— Platform FAQs —

Frequently Asked Questions.

General Overview.

  • Utopia Digital connects the common data environments (CDEs) used across a project or portfolio. Our products keep files, versions and metadata in step between platforms, move projects between platforms, and keep a copy of the project record in your own Microsoft Azure.

  • A CDE is the platform a project uses to store, share and manage its information, such as drawings, models, documents and their approvals. Common examples include Autodesk Forma, Bentley ProjectWise, Procore, Oracle Aconex, Asite and Microsoft SharePoint.

  • The designer, contractor, client and subcontractors often each use their own platform, and joint ventures bring in more. A single major project can run five or six CDEs at once, each holding part of the record in its own structure.

  • Moving files between CDEs by hand is slow and error-prone. Document and BIM coordinators can spend 10 to 20 hours a week downloading, renaming, re-uploading and checking files. Our products automate that work, keep versions consistent, and give you a copy of the record you control.

  • CDE Sync™ keeps every CDE in step during delivery. CDE Backup™ keeps a copy of every project in your own Azure. CDE Migrate™ moves projects between platforms. CDE Archive™ captures the finished record at completion. The Utopiaverse™ brings them together with AI Insights across your portfolio.

  • Owners, contractors, designers and joint ventures delivering major projects in transport, aviation, water, energy, defence and the built environment. Any organisation running more than one CDE, or working with partners on other platforms, can benefit.

  • No. Projects keep the platforms they use today, and partners keep theirs. Our products work between the platforms so each team can stay on the one that suits it.

  • Yes. Most customers start with CDE Sync™ or CDE Migrate™ on one project, then add CDE Backup™, CDE Archive™ or the Utopiaverse™ as their needs grow.

  • No. Our products work across platforms from many vendors, and we partner with several of them. That neutrality lets you choose the right platform for each project without losing your data.

  • Utopia Digital is headquartered in Brisbane, Australia, and works with customers in Australia, the United Kingdom, Europe and North America. Data is processed in the Microsoft Azure region you choose.

The Utopiaverse™ and AI Insights.

  • The Utopiaverse™ brings CDE Sync™, CDE Backup™, CDE Migrate™ and CDE Archive™ together into one connected record of your project data, held in your own Microsoft Azure. Projects keep the platforms they need, while the data lands in one structure you own.

  • Each product handles one stage of a project. The Utopiaverse™ joins them up across your whole portfolio, with AI Insights working over the data they bring into your Azure.

  • Layer 1 is every CDE, where project data is created. Layer 2 is CDE Sync™ and CDE Migrate™, which connect and move that data. Layer 3 is CDE Backup™ and CDE Archive™, which hold every project and version in your Azure. Layer 4 is AI Insights, which works across all of it.

  • Every project and version from every CDE is copied into one consistent structure in your own Azure, with its metadata translated to a common schema. You can find, compare and analyse projects together, whichever platform they ran on.

  • AI Insights lets your team browse folder and version history and ask questions of it in the same place, with RAG and OCR search across every project and every platform. Every answer links back to the source files it came from.

  • Yes, once the data is in your Azure. A vendor's own AI only sees its own platform, while AI Insights works across everything the Utopiaverse™ brings together.

  • RAG (retrieval augmented generation) finds the relevant documents first, then answers your question from them and cites the sources. OCR (optical character recognition) reads the text in scanned documents and drawings so they can be searched too.

  • AI Insights runs natively on Azure AI Foundry inside your own Azure tenancy. The record, the search index and the AI all stay within your environment and under your access policies.

  • AI Insights is being developed with the University of Technology Sydney and CSIRO's Data61.

  • Yes. Because the record sits in your own Azure, your teams and partners can use it for analytics, digital twins and your own AI tools, alongside AI Insights.

  • Every project lives in more than one place, so an outage or attack on one platform does not stop work. If a vendor changes its pricing or terms, you can move platforms with every version intact.

CDE Sync™ Features and Functionality.

  • CDE Sync™ automatically synchronises files, versions, folders and metadata between CDE platforms. It runs in the cloud on Microsoft Azure, with no code, scripts, virtual machines or on-premises software.

  • In the CDE Sync™ portal, a wizard walks you through connecting your platforms, mapping folders, matching metadata fields, and setting rules and a schedule. Once a sync is running, every action is logged and progress is shown on the dashboard.

  • No. CDE Sync™ is configured through the portal wizard. A document controller or BIM coordinator can set up and run syncs once platform access has been approved.

  • Yes. Syncs can run one way, both ways, or across more than two platforms at once, so a contractor can pull from several subcontractor CDEs into one federated environment.

  • Yes. CDE Sync™ can sync between two instances of the same platform, such as Forma to Forma or Procore to Procore, including across organisations and regions.

  • Metadata is translated between each platform's fields, naming conventions, revision codes and status values. Large customers have hundreds of metadata fields mapped automatically, so documents arrive with the attributes the destination expects.

  • Revision histories and version states stay consistent across every connected platform, so each team sees the same current version and the full history behind it.

  • Yes. Metadata, naming and status codes can be mapped to ISO 19650, and the full audit trail supports information management and traceability under the standard.

  • Yes. You set the schedule for each sync in the portal to match your project's workflows and milestones.

  • Yes. The portal dashboard shows every active sync, its configuration and its live status, with reports for each one.

  • The portal provides dashboards and reports, with an action log of every file and metadata change for QA, audit, security and compliance reporting.

  • No. You can configure as many syncs as you need within your subscription's data allowance.

  • Yes. Infrastructure scales automatically with the number of projects and the volume of data. Some customers sync millions of files a week, and large models are handled as part of normal syncs.

  • Customers also use it to set up new project CDEs automatically, submit milestone deliverables to clients, supply data for clash detection, archive projects for insurance, maintain business continuity, and prepare data for AI.

Platforms and Integration.

  • Autodesk Construction Cloud, Autodesk Forma, BIM 360, Bentley ProjectWise, Bentley iTwin, Microsoft SharePoint, Oracle Aconex, Procore, Asite, InEight, 12d Synergy and Trimble, along with network servers and Azure storage. More platforms are being added.

  • Contact us. New connectors are built with access to the platform’s API, and many vendors only grant that access through a customer, so we work with you and the vendor to add it.

  • Yes. Syncing from Autodesk Construction Cloud or Forma into SharePoint is one of the most common requests, and SharePoint can also be a source for other platforms.

  • Yes. CDE Migrate™ can move project data from network servers and NAS drives into a cloud CDE, with folders and metadata preserved.

  • Yes. Joint venture partners, designers and contractors can keep their own platforms, and CDE Sync™ keeps the information flowing between them.

  • CDE Sync™ is cloud-based and runs natively on Microsoft Azure. There is nothing to install, and no virtual machines or on-premises software to maintain.

  • Each platform is connected through a dedicated account or app registration, with permissions limited to the projects and folders you nominate. You can withdraw access at any time from the platform itself.

  • We test vendor API changes before they are released, often with months of notice through our partnerships. Connectors are updated ahead of changes, so syncs keep running.

  • CDE Sync™ connects through each vendor's platform APIs. Once data is in your own Azure through CDE Backup™ or CDE Archive™, it can be used by your other enterprise systems and tools.

CDE Backup™, CDE Migrate™ and CDE Archive™.

  • CDE Backup™ keeps an ongoing copy of your project files, versions, metadata and folder structure in your own Azure, in the region you choose.

  • If a platform goes offline or is hit by ransomware, the latest clean copy of the record, including its mapping and metadata, is already in your own Azure. Older data can move to cold storage to keep costs down.

  • CDE Migrate™ moves projects from one CDE to another with folders, versions and metadata intact, from gigabytes to terabytes, encrypted in transit.

  • Moves between vendors, between platforms from the same vendor such as BIM 360 to Forma, between regional hubs such as Autodesk US to Australia, between instances of the same platform such as Procore to Procore, and from network servers into a cloud CDE.

  • A typical migration involves about 40 days of work, and we ask for at least 60 days' notice before your target date. The transfer itself is usually measured in days. In one case, 10 TB was moved in under two weeks against a nine-month plan.

  • Usually the vendor's API limits rather than our platform. We work with you and the vendor early to agree higher limits where they are needed.

  • Files, versions, folders, metadata and audit trails all move. Identifiers from the old platform are kept as attributes, so documents can be traced back to their source.

  • Where the destination cannot hold them as live data, they are preserved as PDF records in the new platform or archived in your own Azure, so nothing is lost.

  • CDE Archive™ captures a completed project, including every version, transmittal and audit trail, into your own Azure in one run, under your retention rules.

  • Keeping finished projects on a vendor platform can be expensive and ties you to that licence. An archive in your own Azure costs far less, stays under your control, and remains searchable with AI Insights.

  • Yes. A copy can be landed in your own Azure as part of a migration, which reduces long-term storage costs and keeps the full history.

Security and Data.

  • No. Files stream directly between your platforms and are never stored by CDE Sync™. Only encrypted credentials, configuration and audit logs are held. CDE Backup™ and CDE Archive™ place copies in your own Azure, not ours.

  • You choose the Microsoft Azure region your data is processed in, and the data stays in that region. See our Data Regions page for the available regions.

  • Utopia Digital holds SOC 2 Type II and Cyber Essentials certification, with 62 audited controls across 8 categories.

  • The SOC 2 Type II report, penetration test summaries and security policies are available under NDA through our Security Trust Portal.

  • Data is encrypted in transit with TLS 1.2 or higher, and the database is encrypted at rest. Production services run behind private endpoints on Microsoft Azure.

  • Credentials and tokens are held in Azure Key Vault with hardware-backed encryption. They are never stored in code or configuration files, and Utopia Digital staff cannot see them.

  • Sign-in uses multi-factor authentication and role-based access control. Only authorised administrators can create or change sync rules.

  • Yes. Every file and metadata action is recorded in a tamper-proof audit log and attributed to a named, accountable user.

  • Yes. Files are never routed through desktops, scripts or other uncontrolled intermediaries, which suits Security of Critical Infrastructure (SOCI) Act obligations on rail, energy, water, defence and government projects.

  • Yes. Independent penetration testing is carried out every year, alongside regular disaster recovery and cyber resilience exercises.

  • We have tested incident response procedures and notify affected customers within 72 hours of discovering a breach.

  • You are notified, and detailed logs show what failed and why so it can be fixed quickly. Our support team can help resolve it.

  • Send it to security@utopiadigital.io. We can complete most questionnaires from our security documentation and are happy to meet your IT and cyber team.

Pricing and Licensing.

  • There are two models. The CDE Project ID Model is priced on the CDE Project IDs you connect. The Enterprise Data Model is priced on a monthly data allowance and covers unlimited projects. See our Product Pricing page for more detail.

  • A CDE Project ID is one project on one platform, such as a Forma project or a ProjectWise workspace. A sync requires two or more CDE Project IDs.

  • ID licences, an included data band, setup and support days. It covers CDE Sync™ and CDE Backup™, and the price per ID falls as you add more.

  • Each CDE Project ID includes a monthly data allowance of 100, 200 or 300 GB. The allowance is pooled across your IDs and averaged over time, and you can move up to a larger band if you need more.

  • You commit to a monthly data allowance that covers every project on every CDE. It includes a platform fee, the data allowance, setup and support days, and covers CDE Sync™, CDE Backup™, CDE Migrate™ and CDE Archive™.

  • The CDE Project ID Model suits a single project or a small number of projects. The Enterprise Data Model suits large or changing portfolios, or organisations that also need migration and archiving.

  • No. Both models include unlimited users and unlimited syncs within your allowance.

  • Subscriptions run for 12, 24 or 36 months and are billed annually in advance.

  • Under the CDE Project ID Model, you can move up to a larger data band. Under the Enterprise Data Model, the allowance is re-based pro rata for the rest of the term. There are no overage charges.

  • Yes. A 30-day trial runs in your own CDE environments and is credited towards a subscription if you go ahead.

  • Migrations are quoted as a fixed price against a statement of work, based on the platforms, data size and effort involved.

Implementation, Onboarding and Support.

  • We agree the scope and commercial terms, your IT team approves access to each platform, we configure the first syncs and metadata mapping with you, then automated syncs go live.

  • The set-up wizard takes about 15 to 30 minutes. From kick-off to go-live usually takes about a week, most of which is your organisation's security and access approvals.

  • Setup and support days are included in every subscription. We help configure your first syncs, map your metadata, and train your team on the portal.

  • A document controller or BIM coordinator can run it. No developers or IT specialists are needed once access is in place.

  • Training covers the portal wizard, metadata mapping, monitoring and reporting, delivered as hands-on sessions with your team.

  • Support is available through our ticketing service, alongside error logs, notifications and reporting in the portal. Support days are included in every subscription.

  • CDE Sync™ is updated regularly. Minor updates cause no disruption to running syncs, and major changes are communicated in advance by email and in the portal.

  • Feedback from customers, support requests and regular check-ins shapes our product roadmap and the order in which new connectors and features are built.

  • Join one of our monthly live demos, or book a briefing with our team to walk through your own platforms and projects.

  • Book a briefing or request pricing through our Sales Enquiries page, and we will work through your platforms, projects and goals with you.