The architecture, engineering, and construction (AEC) industry has unique needs pertaining to flexibility, performance and security. AEC designers work almost exclusively on complex and interactive 3D designs, which make up the proprietary intellectual property (IP) of the firms they work at.
This is particularly true in the current global landscape where hybrid and remote work have become common. More AEC teams are now distributed around the world, away from their firm’s headquarters, putting additional pressure on IT to ensure that business data remains safe even when being accessed from across the world. The need for secure and flexible access to high compute power means that sacrificing security for better computing isn’t an option.
With today's threat landscape worsening, bad actors are now able to access better technology to conduct cyberattacks. Since the pandemic began, cyberattacks are up 400%1 and according to a recent HP Wolf Security Threat Insights Report, 150 different file formats are used by attackers to deliver malware. Email is the most dangerous delivery method, accounting for 69% of all threats2.
While VPNs have been the go-to security feature for many businesses, according to findings in an HP Teradici Hybrid Work Report3, 37% of respondents said their biggest computing issue was setting up VPNs for employees to access the corporate network. At the same time, 41% of those surveyed expressed concerns that security had been compromised in hybrid work environments.
Which is why IT needs to have secure control and access to valuable AEC IP. Additionally, there is an even greater demand on IT since AEC teams are more globally dispersed than they used to be. The more people accessing IP from multiple locations, the more vulnerable that business data becomes.
Technological advancements are making it easier for AEC teams to work as proficiently as they did in the office while at home and for IT to enable secured access to the firm’s digital workspaces. With the NVIDIA Omniverse™ Enterprise and PC-over-IP (PCoIP®)-powered HP Anyware solution, AEC firms can improve their security posture while maintaining their level of productivity.
NVIDIA Omniverse Enterprise is a transformative virtual platform that offers end-to-end collaboration opportunities and real-time true-to-reality simulation. Built for AEC business decision-makers, architects and designers, ArchViz specialists, and Virtual Design Construction managers, Omniverse Enterprise enables AEC project teams to achieve full-fidelity 3D visualization when designing architectural models. It enables AEC teams to collaborate from different AEC applications in real time on the same design project, transforming complex design workflows for organizations of any scale.
The Omniverse platform is built on open standards including Universal Scene Description (USD) and Material Definition Language (MDL). USD is a powerful 3D format, framework, and ecosystem for collaborating within, describing, composing, and simulating 3D scenes and worlds. Omniverse Connectors are plug-ins that enable live-sync collaboration and iteration across multiple software suites simultaneously—all brought together in Omniverse Enterprise.
One of the major benefits NVIDIA Omniverse Enterprise4 offers AEC firms is that it centralizes digital assets. Omniverse Enterprise Nucleus Server is deployed in the data center to connect teams to the same Omniverse environment, virtualized with NVIDIA RTX Virtual Workstation software. Intellectual property stays safe in the digital workspace as files don't need to be downloaded to an individual’s workspace and uploaded again once changes have been made. Omniverse seamlessly syncs file changes between creative tools, preserving the integrity of files throughout the pipeline and maintaining a single source of truth, a common frustration many AEC organizations deal with today.
When AEC users access NVIDIA Omniverse via HP Anyware, they do so in a secure environment. No AEC project data ever leaves the data center, nor is it transferred from workstation host to a remote user because Anyware only transmits display information in the form of encrypted pixels over the network. Sensitive data stays centralized and securely protected in the data center through AES 256 encryption. This also helps avoid data synchronization problems and allows AEC users to collaborate in real-time on NVIDIA Omniverse Enterprise.
HP Anyware is the enterprise software IT needs to keep workforces productive and flexible. Anyware streams highly interactive desktop displays between virtually any host and end-user device. Based on Engineering Emmy® Award-winning PCoIP® technology, Anyware offers secured access to digital workspaces without a VPN so AEC teams can work from virtually anywhere without worrying about opening their IP to cybersecurity threats.
PCoIP technology encrypts and transmits “pixels only” across a standard IP network to PCoIP-enabled clients that decode and display those pixels. No data leaves the safety of the corporate network, only fully encrypted pixels are sent from the host desktop environment to the endpoint device. Additionally, HP Anyware includes Anyware Manager to easily provision and monitor PCoIP connections and manage user-access to shared digital workspaces with multi-factor authentication.
HP Anyware is supported on any public cloud and in private data centers, so you can set up both primary and disaster recovery sites for high-speed recovery and data-loss avoidance. Having a DR (disaster recovery) plan in place guarantees recovery of files, applications and virtual machines so you have backup and recovery capabilities in place to ensure SLAs are met for your recovery time and recovery point objectives.
The PCoIP protocol is recognized and trusted to deliver interactive applications like those needed in AEC. It is a multi-codec solution that dynamically adapts, encodes and delivers the most accurate and distortion-free experience regardless of network conditions. In industries where collaboration is key but data risk is high, our PCoIP protocol offers another layer of protection. People can work collaboratively from anywhere, knowing that sensitive information never leaves the data center and work can never be lost or stolen.
In addition, because enterprise data and software are safely secured inside central systems, no one can tamper with your data or infiltrate your applications by compromising your remote endpoint devices.
With HP Anyware, AEC teams working around the world can securely access their NVIDIA Omniverse Enterprise workspace and achieve the high resolution and color and text fidelity they need to create designs virtually, no matter where they are.5
Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed in AECbytes sponsored articles are those of the sponsor and do not represent or reflect the views of AECbytes.
This article shows how using HP Anyware in conjunction with NVIDIA Omniverse brings true work flexibility to AEC teams, allowing members from different locations to securely work with the color-accurate, lossless, and distortion-free user experience needed to create and iterate together efficiently.
The Omniverse, showcased by NVIDIA at GTC 2021, is a 3D virtual world that can contain models created by many different people in many different applications in diverse locations. This article looks at what it is, how it works, and how it is being used by leading AEC firms like Foster + Partners and KPF.
