWCAD is now all about 3D. He also places a big emphasis on mobile devices, as ZWSOFT readies CAD Pockets, a mobile app.

"We want to be different," he says, echoing the theme of the GPC. "Not just a follower of AutoCAD."

Still, the interview is conducted in some parts with a translator. I am using questions that were previously submitted for approval. 

When did you start ZWSOFT?

1998

What is ZWSOFT’s market share in China?

We are #1, after AutoCAD.

Ahead of Gstar?

[pause]  I am sure we are better than Gstar, he says, laughing.

Do you come up against Gstar when competing for sales?

Not so much.

Who is ZWSOFT's biggest competitor worldwide?

AutoCAD. We believe we are more cost-effective than AutoCAD¹

[Ed. note: Autodesk sued ZWSOFT for copyright infringement but lost the case in Europe² and seems to have given up which is seen as a David vs Goliath story inside ZWSOFT^]

We don't consider BricsCAD a competitor. They are mostly in Europe. And Japan. But we are also strong in Japan.

What is the biggest challenge in increasing market share for ZWSOFT in U.S.?

The Chinese market and the American market are different. We are a Chinese company. To some degree, it can be hard to find a strategy for the U.S., but one way or another, we will find one. Actually, we have made some progress in the American market, but, compared to other markets, the progress is not so obvious. If we find the right orientation, the American market is limitless.

What about DraftSight?

We shouldn't confuse the number of downloads with the number of users. [Referring here to the 3 million users Dassault claims DraftSight has.] However, we are willing to study the strategy that DraftSight used. It may help us with the American market. But DraftSight can exist. AutoCAD can exist. We also can exist. We are most interested in DraftSight.

What is the size of ZWSOFT, the company? Revenue? Users? Employees?

ZWSOFT is a private company. Not public. It's not proper to tell the revenue. But we have 400 employees. We have 500,000 users around the world. We think the number of loyal and active customers is the best benchmark of the size of the company. That is a number we will increase.

Is ZWCAD technically as capable as AutoCAD?

It's hard to quantify. But if you have to have a number, I would say we have 90 percent of the capability of AutoCAD.

Does ZWCAD address the vertical markets? AEC? Mechanical?

Yes, we've already had architectural and mechanical versions for some time. Those are the big ones. Maybe that is not so well known in America. We also have a series of specialized applications available in China, such as for landscaping, toys, piping and more. 

Does ZWCAD have an adequate third-party partner program?

There are over 154 third-party applications made for specialized needs. 

Does ZWCAD support programming languages?

LISP, ARX, VBA and .NET.

How would you quantify the compatibility of your programming languages?

It varies by programming language. With LISP, we can get 90 percent compatibility, with .NET, 70-80 percent. However, customers use different amounts of the language, not the full amount of any language, so the compatibility varies by customer.

How does ZWCAD take advantage of cloud technologies?

We have a plan to use the cloud in the future and make our product even more lightweight.        

Can one collaborate from within ZWCAD?

Not at this moment but we are considering it.

Does ZWCAD address 3D printing?

We have a simple version of ZW3D that does 3D printing [during conference, a simplified version of  ZW3D was being used in schools to help students make toys].

------------------- 

More Information

• ZWSOFT - corporate website
• ZWCAD articles - reviews, articles about ZWCAD, collected by CADdigest.com

1. AutoCAD sells for thousands of dollars, ZWCAD sells for hundreds

2 . Dutch Court Dismisses Autodesk Copyright Suit Against ZWCAD, press release by ZWSOFT, Apr 10, 2014

 

Microdesk Is in Your Future with AEC, Civil Engineering Services

LAS VEGAS, NV (Autodesk University 2014) — Microdesk has been busy exploring how it can be of help to architects and civil engineers now and in the future.

Traditionally an Autodesk reseller with roots in the Boston area, Microdesk has grown to offices nationwide and plans its own future as a supplier of services. It is positioning itself as an enabler of some of the most advanced technology available — from Autodesk and others.

Microdesk will flies a camera-equipped UAV to create a 3D model of a building complex

Part of it is survival. Microdesk sees the writing on the wall. Software is going to the cloud. It was a theme hammered home at Autodesk University, as Autodesk speaker after speaker spoke of online applications, such as Autodesk's 360 series. I am hard pressed to remember mention of the software suites, those with Revit for AEC and Inventor for product design, that have long been the revenue mainstay of Autodesk resellers. More and more, vendors are selling directly to end users. Resellers are getting cut out of the picture.

With licensing revenue diminishing, Microdesk is banking on the need for its services. Microdesk offers services for a firm's current needs. It recently helped staff up for a large project in New York, putting a dozen Revit-trained operators immediately at the service of a firm that had no time to recruit and train on its own. It is also investing in the technologies that may have the greatest payoffs — technologies such as virtual reality, 3D scanning, aerial photography and photogrammetry.

Microdesk is an established provider of cutting-edge, large-scale model creation. Able to fly UAVs (drones) with cameras, it can quickly and cheaply (compared to old-school LIDAR scans from piloted aircraft) create the contextual model for your next office building.

Microdesk showing Oculus Rift VR at Autodesk University. While TenLinks' Kristin Halligan may be batting balls in the air at the moment, she was looking at a building site a moment ago. Really.

At Autodesk University, Microdesk was showing the Oculus Rift virtual reality headset. Put it on and see yourself immersed in a Revit model. You thought it was just for gamers, but Microdesk has made it useful for professionals. You can see a design come to life, see what is overhead, see sight lines, see what a building might look like as you walk up to it, walk inside, look up to see the skylights . . . you won't want to take it off and face that you had been living a lie, fooling yourself into thinking you were working in 3D. What were you thinking . . . how can a 2D monitor even pretend to show 3D?

Laura Guzman, COO of Microdesk, admits virtual reality may be a bit ahead of the game for most architects, but she's smart enough to show it as proof that Microdesk is established in future technology and will be there for them when they are ready.

For more information

• See Microdesk website www.microdesk.com
• Microdesk Shows 3D AEC, BIM Scanning Service at New San Francisco Office - The CAD Insider, Oct 2, 2014

 

Advance2000 Will Put Your AEC Firm On the Cloud

LAS VEGAS, NV (Autodesk University 2014) — Advance2000 will set up a cloud environment for an architectural firm or AEC division of your company, as they have done already for Disney, Canon, and others.

Architecture is a focus, explains Adam Glass of Advance 2000. The company can have you using Revit on your iPad while you are accessing BIM data on private BIM clouds, so your data is safe. With the Advance2000 AEC Collaboration Hub, your private BIM cloud can connect with other BIM clouds, say from other design or construction teams, wherever they are. Its Cloud 2.0 product claims to do better than your typical cloud operation (which probably has your drawings and models being shared in Dropbox) by being more secure and faster.

More information

http://www.advance2000.com/