Do you remember seeing images of designers leaning over large sheets of paper, usually in spaces that resemble warehouses, concentrating on their own technical drawings? While some may view these images with nostalgia for a simpler time as a sign of working passionately in the architecture, engineering and construction industry, many others might shudder at the thought of doing an entire project with an India ink pen, and especially without the convenience of the Undo tool (CTRL+ Z or command + Z). From the first CAD programs to the powerful modeling programs we have today, computing technology has radically transformed the landscape of AECO offices. In the past, integrating multiple designs required overlapping sheets of tracing paper; but today, we have a variety of software that produce files with numerous extensions, saved versions, sizes, and which often require powerful machines to run. With the growing adoption of remote and hybrid work in AEC organizations, implementing the right computer systems can be a major challenge.
In fact, the COVID-19 pandemic has significantly impacted the way we work and accelerated changes that had already been taking place in offices, including those in AEC. According to a survey of more than 270 IT leaders across multiple industries conducted by HP, more than three-quarters of respondents reported that employees were already actively using remote desktops - establishing a remote connection from a desktop to high-end workstations to work with resource-intensive software. But the report also highlighted some of the challenges of hybrid work, from issues such as the performance of remote desktops, the decreased productivity, lack of collaboration opportunities, and the impact on company culture, as well as the security risks when employees access company data from multiple locations.
In the AEC industry, these hybrid work challenges can be more insidious: complex projects require collaboration between numerous people and teams, from the time a project is conceived to the design and construction phases, as well as powerful computers to work with CAD applications. As many companies have opted for hybrid working models, there is a growing expectation from the industry for accuracy and realism, be it a photorealistic visual of a building complex or an accurate structural design. Despite hybrid work allowing for greater flexibility, the demands of AEC projects have continued to remain the same, and in some cases, have increased, requiring a change in technology investment and mindset.
Traditional linear workflows are slow and plagued by disruptive bottlenecks such as file impairments, inefficient copies, tedious import and export processes, and frequent file exchanges. If an AEC professional makes changes in a file, it can impact various other elements of the project and even create conflicts within systems. Teams may find themselves making several versions of documents and then sending them to each other across the network, which is neither efficient, nor secure. AEC files tend to be larger and take longer to transfer over the network, impacting available bandwidth. Transferring files using USBs is risky and could open the local system to malware. Additionally, using multiple software applications that don't talk to each other reduces the effectiveness of collaboration not only of internal teams, but also with external clients.
NVIDIA Omniverse Enterprise [1] helps solve these challenges with a scalable, end-to-end platform enabling companies to simulate physically accurate virtual worlds on a large scale. Users of Omniverse can synchronize changes between creative tools while maintaining file integrity throughout the workflow. Design teams can easily publish content to a server and then multiple users can collaborate in real time while using design and visualization software such as Autodesk Revit, Autodesk 3ds Max, Graphisoft ArchiCAD, Trimble SketchUp, McNeel Rhino and Grasshopper, Epic Games Unreal Engine, and others.
And with so many of these users now working remotely or in hybrid work modes, businesses also need a digital workspaces solution so that everyone can securely connect to their digital workspace from wherever they work best.
HP Anyware [2] is a digital workspaces solution that enables AEC professionals to access centrally hosted applications and project data from any endpoint devices running Windows®, Linux®, MacOS®, Chrome OS®, iOS®, or Android® including a PC, Mac®, laptop, Chromebook®, tablet, integrated monitor, zero client, or thin client. HP Anyware is based on the PC-over-IP (PCoIP®) protocol to provide lossless visuals and text in real time, over almost any kind of network connection. Its PCoIP technology helps keep AEC intellectual property (IP) secure no matter where employees are working from, only transmitting visuals from hosts to client devices via AES 256 encrypted traffic. No data ever leaves the data center. HP Anyware can be used to access a wide variety of BIM, CAD and 3D modeling applications, so AEC designers can create, edit and render designs and diagrams from anywhere. Lastly, it can increase productivity, improve collaboration, and help AEC companies meet tight deadlines while remaining competitive.
As Richard Kerris, VP Omniverse Developer Platform, NVIDIA, summarizes, "with HP Anyware, the NVIDIA Omniverse real-time collaboration experience can be delivered seamlessly to any device, anywhere. PCoIP technology, leveraged by Anyware, ensures that architects, designers and engineers can work securely and efficiently with the seamless photo-realism and interactivity that their work demands." NVIDIA Omniverse Enterprise and HP Anyware together are valuable tools for providing an efficient AEC workflow between people, teams and companies. Trials can be requested at hp.com/anyware/omniverse.
[1] NVIDIA Omniverse™ Enterprise is sold separately.
[2] Network access required. HP Anyware supports Windows®, Linux® and MacOS® host environments and Window, Linux, MacOS, iOS®, Android®, and Chrome OS® end-user devices. For more on the system requirements for installing HP Anyware, refer to the Admin Guides at: https://docs.teradici.com/find/product/hp-anyware. HP Anyware is based on the Teradici CAS software and licensing platform and is available through a 1- and 3-year subscription. HP Anyware subscriptions are based on the number of concurrent PCoIP connections used (pay for the number of host connections, not the software) with a minimum order quantity of 5. HP Anyware subscriptions gives you a license key to activate a connection to a hosted desktop as well as support and updates to the PCoIP Agents, PCoIP Clients and the Anyware Manager available for download here: https://docs.teradici.com/find/product/hp-anyware. For a limited time, an HP Anyware subscription also includes access and support for ZCentral Remote Boost and ZCentral Connect and is available for purchase through an HP Teradici seller or by contacting sales at: hp.com/Anyware.
