Cloud-based surface handling for large surfaces

[tcorey]

Autodesk offers rendering and energy analysis services to their building services subscription customers, but there is no online offering specifically for civil engineers or land surveyors.

How about cloud-based surface handling for large surfaces?

The civil engineer or land surveyor could upload his surface data and the cloud would process it.

Autodesk 360 would then let anyone with permissions reference the surface into a Civil 3D drawing, from the cloud, either whole or in parts. Autodesk 360 would hold the surface data and would deliver a low-file-size image that would represent the surface. The surface could still be queried, labeled, sectioned, etc.

The advantage I see is threefold. One, you aren't sending files back and forth. Two, you aren't storing the files locally. Three, you aren't watching a workstation chug away at a large surface. Having the surface cloud-based should relieve the workstation of most of the overhead taken up by a large model.

I would think Autodesk is already working on point cloud processing online, but I get the feeling a larger number of their customers would use the surface handling. What do you think?