Why do we think you should use a cloud-based BIM Coordination platform? What does that mean? How safe is your data in the cloud? Our Head of Cloud Infrastructure, Keif explains how 3D Repo keep sensitive client data safe and sound.
Cloud storage has been around for many years now; so, what are the benefits of cloud storage? There are a huge number of benefits for using cloud storage including collaboration, accessibility and security.
When we say, ‘saving data to the cloud’, what we really mean is to store your data in an off-site storage system maintained by a third-party. 3D Repo provides a platform for BIM Coordination, on top of Amazon’s public Cloud called Amazon Web Services (AWS).
3D Repo’s cloud-based platform facilitates version control of BIM for users and teams, where otherwise they would share large files via email or other file sharing services. The 3D Repo platform promotes collaboration, where all parties working on a project have access to the latest version of the models and upload their own modifications.
Collaboration
Collaboration is a key objective of 3D Repo and users will find sharing data and communicating with other teams a breeze. Data is stored on our BIM Coordination Platform which means users can simply log in with their individual accounts and access the shared data, models, risks and issues and all users know they are working from the latest and most up to date information. A single source of truth.
Storing data remotely also makes it easy to share with others if you wish to do so. Sharing data with clients and colleagues can be done easily and securely by granting them access to specific parts of your account or to the complete account. This makes your data very accessible to the teams that need access.
Accessibility
Another benefit of a cloud platform is that the data is easily accessible from virtually anywhere with an internet connection. For 3D Repo, our BIM platform is accessed via a web browser and data is stored in the cloud which means our users simply log in to 3D Repo with their credentials through a web browser and can immediately start viewing their data and 3D models – from home, the office, on-site, or even overseas.
Security
If your data is being stored elsewhere, how secure is it? It’s as secure, or in some cases more secure than storing data in your own offices. Data in your office is often stored on local laptops, USB keys, and office servers. This data is unencrypted by default, meaning anyone with physical access to the offices can access your data.
3D Repo deploys and maintains instances of 3DRepo in several locations as required by our clients including the UK, Canada, and on-premise in private deployments. Where 3D Repo directly operates the infrastructure, we use Amazon Web Services to provide our cloud platform and configure instances of the application to operate inside the AWS region that aligns with the data residency requirements of the clients. So, for instance all UK company data is stored within the UK AWS region.
This all means that 3D Repo benefits from both encryption and high levels of physical security to protect client data.
Encryption
To provide a highly secured service, we implement encryption at all layers of our product design. Firstly, your initial connection to our service is secured via 2048 Bit Extended Validation Certificates. This means that you can confirm you are accessing a 3D Repo service before you enter your credentials. Once logged in, all your communications with our platform take place over HTTPS secured connections, providing the same level of protection as internet banking.
Once your data is stored on our platform, is it encrypted again so that the ‘data at rest’ is encrypted with keys that only our operations staff have access to. This means that if someone were able to break into the datacentre and remove the servers running the platform, your data would not be accessible.
Physical Security
Amazon operates a high level of physical security at their datacentres. As Amazon are responsible for running large parts of ‘the cloud’ they have implemented many security controls to protect themselves and their clients. For more information on AWS datacentre policies, please read their data centre controls document.
Software Security Principles
We are also Open Source, which allows you to inspect our operating code yourself, and ensure that you’re happy with our operating principles. It also means that you are secure in the fact our software can be downloaded and operated yourself in, 10, 20 even 100 years’ time.
Incident Response & Disaster Recovery
All the data we manage is backed up and encrypted in multiple locations, so it is always available to be recovered in case of a disaster. Our provider, AWS, has above 99.99% uptime and 100% data reliability, which means the data will always be available.
We’re confident our systems and data storage are secure. Interested in implementing 3D Repo’s digital construction (BIM) platform in your next project? Sign up for a free 3D Repo account now, or contact one of our experts now to talk about getting your company set up with BIM.
