保持connected with Leica Captivate cloud services

Author:ZühalDuranGoeminne

ZühalDuranGoeminne, our Product Engineer, joined us for an insightful chat on Leica Captivate cloud services. Read all about cloud-based services in Captivate.

---

Many people have seen recent posts showing that Leica Geosystems and third-party collaborators have cloud-based data management solutions. Before we talk about supported cloud services, perhaps you can tell us why companies would need a data management solution at all?

In the USA alone, people generate a staggering 4 million GB of data per minute on the internet, according to the cloud-based operating system Domo. This is only the data being generated by individuals on the internet. Many companies also routinely generate massive amounts of data, for surveyors and engineers this can often be specialised datasets like point clouds, 3D BIM models, or complete surveys. Suppose employees just save their data on their personal computers or leave it on a server without proper data management procedures – things could escalate very quickly. Without proper data management, valuable data can get lost or become inaccessible, and many hours of company time will be wasted trying to retrieve and understand poorly annotated datasets. Inconsistencies in the data might also lead to wrong interpretations. Emerson Reliability Consulting recently reported that on average 30% of the data created during the design and construction of a project is lost when the project is finished (further information is available in the Online Course “Connecting the Dots Between Office and Field Using BIM360 Docs” by Deepak Maini & Aaron Coats).

适当的数据管理解决方案可确保您的所有数据遵守所谓的公平原则（可访问，可访问，可互操作和可重复使用）。公平的概念源自科学界，以鼓励开放科学。尽管如此，即使可以访问数据的人数受到限制，它的原则仍然是普遍有效的，就像公司内部的情况一样。即使您是唯一可以访问数据的人，如果您需要在几个月内重新访问数据，您也可以与“您的未来自我”共享。

因此，数据必须保持易于访问且可操作，同时可以安全，安全地存储。随后，两个主题引起了人们的关注：“轻松访问数据”和“使数据可用”。数据的可访问性和可及性使数据管理变得更加重要。但是，生成的数据越多，通常需要更多的管理。

---

Ok, I see your point–但是，为什么需要将数据存储在云中？如果公司只是将数据存储在自己的安全服务器上，是否足够，更安全？

Absolutely not. According to Emerson Reliability Consulting, in 2020, 62% of the field construction professionals still transfer their data via spreadsheets or storage media methods. This process is not only tedious and time-consuming but also carries risks. Data might become corrupted on the devices, and the device might get lost, data lingers around on the device and might fall into the wrong hands. A crash of or ransomware attack on the office computer(s) might lead to severe data loss if no proper back-ups were made.

Cloud-based data management is a central location where all your data is stored on an off-site server. The data you save, organise, edit, and make accessible is shared with authorised persons. Cloud services store your data securely and encrypted on a network of heavily guarded servers in different physical locations with high-level cybersecurity. These measures make the cloud much more robust against data corruption or malware attacks than a typical company network or private hard drive.

---

现在告诉我们有关支持的云服务 - 这些服务是什么，它们如何为您的项目工作流程做出贡献？

With Captivate's latest release, we support theLeica Exchange,Leica ConX,BIM360 Docs, andBricsys 24/7cloud services.

When we consider the benefit of online services in the world of surveying and engineering, easy access to data gains incredible importance for an engineer working in the office and in the field, both in terms of saving time, enhances the workflow on both directions, and tracking and keeping up to date on project tasks.

---

So let us touch the different cloud services and connectivity options Leica Geosystems has in store for the users, starting with Leica Exchange.

Leica Exchangeis an online data organisation tool that allows selecting data from your computer, storage media, or network and sends them directly to any office or field crew. With the data transfer of Exchange, the user is informed about the transfer status instantly, whether the data has been sent or is still in process, showing what percentage of the data is included in the transfer. To use this file transfer service, you need an Exchange subscription. In the field, Leica Captivate sends completed field jobs back to the office over-the air, seamlessly connecting the office and the field. With it, you send jobs and files from your local computer to any office or field crew all over the world. Thus, every surveyor can periodically send their measured data to the office for further processing directly in Infinity or other office software. Leica Exchange offers the flexibility to include or exclude any field job data before sending, giving you complete flexibility to add images and map files folders in the job data, or not. It makes it so much easier to transfer data securely and eliminates the tedious process of saving the data on an external device, take it to the office, deliver it to the field and office crew, and then copy it again on a computer. With Leica Exchange, you can also transfer Leica Infinity data, regardless of the format.

---

How about Leica ConX?

Leica ConXis a cloud-based web solution widely used to transfer data between Leica Geosystems machine control products and data exchange between the field and the Captivate office. In this cloud service, a surveyor can easily send field-related jobs to a pre-created ConX project and retrieve processed data from the office. This gives a competitive advantage by streamlining the flow of information between construction teams on-site and in the office.

ConX uses role-based access control, which means you can create user roles where a project member will have full or limited permissions, depending on the project. It is possible to create a structure that reflects your company's hierarchy, allowing results to be collected for different hierarchical levels.

to exchange surveying data with ConX in Captivate, a Leica ConX license is needed. The first time you connect to ConX, a pairing code appears on the screen. This code is entered in the relevant field in the web service, and after the pairing is successful, the user can upload and download data from a ConX project. The measured data can be synchronised periodically with the cloud, and the user can receive automatic notifications in case of a project update.

---

Can you tell us more about BIM360 Docs?

BIM360 Docs是基于云的构造文档管理，允许在一个集中式数据库中的项目成员之间存储，查看和共享所有项目文档。测量师可以将迷人的工作数据直接发送到现有的BIM360项目，并从办公室检索修改后的数据。在BIM文档中查看数据使您无需任何其他应用程序即可立即检查施工图和模型。此外，人们会想知道如何跟踪项目文件。如果您曾经从事一个项目，无论其规模如何，您都会意识到文件的更改和更新的快速更改和更新。这是BIM文档发挥作用的地方。BIM文档创建了一个版本控制系统，可以跟踪当前的内容，但保留了以前的版本。这使用户可以毫不费力地访问这些早期的文件，并在道路上进行不必要的更改，并将其恢复到它们。此外，用户可以随时轻松地比较不同的版本，因此Leica吸引了所有差异，以呈现所有更改的全面概述。

On the office side, Autodesk product users can quickly share design files and documentation with field teams by sending them to Captivate, which contributes to improving data flow and saving project time. From the field perspective, a surveyor can easily send as-built measurements back from Captivate to Docs.

---

Leica now also supports Bricsys 24/7, can you explain what customers should know about this prominent collaboration tool?

Bricsys 24/7是用于文档管理和工作流程自动化的基于云的服务。它允许直接通过云从字段发送到办公室，反之亦然。在Bricsys 24/7中，它的许多功能中最有趣的是，Bricsys 24/7直接通过dockable面板直接连接到Bricscad，Bricscad，Bricscad是Bricsys自己的CAD软件。通过消除交换步骤之一来节省用户时间：用户可以在设计软件中更新图纸或模型，并将其发送到现场而无需打开浏览器。换句话说，数据交换直接发生在Bricscad和Captivate之间，而Bricsys 24/7在后台运行。通过24/7面板，用户可以使用图标轻松地检查文档的状态。与文档一样，用户可以在无需本机软件的情况下查看Bricsys 24/7的查看器中的项目文件。Bricsys 24/7还包括版本控件，并确保用户在跟踪所有早期文件版本时可以访问每个文档的最新版本。默认情况下，Caintivate显示最新文件，但也可以轻松地配置为显示先前的文档版本。

Every third party cloud service manages subscription-based licensing on its side, independent of Leica Geosystems.

---

In your opinion, what do these cloud services have in common?

It is increasingly common for us all to have our devices connected to the internet, either periodically, or continuously for a whole day – it is this internet connectivity that allows us to make use of the cloud data services, providing real-time data transfer and sharing anytime, any place.

Leica Exchange and Leica ConX licences are handled directly with your local Leica Geosystems representative – for the additional services authentication and/or licences may be required to access the service. For example, a valid BIM360 Docs license is needed to start using this online service in Captivate. The BIM360 server must be authenticated with existing Autodesk credentials and necessary to authorise BIM 360 to access Leica Captivate.

---

Are cloud services easy to use?

the process for all of these services is quite similar and very simple. Once you have the account set up and connected, you just enter the relevant Captivate service, select the data you want to send, and to whom or where you want it to go.the short video clip below shows us quickly how to send an entire job to a colleague by using Leica Exchange - and then sending that same data to a different colleague.

---

Where can our users get more information about these services?

有关购买产品，订阅在线服务或定价的问题，请联系您当地的Leicbob综合app下载a Geosystems分销商或服务合作伙伴。您可以找到有关我们的更多信息Sales & Support website。

谢谢您的见解，祖哈尔。

ZühalDuranGoeminne, Product Engineer @ Leica Geosystems AG

---

In case you should have any additional questions regarding oursoftware and/or hardware, please feel free to contact us.