You connect Oracle Aconex and Autodesk Forma with a CDE integration that moves documents, revisions and metadata between an Aconex project and a Forma project on rules you set. CDE Sync™ links both platforms through service accounts, translates Forma attributes into the Aconex document register fields the client requires, and keeps every transfer logged.
Where Aconex and Forma meet
Aconex is widely used by owners and principals as the controlled platform for documents, correspondence and submissions. Autodesk Forma is widely used by design and construction teams for day-to-day delivery. The result is a familiar split: the contractor works in Forma and the client expects every deliverable to arrive in Aconex with its register fields completed.
Done by hand, each submission means exporting from Forma, renaming to the client's numbering scheme, filling in the Aconex register fields and uploading. On a large project that runs into thousands of submissions, and the metadata the client relies on is re-keyed every time.
What the integration handles
Aconex and Forma use different structures. Aconex organises documents in a register with configurable fields, while Forma uses folders and custom attributes. CDE Sync™ maps between them so a document issued in Forma arrives in Aconex with the right number, revision, status, discipline and type. Return flows can bring client-reviewed documents back into Forma, so the delivery team sees the outcome without leaving its own platform.
Every action is recorded in the audit log, which helps when a client or auditor asks what was submitted and when. Our article on automated client submissions covers this pattern in more depth.
How to connect Aconex and Forma, step by step
Confirm the exchange: which Forma folders feed which Aconex document types, and whether reviewed documents should return to Forma.
Obtain the client's Aconex register fields, mandatory values and numbering rules.
Request an Aconex user account for the integration from the Aconex project administrator.
Have the Forma administrator add a service account to the delivery project.
Connect both platforms in the CDE Sync™ wizard and select the folders and document types.
Map Forma attributes to Aconex register fields, including revision and status values.
Run a test submission, check it in Aconex with the client's document controller, then set the schedule.
Getting the register mapping right
Most of the effort in an Aconex and Forma connection goes into the register mapping, and it is worth doing carefully. Clients often specify picklist values for fields such as discipline, document type and status, and those values rarely match the attributes a contractor uses in Forma. Agree a mapping table with the client's document controller before the first submission, covering every mandatory field and every allowed value. Decide how revisions are numbered on each side and how a superseded document should appear in Aconex. Once the table is agreed, entering it in the CDE Sync™ wizard is quick, and later changes are made in one place without disturbing the submissions already lodged.
Security for client submissions
Client platforms on infrastructure projects often sit under security obligations, including the Security of Critical Infrastructure (SOCI) Act on rail, energy, water and aviation work. CDE Sync™ streams files directly between Forma and Aconex without storing them, encrypts data in transit and processes it in the Azure region you choose. No files pass through desktops or uncontrolled scripts. Utopia Digital holds SOC 2 Type II and Cyber Essentials. See the Security Trust Portal and the global data region map.
Keeping the connection running
Once live, a document controller monitors the portal and audit log, adds new folders or document types as the project grows and updates mappings if the client changes its register. Utopia Digital maintains the connectors as Oracle and Autodesk update their platforms, so the project team does not carry that work. The Oracle Aconex and Autodesk Forma integration pages have more detail.
Aconex, Forma and the Utopiaverse™
An Aconex to Forma connection is part of the Utopiaverse™, the connected record Utopia Digital builds across your platforms. CDE Sync™ keeps Aconex and Forma aligned, CDE Backup™ keeps an independent copy in your own Azure, CDE Migrate™ handles platform changes and CDE Archive™ captures the record at completion. AI Insights can then search and answer questions across both. For a related setup, read How Do I Connect ProjectWise and Autodesk Forma?
See Aconex and Forma connected in the monthly live demo, or talk to the team about your project.
