Sep 30, 2021

Products such as space management and planning software Archibus could see greater future integrations into Autodesk's design software. Image Courtesy of iOFFICE + SpaceIQ September 30, 2021 Further building out its investments in the operations space, Autodesk announced on Sept. 21 that it is entering into a partnership with iOFFICE + SpaceIQ, a provider of management software for capital planning and asset management for commercial buildings and properties. The deal will bring greater integration between the asset management capabilities of iOFFICE + SpaceIQ and Autodesk’s BIM workflows, including its digital twin for owners product, Tandem. “An owner wants to organize their BIM by room, not by discipline,” says Nicolas Mangon, Autodesk vice president. “Owner-operators will never use BIM in their operations until they have the right digital twin.” Tandem was intended to bridge that gap between design BIM and an operational digital twin, but this partnership will bring capital planning and asset management into the mix as well, Mangon says. “There are already some integrations in AutoCAD, but besides Tandem we’re also working on some ways to bring data back in for smaller renovations and capital improvements into Revit.” “It’s about closing the loop from design and construction into operation,” says Nick Stefanidakis, general manager for Archibus at iOFFICE + SpaceIQ. He adds that bringing the operations-focused software into the same cloud environment as Autodesk’s design suite will enable owners to have a better grasp of renovations and planning. “Using [Autodesk] Forge or Tandem as a frontend for our customers would allow them to interact with the BIM without having to use too many different tools,” says Stefanidakis. Owners managing whole campuses or portfolios of hundreds of buildings could also benefit, he says. “Think about that one building, then expand that to the whole process: it feeds into future designs.”