Changing CDE platforms is a records project as much as a software project. The new platform has to be set up and adopted, but the harder requirement is bringing the project record across with its versions, metadata and audit trail intact, so the organisation can still show what happened on every project it moves.
Common reasons for a move
Renewal pricing is the most common trigger. Others include a new client contract that mandates a platform, consolidating systems after an acquisition, moving to a sovereign data region, or retiring an older platform such as BIM 360 in favour of Autodesk Forma.
Plan around the record
A good migration plan starts with what has to survive the move. For most organisations that means:
Every file and every version, in order.
Folder structures that people recognise.
Metadata, including ISO 19650 status, revision and classification fields.
Issues, RFIs and their history.
Audit trails that show who did what and when.
Agree this list with information management, legal and commercial teams before choosing a migration approach. It becomes the acceptance criteria for the work.
Scoping and mapping
Platforms organise data differently. One uses folders and attributes, another uses document registers and custom fields. CDE Migrate™ starts with scoping, where Utopia Digital confirms modules, volumes and regions, then maps source folders and metadata fields to their destination equivalents. Where a destination has no direct equivalent for a legacy item, the plan records how it will be preserved, for example as a snapshot or in an archive in your own Azure.
Running the migration
CDE Migrate™ moves projects directly from source to destination, encrypted in transit, without storing files on Utopia Digital's systems. Versions are rebuilt in sequence, metadata is translated, and every move is logged. A first project typically runs in about two working days after scoping, with further projects running alongside it. Allow at least 60 days before your cut-over date so access approvals, mapping sign-off and validation fit comfortably.
Keeping teams working during the change
Large estates rarely move in a single weekend. While projects move in waves, CDE Sync™ can keep the old and new platforms aligned so teams on either side see current information. That shortens the period of working across two systems and reduces the overlap in licence costs.
Validating before switch-off
The migration log lets your team check file counts, versions and metadata against the source before the old platform is switched off. Agree the sign-off step in advance and keep the evidence, because it is what you will rely on if a question about the record comes up later.
Making the next change easier with the Utopiaverse™
Platform choices will keep changing over the life of an asset. CDE Migrate™ can land a copy of the migrated record in your own Azure as part of the Utopiaverse™, where it joins data from CDE Sync™, CDE Backup™ and CDE Archive™. With the history held in a record you own, the next move starts from a complete and consistent source, and AI Insights can search a project's history regardless of which platform it lived in at the time.