A roundup of tools and services that architects are using to break free from company servers and physical boundaries.
Lauren Collier, Assoc. AIA, design technology section manager at SSOE Group, is featured in this article recently published in ARCHITECT Magazine. The article reviews recent industry trends related to cloud-based system use, going beyond file sharing and backup. Companies are beginning to incorporate the cloud into schematic design, project management, energy performance analysis, renderings, and other outsourced tasks. The cloud offers adept speed that releases us from our dependency on less-efficient company servers, and generating productive collaboration.
Cloud-based 3D models are ideal for firms that have to strategically coordinate collaboration among personnel in different offices. Having a centralized model is more practical and offers expedited problem-solving to clients. In terms of project management, cloud technology smooths the already collaboration-focused BIM process with a more seamless transition from design to fabrication. Trimble Connect (formerly GTeam) is a cloud hosted platform that shares the same set of information, conveyed in multiple products, offering consistent functionality across all perspectives. UniFi — which Collier describes as an “easy return on investment”— is another tool that uses cloud power to expedite architectural methodologies, allowing users to search their data libraries in seconds.
To read the full article, click here.
