Typical Office IT Underperforms for Architectural Firms

While no two businesses are the same, there are usually going to be some common similarities between any two office environments. When you take a typical look at the technology that runs any two offices, you’ll see your standard workstations, phones, printers, and a couple of servers tying everything together. However, if you try to run an architecture, construction, or design firm from your typical office environment, things are going to fall apart very quickly. Why is that?

Standard Office Technology is Designed for Average Use Cases

When a business purchases computer equipment, they are usually presented with standard workstation-class hardware. Don’t get us wrong—even on the lowest end, computers have come a long way over the last decade. In general, you can do so much more with less in ways that would have been unbelievable even a few years ago. An extremely high-end computer designed and built in 2010 for $4000 would hardly hold a candle to a new $700 mid-range computer.

Modern technology has become faster, more efficient, and much more capable over the last decade, but as our computers get better, our software becomes more demanding.

For those of you who have been using CAD software over the last dozen or more years (or even longer for many of you), just look at how far things have come. While we’ve seen 3D CAD become much more mainstream, some of the biggest areas of advancement are in areas like product data management (PDM) and product lifecycle management (PLM) where the goal is strictly to reduce the time it takes for every step of the design and manufacturing process to increase workflow.

Great software is always evolving, from Google search being able to get you the answers you need faster to Microsoft Word making it easier to collaborate on a single document with others, to logistics software making it easier to make informed decisions.  With this progression, computers need to gradually become more powerful and capable to handle it.

The work that architects, designers, and engineers do requires advanced software that is much more resource-intensive for a workstation. CAD software in particular requires more processing power, RAM, and storage requirements than the typical office application. On top of that, these workstations still need to run the standard suite of tools most workers need, such as email/communication apps, Microsoft Office, company time tracking applications, etc.

Beyond just the workstation, the network itself needs to be able to handle the transfer of larger files along with the rest of the standard network traffic. Your backup system needs to be able to handle versioning so you can rollback to previous versions of your data. It all trickles throughout your IT infrastructure, leading to your servers needing to be able to handle this extra workload.

Architects, Designers, and Engineers Need an IT Advisor Who Understands Their Business

While any computer repair shop can probably spec out a high-end workstation for an architect, they might not understand your workflows, pain points, and the demand that comes with your industry. 

At Capstone Works, we work with architectural firms throughout the Austin area, and we help them overcome their daily pain points so they can get the work out the door faster and more effectively. We understand that deadlines and efficiency are everything and that your technology should help you meet demands, not get in the way.

If you feel like your current IT environment isn’t serving your firm well, give us a call at (512) 343-8891 to set up a no-obligation consultation.