Topic: Collaborating with more than one office - remote offices?

[Robb]

This might be more for IT or CAD managers but I'd appreciate any information on this subject.

I'd like to know how companies with offices throughout the world collaborate and work on the same projects and files?

I have the task of setting up a remote office where we both need to work on the same files. My initial thought was to use a site-to-site VPN solution but the IT company that I had looking into a solution said that our file sizes would take much longer to open over the VPN connection. If it were small to medium office documents then I guess that wouldn't be a problem but when you have an AutoCAD drawing that utilizes external references and all those xref files need to be loaded then that can some time.

Our file sizes range from a several megabytes to several hundred megabytes for photoshop, pdf and image files.

What are some of you using out there to work with your other offices around the nation or world?

Appreciate any input. Thanks!

[CADaver]

Citrix server maybe?

[jonesy]

For a few of our major projects we are using Bentleys Projectwise software. This seems to work very well for sharing and collaborating across the offices.

I believe the mobile (Laptop) users are using citrix when they are out on site, or working from home.

[MP]

I've tried 3 of the following services and use one of them several times a day (let you know which one a week from now).

http://basecamphq.com
http://centraldesktop.com
http://joyent.com
http://weboffice.com

While none of them are tailored for CADD projects per say some of them are very good as collaboration tools. Some are somewhat simplistic, some are quite robust c/w with half decent document management, tho not approaching documentum or synergis adept capabilities.

On average I work at home about 2 - 3 days a week. Using these kinds of services makes it easy. I use citrix too but ickkk, only when I have to.

fwiw ...

[ronjonp]

Robb,

I'm using a VPN to connect to an office in Colorado from Phoenix. The Steelhead device by Riverbed Technologies made this a workable situation (meaning time to open and save large files). If you do go this route, the one major thing I can advise is to get the largest amount of bandwidth you possibly can.

http://www.riverbed.com/products/appliances/

I would also like to hear anyone else's experiences with different WAN collaboration.

Ron

[JohnK]

Not a `central' solution but none the less...

Use proper dwg set up procedures--i.e. project name var, relative paths, etc.--and a common project directory structure. Then you can FTP them back and forth every other day, or week, etc. (Requires more planning, but easy once you get going. This works good IF you plan, plan, and plan!!)

[Arizona]

For a few of our major projects we are using Bentleys Projectwise software. This seems to work very well for sharing and collaborating across the offices.

I believe the mobile (Laptop) users are using citrix when they are out on site, or working from home.

We use Projectwise for managing our documents across the internet as well. PW is a good steady (expensive?/Bentley) document management system that will allow multiple users from anywhere to access the same file and you are able to manage the merging of the information (imagine layers of changes) back to the "document of record" it also allows you to save all previous versions creating a complete document history. And of course a configurable database for search and retrieval of files easily, as well as the ability to set permissions as needed. We use this system for offices from Florida to North/South Carolina and Missouri, providing access to drawings/manuals to over 1000 users. Our traveling (utility) crews can access it via internal or external networks (VPN).

[ryandk]

Normally, we have servers in each office that host the projects that office is working on.  If any crosswork occurs, sometimes we can just map the drives across the network.

In the case where we have a project where there is a need for a local/site presence this solution (even with the riverbeds we have) was not going to work.  The latency was just going to be maddening to the user.

Since we weren't going to be setting up servers in this trailer we decided to use Buzzsaw for this project.

[hudster]

We run a system where we check a drawing out from a satellite office to work on it locally, our document management system marks it as checked out and leaves a locked version for use in the office as a read only un-saveable, un-editable drawing, as soon as it's finished we check it back in and the drawing is available to all for working on.

We do a lot of co-ordination work between the offices my company has, so we need to be able to be sure everything works ok, we tried folder replication, but this was always done at night, and after about the 10th document/drawing losing changes because two people in different offices altered them we abandoned it.

Our drawing database is replicated in real time with a copy stored in each office for speed of access, so if i check a drawing out, it's locked in all the offices straight away.