File Based vs Revit Server vs Autodesk Construction Cloud || Worksharing

[esatis]

Hi,

our company now uses file based worksharing even when users works from home, they use VPN and access the server where the Central model is located. The system works, but I can not compare it to Revit Server or could based ACC, because I have very little experience with Revit Server in smaller company. Now we are considering using ACC to host documents and manage project. 

I know the Collab Pro is expensive and the VPN server would still be needed, so the question is whether the ACC based worksharing would improve performance or justify the cost in some other way.

For example, I know for my experience Revit Server had big issue with not allowing to link IFC files and other Revit files for that matter and they had to be converted to other worksharing files in order to be linked. This is big downside and I would not want to go that way in ACC. The Revit Server would be out of option because of lacking IFC support. 

So could people with experience please comment on benefits / drawbacks for these systems compared ? 
Thank you! 

[Ryan_GormanKT36T]

We've been using Autodesk Construction Cloud (ACC) for years with much success. It's not perfect, there have been times when they had an outage that kept us from working, but the same thing can happen with a local server.  

There's a good article laying out some other pros and Cons here:

https://www.trustradius.com/reviews/autodesk-bim-360-2021-10-13-03-49-27 

[ToanDN]

We have been using ACC and would never look back at VPN or RevitServer.  ACC offers a lot more than just file hosting.  There are versioning, sharing, issuing, reviewing, commenting, batch upgrading built in.

[HVAC-Novice]

We have ACC. Maybe I did it wrong. But I used it (model in "files" and accessed via desktop connector), and sometimes it wouldn't open the file. I'm not even sure if it would work to create the backup files. I was so put off by the fact that sometimes it worked to open a file, sometimes it didn't for no apparent reason., i just pulled the plug on the experiment

ACC in general is a bit iffy and sometimes slow. I often have to refresh the page to see a picture on a sheet etc. 

We got ACC for other reasons. If you don't have the other reasons, it may be an expensive experiment to just host Revit files.

[ToanDN]

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@HVAC-Novice wrote:

We have ACC. Maybe I did it wrong. But I used it (model in "files" and accessed via desktop connector), and sometimes it wouldn't open the file. I'm not even sure if it would work to create the backup files. I was so put off by the fact that sometimes it worked to open a file, sometimes it didn't for no apparent reason., i just pulled the plug on the experiment

ACC in general is a bit iffy and sometimes slow. I often have to refresh the page to see a picture on a sheet etc. 

We got ACC for other reasons. If you don't have the other reasons, it may be an expensive experiment to just host Revit files.

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I am not clear how you open (or can't open) the files.  I open cloud models directly via Revit Home Page > Autodesk Docs.  They never fail to open.

ACC creates a backup file (a version of the file) each time you Publish.  Unless you remove the cloud file, its backups live there forever.  You can always choose any version and download the entire source files of that version to archive locally if you need.

I did not mention earlier, but you can share a published cloud model to others to review, comment, redline... if they have ACC license but no Revit license.  That saves a lot of time comparing to do it via PDF.

[rgormanU875G]

@HVAC-Novice ,I don't think using Desktop Connector for your main file is the best workflow. 

If you set up the model as a Workshared Cloud Model it would likely function as you were expecting/hoping.

Here's a link that may give you better info on how to set that up

Using Revit Cloud Models (autodesk.com)

[HVAC-Novice]

Yes that would be using BIM360 (which we don't have). But the OP asked about ACC. I don't know if they have a BIM 360 subscription. 

ACC alone (using the "files") isn't really workable in real World IMHO. 

[ToanDN]

ACC is the new name for BIM 360.

[Ryan_GormanKT36T]

Autodesk's Software packages are a little confusing to me especially with the name change. 

But as I understand it, and hopefully this stays on topic of this thread;

Autodesk Docs (Included in AEC Subscription, but also available as a stand alone). I think of it like Autodesk's version of "DropBox" 

BIM Collaborate PRO (Separate license required) This is the platform needed to have a workshared cloud model.

I have really enjoyed using this workflow and would recommend it, however you need to weight factors like cost, training and the types of projects you are working on. Other things to consider:

• how many users typically work in the same project?
• how often do you share models with other trades/subcontractors?
• do you have someone that could be the point for learning and managing this workflow?