Spotlight:
Bowen Engineering Corporation stands as a beacon in the construction industry, with a rich history of excellence spanning over half a century. Specializing in water and wastewater treatment, energy production, and industrial facilities, Bowen has established itself as a leader in delivering complex infrastructure projects across the United States.
Why Bowen Relies on Softdrive: In an industry where precision and reliability are paramount, Bowen's reliance on Softdrive is a testament to the software's capability to meet the high demands of architectural and engineering projects. By enabling Bowen's team to run complex modeling and design software remotely, Softdrive supports Bowen's commitment to innovation and excellence. Whether it's through facilitating seamless collaboration among remote teams or ensuring projects can progress efficiently regardless of hardware limitations, Softdrive plays a crucial role in helping Bowen achieve its mission of building a better tomorrow.
Software:
Revit: A building information modeling software for architects, structural engineers, MEP engineers, designers, and contractors developed by Autodesk.
Lumion: A real-time 3D architectural visualization tool for architects.
Twinmotion: A visualization and 3D immersion tool used for architecture, construction, urban planning, and landscaping.
The Use Case:
The primary use case for Softdrive within the client's company involves running high-demand modeling and graphic design software. This includes programs such as Revit for building information modeling, Lumion for real-time architectural visualization, and Twinmotion for immersive 3D visualization. These tools are essential for the client's operations in architecture, construction, and design projects.
Workload:
The workload managed through Softdrive encompasses the creation and manipulation of large, complex models and designs that require significant computational resources. This includes everyday use by key team members, with additional occasional use by 4 to 8 other individuals within the company for specific tasks or projects.
Why They Moved to Softdrive:
The move to Softdrive was driven by the need for powerful computing resources capable of handling the client's intensive software requirements without the physical and financial burdens of high-end hardware.
Prior experiences with software crashes, slow performance, and the inconvenience of transporting heavy computing equipment led to the search for a more efficient solution.
Bowen tried to solve their challenges with VMware, while it provided a degree of remote access and file transferring capabilities, it fell short in performance, particularly in running resource-intensive applications like Revit. It was slow and not adequately suited for the demanding tasks at hand, highlighting a gap that Softdrive could fill.
Softdrive was identified as a superior alternative, offering the necessary computational power remotely with enhanced flexibility, mobility, and cost savings. This strategic shift not only addressed the immediate performance issues but also aligned with the broader objective of optimizing operational efficiency and productivity through technological innovation.
Performance Benefits:
Softdrive provided significant performance benefits, enabling the client to run demanding software smoothly and efficiently, which was not feasible on their existing hardware.
- Key benefits included:
- Reduced Crashing: A notable decrease in software crashes, particularly with Revit, improving reliability and work continuity.
- Faster Rendering: The ability to perform renderings that would take 24 hours on a local machine in much less time, thanks to the superior computational power of Softdrive.
- Mobility and Convenience: The elimination of the need to carry heavy computing equipment, as Softdrive can be accessed from lighter devices, enhancing mobility and ease of use.
- Seamless Remote Work: Improved performance even on lower internet speeds, particularly beneficial when working from remote locations or job sites with poor connectivity.
- Quick File Transferring: Enhanced efficiency in uploading and downloading large files, making data management more effective.
Benefits:
Download Productivity increase: 3000 minutes gained per employee/year with Softdrive's 3Gbps download and upload speeds.
Compared to alternative VMware: 10x less expensive
