How Hybrid Cloud File Services Solve AEC’s File Problems

In this blog, we expand on how the Morro Data CloudNAS, with its hybrid-cloud architecture, is ideally suited to AEC applications.

With its hybrid-cloud architecture, the Morro Data CloudNAS:

• retains the familiar drive letter user interface.
• gains all the benefits of cloud scalability and resilience.
• provides centralized storage with file locking across multiple locations.
• is all managed from a single web-based console.

And with full support for Azure Active Directory, users can use their existing Office 365 credentials to access the storage from any location; simplifying access and increasing productivity for both users and IT managers. Why is this important to AEC firms?  Many AEC firms Morro engages with have architects, design engineers, and CAD users in multiple locations.

Today, business users are familiar with tools like Office 365 or Google Apps that enable them to collaborate on documents with multiple people accessing and sharing the same files.  Designers would like this same capability on their CAD and Engineering tools.  A challenge is that a single project file in AutoCAD is composed of many sub-files.

For designers to easily work on the same file there must be a common repository, everyone must know where the master file is located, and the file must be locked in real-time across sites to prevent data corruption.  As the files also have very high value, imagine the business cost of losing a major project file. The files must be securely backed up and easily recoverable. To simplify access and protect valuable IP, Engineers should be able to access using the standard office credentials. Remote access is a new business trend during the pandemic. A project team may include members from different offices or even from their homes. How to collaborate in the same environment with file locking is critical.

Morro Data CloudNAS with its attributes listed above fully satisfies these requirements. See our AEC page for more details.

The original Network World article – How Hybrid Cloud File Services solve AEC’s file problems was contributed by Paul Tien, CEO of Morro Data. The article highlighted how AEC (Architecture, Engineering, Construction) companies benefit from a Hybrid Cloud Storage solution.