Massive data compression to boost collaboration

File transfer times cut by 90%, and 50% time savings on publishing AutoCAD drawing files are the claims for a system that combines data compression and differencing techniques for large files in Internet-based collaborative engineering development environments. The developer is UK software developer and application service provider BIW Technologies. Its accelerator was developed for the architecture, engineering and construction (AEC) sector and related project- driven markets, but is eminently applicable elsewhere. BIW Technologies chief executive Colin Smith says: “We are interested in licensing the technology to third parties, such as CAD, electronic document or drawing management system developers.” The company’s VDeFT (verifiable delta file transfer) condenses file revisions in drawings and other documents to a fraction of their previous size and, the firm claims it also improves security. The result: less wasted time, more cost savings and better collaboration for dispersed project teams. BIW has tested its technology on a variety of PC set-ups, using different Internet connections, from dial-up modem, through 128Kb ISDN and ADSL to office networks. It claims rawing transfer times were halved (downloading a revision to a 1.7Mb DWG file was cut from 31 seconds to 14; uploads of a 0.5Mb plot file were cut from 20 seconds to seven). It also says transfers of a 2Mb Excel spreadsheet were reduced from 45 seconds to seven, and transfers of a 3.5Mb Word file were cut from 74 seconds to 11.