For its future, Autodesk copies from Dassault

News from @martynday

 

Autodesk yesterday announced the future for some of its software at Autodesk University. (I am not at the show, but have been avidly followed Martyn Day's tweets from yesterday. He is the editor of AEC Magazine out of England.)

A year ago, I predicted that Autodesk would cloud-ify Revit. No big secret; this is a natural progression, from Autodesk's point of view. First AutoCAD was served up remotely (aka AutoCAD 360), then Inventor (aka Fusion 360), then a bunch of other programs that support Revit, such as BIM 360. The elephant in the room was Revit itself.

As Martyn tweeted it, "Revit orig[inally] developed as a point solution, collab[oration] was 2nd thought. Database clunks. Quantum has collab at core."

Yesterday Autodesk announced the cloud version of Revit. The core is Quantum, a centralized database that runs on a multitude of servers (aka "the cloud"). In a series of tweets, Martyn described the environment:

Multi-discipline collaboration in parallel. Independent workspaces, no files, common data environment, everything connected.

Adesk Quantum uses IP [intellectual property] from across Adesk portfolio. Will use Fusion tech for steel fabrication, all on the cloud backbone

Fusion and Quantum will talk together like inventor and Revit never have been able to before.

Adesk Quantum is pre-alpha, Adesk working with a few firms now. Ask for timeline for wider access - pushing hard, months not years.

[Autodesk] says Quantum will be compatible with Revit as it is. They will work to make that happen. Web and mobile [are] 1st platforms

If your CAD world goes beyond Autodesk, then this new plan sounds familiar. Nearly a decade ago, Dassault Systemes launched V6 of its CAD software. It now uses Enovia as a central database that stores all CAD and other data. There is no file format, making translation from V6 a nightmare -- probably as Dassault intended it. Expect the same for Quantum-based BIM from Autodesk.

 

 

Comments

[dseah]

This is exiciting!

1. What is the impact on the application's file structure? Is this like Bentley Openplant / Map, where the cad elements in the file are converted into a database format? Whenever editing is required, the elements that need to be edited are checked out / converted into CAD format by the model server middleware.

Or more like Onshape? Where everthing is on the cloud and the user uses a browser as a window into the db in the cloud? The problem here is that you would be screw'd if you don't have good internet speeds.

I guess you could have both a cloud and detached mode?

2. " Instead of discreet applications with their own data formats and siloed users"... does this mean the end of the 1-1 mapping between apps and formats like .rvt? This sounds like the old ProjectBank / EC Components stuff that Bentley proposed back in the late 90's.

I guess this would be the end of ACAD's Object Enablers? If the user checks out a point cloud for editing, then he would also get the associated code pack? What if the user builds an assembly of components generated by both Inventor and ACAD and Revit? As he walks through the structure tree, the associated tools would present itself?

[Ralph Grabowski]

There are a lot of questions of how this will work, but I think that Bentley Openplant / Map is closer to what Autodesk is working on. I

[Steve Johnson]

It's all about tie-in and control. Those who are happy to be tied up and controlled, line up here. I'm sure it will all be fine; once Autodesk has a captive audience, surely it can be trusted to not massively ramp up prices? And don't worry about that long trail of dead former-latest-and-greatest Autodesk products, I'm sure this one will be different.

[Pranab]

Interesting to watch if all moving towards in-memory computing..specially BIM or simulation tools. For field guys /construction that will be handy and off-line will be key selling point!