In this article, Tim Whiteley, co-founder of Inevidesk, explores how virtual desktop infrastructure (VDI) can provide greater collaboration and flexible working for AEC companies
Though hybrid working practices took off once lockdowns lifted, the office remains an essential hub for organisations working in the built environment.
And yet, many are still struggling to collaborate as effectively as they could. Why?
The industry is rife with legacy technology, such as fixed workstations that require sufficient computing power, alongside processing and graphical capabilities, to run high-performance software.
At the simplest of levels, this means that – even when they’re working in the same office – employees are unable to relocate to collaborate in real-time with colleagues on the other side of the room.
In 2023 it seems almost unthinkable that workers should still be tethered to their desks. And there’s clearly a need, then, for AEC companies to find a better way to foster collaboration while also driving more flexible ways of working.
What are the barriers to collaboration in the AEC industry?
Specialist software is central to the work of many working across the architecture, engineering and construction (AEC) sectors.
Running such programmes typically requires powerful workstations that need to be housed on the same local, high-speed networks as the servers on which the company’s design files are stored.
Indeed, the graphical complexity of these files can mean that anyone attempting to access them remotely – whether from home, from a client’s site or from a satellite office – may experience lag or delays in performance.
What’s more, fixed desk workstations are generally served by a single power and internet source, both of which are susceptible to outages that can be hugely disruptive and cause unnecessary downtime.
So, in summary, these types of organisations suffer from poor remote performance, lack of flexibility and minimal resilience.
Virtual desktop infrastructure (VDI) may be the answer to breaking barriers
However, the answer may lie in a shift from physical workstations to virtual desktop infrastructure (VDI).
Essentially, VDI houses an organisation’s desktop resource on a server, based either in the cloud or within existing site-based infrastructure.
All the heavy processing required by the AEC industry’s high-performance software is undertaken by a centralised resource rather than a workstation. Importantly, this allows users to access a virtual desktop over an office network or internet connection on a laptop or home PC, freeing them up to work remotely instead of being tethered to a monolithic machine in the office.
VDI is typically inexpensive and widely used by businesses across many industries. AEC organisations, though, have been slower to adopt the technology due to the powerful graphics and processing requirements of high-performance CAD and 3D modelling software.
For this reason, most firms have been unable to justify the expense of enterprise-grade VDI offerings from bigger players like Azure, Citrix, and VMware or, at least, unable to use them to their full potential.
But the availability of alternative, more affordable solutions mean cost and useability need no longer be an issue. A new generation of disruptors has ensured even smaller AEC companies are now able to enjoy the benefits of high-performance VDI.
Virtual desktop infrastructure enables organisations to untether employees from physical workstations
This allows employees to work from anywhere they choose and collaborate freely with their colleagues.
By enabling team members to discuss their work and share ideas in real-time wherever they are located, thus encouraging greater creativity and productivity.
Even when they’re in the office, employees are no longer tied to specific workstations/ desks and can move about at will, creating more dynamic, interesting, and responsive spaces.
Julian de Metz, director at architectural firm dMFK, describes how using VDI has freed his company’s employees: “Every day, people sit in different places as they’re no longer fixed to a specific desk. This freedom has created so much more interaction amongst the team as they move around to accommodate specific projects, social exchange, and just reflect on what’s happening on that specific day.”
For Cullinan Studio, turning to virtual infrastructure has enabled the firm to open more of its office to tenants with dreams of becoming a multi-disciplinary hub.
As former practice leader Peter Inglis said: “We made the decision to open up more of the building to like-minded companies by reducing the amount of space required by our staff, knowing that we would be accommodating an aspect of home working for our team in the future.
“The key to this was creating a fully agile space for our team, where staff attending the office can sit at any desk when they are on premises. We have achieved this through virtual desktops, which effectively moves our workstations to the cloud.”
Powering performance across offices
The benefits go beyond greater collaboration and interaction. Hosting virtual desktops in the same location as server data delivers the fast network speeds needed to work on complex design files.
VDI can also be optimised to guarantee the best performance for different software and bandwidth environments. And for complete business continuity, VDIs can be hosted in a data centre, ensuring employees can still access remote desktops and continue working and collaborating on projects, even in the event of a power or internet outage in the office.
As Justin Fletcher, managing director of engineering consultancy, Elevate Everywhere, explains: “Primarily, VDI would provide us with an excellent level of computing performance wherever our team was working, whether that be our London or Manchester offices, at home, or elsewhere.
“Secondly, the service would allow us to centralise our workstation and data resources, which was critical to in terms of security and administration… We’re also now all set to make the move to a fully cloud-hosted service later in the year, which will further improve our resiliency and flexibility.”
Breaking down barriers to collaboration for better ways of working
The impacts of the pandemic forever changed the way we consider collaboration. But, as organisations continue to assess and explore new ways of working, it’s important they don’t overlook the challenges in the workplace in favour of those presented by remote or hybrid working.
Being tied to a workstation can be as much of a barrier to collaboration and creativity as being in an entirely different location.
VDI breaks down this barrier by untethering people from fixed desks. Until now, companies in the AEC sectors may have considered VDI to be out of their reach.
Today, the advent of more affordable alternatives means that even startup firms can work the way they want to without diminishing their ability to collaborate on creating high-quality, innovative work for their clients.
Tim Whiteley
Co-founder
Inevidesk
