CDE Archive™ captures the complete record of a finished project out of its CDE and into storage you own in Microsoft Azure. Files, every version, folder structure, metadata, transmittals and audit trails come across in a single run, so the project can close out of the vendor platform without losing anything.
The problem with leaving projects in the CDE
When a project finishes, its data usually stays in the CDE under the vendor's terms. The organisation keeps paying licence or storage fees for a project nobody is working on, sometimes for years. Many teams take the other route and export the data themselves, which typically keeps the latest files and drops version history, metadata and correspondence.
Both choices cause trouble later. A defect claim, an insurance question or an asset query can arrive five or ten years after handover. By then the CDE subscription may have lapsed, the vendor may have changed its terms, or the people who knew where things were have moved on. Joint ventures add another layer of risk, because the JV's CDE is often decommissioned when the entity is wound up.
How CDE Archive™ works
Utopia Digital scopes the archive with your team, confirming which projects, modules and data are included. CDE Archive™ then moves the whole record into your Azure tenancy in a single run, in the data region you choose. Files stream directly from the CDE into your storage and are never held on Utopia Digital's systems.
The archive keeps the structure people recognise. Folders, file names, version history and metadata match what the team used during delivery, so a lawyer, asset manager or commercial team can find a document years later without rebuilding the context.
Cost and control
Holding a finished project in your own Azure usually costs far less than keeping it in a live CDE. You set the storage tier, the retention rules and who has access. The CDE Archive™ page includes a calculator that compares your own figures for keeping closed projects in the CDE with holding them in Azure over your retention period.
Who it is for
Contractors who need evidence for claims long after handover.
Asset owners who need the as-built record for the life of the asset.
Joint ventures closing down a shared CDE.
Organisations leaving a platform that still holds completed projects.
CDE Archive™ and the Utopiaverse™
CDE Archive™ is the completion layer of the Utopiaverse™. An archived project sits in the same Azure record as data from CDE Sync™, CDE Backup™ and CDE Migrate™, which keeps it searchable. With AI Insights, your team can browse an archived project's folders and version history and ask questions of it, with every answer linking back to its source files.