Autodesk and Trimble Join Forces to Increase Interoperability

Trimble and Autodesk have entered into an interoperability agreement. It is aimed at saving customers time and reducing project costs typically associated with workflow inefficiency across different suppliers’ technologies. According to both companies, this will benefit architects, engineers and contractors as well as project owners by enabling more freedom to optimise technology workflows needed to meet the complex requirements of today’s construction projects.

Autodesk and Trimble anticipate to the evolving needs of the building and infrastructure industries. Reliable, fluent exchange of information among multiple stakeholders and platforms is essential to this end.

With their collaboration, the companies want to demonstrate their ongoing commitment to support open industry standards such as Industry Foundation Classes (IFC) and Construction Operations Building Information Exchange (COBie), and can enable current and prospective Autodesk and Trimble customers working on the same projects to work together seamlessly through optimised file compatibility across applications.

APIs

Under the terms of agreement, Autodesk and Trimble will take steps to accelerate interoperability by exchanging Application Programming Interfaces (APIs) and developer tools to build and market interoperable products. This allows the two companies to improve upon existing data exchanges, as well as open up new workflows between their products. Tighter product-to-product integration can enable design and construction professionals to share models, project files and other data between select Autodesk and Trimble solutions both in the office and the field, and allow for the reuse of information during design and construction throughout all phases of the project.

Shared dedication

Amar Hanspal, senior vice president, Autodesk, commented the strength of a company is best measured by its willingness to do what is right for its customers and the industry at large. This interoperability agreement speaks to Autodesk’s commitment to openness. This collaboration with Trimble speaks to a shared dedication to making the building process more efficient and productive for all involved, he added.

Bryn Fosburgh, vice president at Trimble said this collaboration demonstrates the mutual commitment to provide design and construction professionals with a seamless experience from both Autodesk and Trimble design-build-operate solutions. As a result all stakeholders across the construction lifecycle can optimise their workflow efficiency.