Why a remote desktop solution? Architecture firms have two main options when it comes to remote desktop technology: using virtual desktop infrastructure (VDI) or cloud-based Desktop-as-a-Service (DaaS). Let’s compare the two.  Remote work is now the norm in the architecture industry. For example, in a recent survey with 200 New York practices, 90% said they had embraced some form of hybrid working. The most common pattern was for staff to work three days at the office, and two from home.  If the architects at your firm are to be productive when working away from the office, usin ..read more

“We're doing it, and we're doing it really well” In the next few years, we can expect to see a major shift in how architects and design studios approach productivity. With the proliferation of innovative cloud technologies and the rise of remote work, the fundamentals of computing for architects are being brought into question.  And one business right at the cutting edge here is Canadian firm DS Studio, an architecture and urban design firm based in Toronto, with a remote workforce.  We sat down with Dina Sarhane, the firm’s founder, to learn more about their fully cloud-based appro ..read more

Hint: it’s not only about saving costs Upfront investments can prevent or ‘kill’ startups in almost any industry. But they are an especially big issue in the design engineering sector.   The problem is that engineers need extremely powerful computers to do design work. But engineering workstations typically cost several thousand Euros each. At the same time, young companies usually need to find office space. Again, that can be an enormous drain on resources. But BAS-Solutions GmbH, a Berlin-based startup that launched in November 2023, has managed to overcome these obstacles. Their secret ..read more

What to do when Autodesk software does not run on your Mac OS There are few things more frustrating than learning that your preferred software isn’t available for your computer’s operating system. And that’s an especially big issue for professionals in the architecture, engineering and design (AED) industries looking to install software from Autodesk on a Macintosh. If no ‘native’ version of your preferred CAD or BIM app exists, then you can’t do your job.  And that's more than a bit of a problem.   Autodesk produces many of the world’s most widely-used AED software packages, in ..read more

Do you use electricity? Have you ever ridden an elevator? Is driving a car familiar?  If you answered ‘yes’ to any of the above, you’ve done something radical! Once upon a time, these were new technologies that were widely feared. But, as more and more people began using them, the benefits became incredibly obvious.  By comparison, our cloud-based CAD and BIM platform is hardly revolutionary. Businesses and individuals have been using the cloud at a massive scale for the best part of 20 years now. But our innovation - we make working with CAD and BIM as fast, simple and secure as wat ..read more

About the author - Don Rekko Token-based software license models are currently seeing a big uptick in popularity. By offering a flexible software license model that can expand and shrink as you need, they offer a uniquely flexible way of consuming software. However, most companies that use CAD, BIM and other ‘heavy’ design software today are usually stuck with big, unwieldy perpetual licenses for the software they use. They tend to buy and install the licenses once, then upgrade them every few years. Could token models be a better option? And if so, how would it work? What is a token-based lic ..read more

Don Rekko is a distinguished international leader at the crossroads of CAD and Cloud Computing, boasting a career that spans over 25 years across North America and EMEA. His professional experience includes pivotal executive roles at major CAD and PLM vendors like PTC and Siemens, as well as trailblazing in innovative cloud computing startups. Don's leadership of large services organisations has been instrumental in implementing breakthrough technologies such as 3D CAD, Cloud Computing, PLM, Augmented Reality, and IoT. His efforts have significantly influenced the design processes of global g ..read more

In 2022, Berlin-based design engineering firm UNISON Engineering & Consultants GmbH began shifting CAD workloads to the cloud, using virtual workstations from Designair. Learn why UNISON made this journey - and the impact it has had.  Design engineering in a changing world UNISON Engineering & Consultants GmbH is an independent engineering company headquarterd in Berlin that has been active in plant engineering for over 25 years. The core competence is in the execution of engineering services in manifold phases of the planning of process plants of numerous industries. Like so many ..read more

A Quick Guide to Cloud-Based CAD Is Computer-Aided Design (CAD) going through a paradigm shift? For most of its history, this graphics-intensive technology had to be installed on powerful desktop computers. The pressing need to process millions of calculations and generate high-resolution images meant that designers were required to sit physically at their workstations to be productive – but this status quo is starting to change.  Today, CAD technology is increasingly available via cloud computing. McKinsey, a digital consultancy, recently predicted that cloud-based design software would ..read more

Revit®’s Central Model is essential for teams to collaborate and share work. But as you may have discovered, there’s a cost associated with this capability. You may wonder if Autodesk’s BIM Collaborate – for roughly $700 - $1000 per user, per year, depending on where you live – is better for you than a solution built with the free Revit Server software. Actually, there are 5 ways to deploy workshare with Revit, each of which has its own unique characteristics. In this blog, you will learn each of them – one of them being Autodesk’s own cloud-based BIM Collaborate (formerly known as BIM360). as ..read more