OHM Advisors Uses Panzura File-Locking

Panzura, Inc., in enterprise storage infrastructure for the cloud era, announced that integrated architecture, engineering and planning firm OHM Advisors saw significant results after implementing its controllers in its seven offices across Michigan, Tennessee and Ohio.

With the Panzura solution, all of OHM Advisors’ locations experienced uniform access and rapid file open speeds, enabling each location to work in the same project folder and on central model files of Revit, a major limitation prior to implementing Panzura.

OHM Advisors gained immediate across-the-board benefits, including optimized use of products such as AutoCAD Civil 3D, AutoDesk Revit, Bentley MicroStation/GEOPAK and ESRI ArcGIS, amongst others.

Results also included:

• Increased ease of deployment across the multiple locations; a single deployment is now launched from any location at LAN-like speeds
• Provided a global namespace, distributed file system and file locking with unlimited snapshots for backup and restoration
• Removed file access performance issues and versioning control issues, resulting in less wasted time and a reduction in overhead costs
• Improved staff utilization with no disruption of existing workflows or need for extensive training for operating the Panzura
• Eliminated tapes that were being used for long-term date retention, creating quicker restoration times in the event of a disaster
  

“At OHM Advisors, we were creating separate software deployments for each office. This was time-consuming to manage and required additional local storage, increasing our budget every year,” stated Mark Bloom, IT director, OHM Advisors. “With Panzura, we can create and modify a single deployment that works in any office and does not require local storage or additional staff to administer. Our company is now more efficient with an even quicker project turnaround, better access to project files and a reduction in errors.“

Panzura’s patented file locking technology is a solution that solves cross-site BIM and CAD collaboration issues and has become crucial for internal and external collaboration needs with AEC applications. File locking capability reduces application sync time of users in distributed sites from 20mn to 10s, enabling all users to work as if they were in the same room.

“In the architectural and engineering community, it is crucial for multiple team members to be able to work at the same time on large, detailed files like BIM models from various locations without creating multiple versions – Panzura is what makes this possible,” said Randy Chou, co-founder and CEO, Panzura. “Seeing OHM Advisors benefit from our technology on such a large scale truly makes us proud to be part of the solution that benefits their growing business.“