An architecture firm runs on files that are enormous, deadlines that do not move, and a circle of consultants, contractors and clients who all need the current set. A Revit central model that opens slowly costs the whole team an hour a day; a file server that fails the week before a permit submittal costs a great deal more. We provide managed IT services and cybersecurity for architecture, interior design, landscape architecture and small engineering firms across the Twin Cities, from workstation builds to project archives, priced per device at a flat monthly rate with no long-term contract.
Most office IT is built around email, documents and a browser. An architecture firm is built around Revit, AutoCAD, SketchUp, Rhino, Enscape, Bluebeam and the Adobe suite, on workstations with certified graphics cards, working against models and drawing sets that run to gigabytes. The rules that keep a law office running, files in the cloud and laptops for everyone, can make an architecture firm slower: central models want low latency to a server or a platform built for them, renderings want a real graphics card, and a 30-inch monitor is not a luxury.
The people are different too. A firm of twenty may have no IT person at all, with the BIM manager or a principal fielding every question between deadlines. Support has to understand the software, the file structure and the calendar, and it has to be reachable the evening before a submittal.
Help desk that knows the software. One dedicated technician who learns your firm, your project folders and your standards, backed by a team, reachable by phone. Remote support resolves most issues in minutes, and we come on site for the rest. See how IT support works.
Workstations built for the work. We specify, build and maintain CAD and rendering workstations with certified graphics cards, memory to match the models and monitors to match the drawings, and we plan replacements on a schedule so no one is waiting for a five-year-old machine to regenerate a view.
Files where they perform. A fast on-premises file server or a cloud platform built for large project files, with Microsoft 365 for everything else. See our network support and Microsoft 365 support.
Security that fits a firm that handles other people’s money and drawings. Managed detection and response on every workstation, email security, account monitoring, security awareness training and the evidence a client questionnaire asks for.
Backups and archives. Project files backed up daily and verified, and completed projects archived for the years a firm has to keep them. See cloud backups.
Plotters, printers and phones. Large-format plotters, conference rooms for client presentations, and a hosted phone system with an app on every phone.
The single biggest performance question in an architecture firm is where the models live. Revit central models and linked files perform best on a fast server on the same network, or on a cloud platform designed for them; put them on a general-purpose file sync service and every save becomes a wait. We design the file layer for the software you use: a local server with fast disks and a fast network for the studio, a purpose-built cloud platform where the team is spread out, and Microsoft 365 for the correspondence, contracts and admin files that do not need either.
Working from home is the second question. Remote desktop to the workstation in the office keeps the model on the fast network and sends only the screen to the laptop, which is why most firms find it faster than carrying a workstation-class laptop everywhere. We set it up securely, with multi-factor authentication and no open ports, so an architect at the kitchen table works at studio speed. See the Microsoft 365 plan picker for the licensing side.
Every project is a circle of structural and MEP engineers, landscape architects, contractors, owners and reviewers who all need the current files and none of whom should have your whole server. We set up sharing that gives each party the folder they need, with links that expire, versions that are kept, and access that ends when the project does. A departed consultant or a finished contractor should not still have a working link to your models a year later; under managed IT, closing those doors is a checklist item, not a hope.
Architecture firms are targeted in two ways. The first is the money: a criminal who reads a principal’s mailbox knows which owner is about to pay which invoice, and a well-timed email changing bank details is the most common loss we see in professional services. The second is the work: ransomware on a file server takes every active project down at once, and a stolen set of drawings for a secure or high-profile building is a liability of its own. Client contracts increasingly say so, and developer, healthcare and public-sector clients send security questionnaires before they sign.
Our managed cybersecurity services layer the defences: Huntress managed detection and response on every workstation and server, SentinelOne antivirus beside it, Microsoft 365 accounts watched for takeover, email filtering, and security awareness training with phishing tests, so the invoice email gets a second look. Two free checks show where a firm stands today: the cyber insurance readiness check and the email spoofing check.
The week before a permit set, a bid set or a design review is when everything has to work: the model, the plotter, the PDF workflow, the file link to the reviewer. We schedule maintenance around your deadlines rather than through them, keep plotters and printers under the same support as the workstations, and answer the phone the evening before a submittal. Our business continuity planning covers what happens if a server, a plotter or the internet fails on the wrong day, so a deadline is a plan rather than a scramble.
An architecture firm cannot simply delete a finished project. Contracts, professional liability coverage and statutes of repose mean drawings, models and correspondence may be needed a decade after a building opens. We archive completed projects in a form that can be found and opened years later, keep the archive backed up and away from the live server, and set retention so the firm keeps what it must and pays for storage only where it counts. Live project files are backed up daily and restores are tested, because a backup that has never been restored is a theory. See our cloud backups.
We price by device, not by user, so a firm with fifteen workstations and one server pays for fifteen workstations and one server, at a flat monthly rate with no long-term contract. Workstations are quoted and built at cost plus our time, without commission, and security layers are priced separately so you add them as clients ask. See a ballpark in about a minute on our managed services pricing calculator; every rate is published on our pricing page. Firms with a BIM manager or an IT person of their own can keep them in charge through co-managed IT.
We support architecture, interior design, landscape architecture and engineering firms across Minneapolis, St. Paul and the surrounding suburbs, with remote support for people wherever they work and on-site visits when a workstation or a plotter needs hands. OAC Technology has supported Twin Cities businesses since 2000 and is audited every year under SOC 2.
Yes. We support the workstations, the file layer and the licensing those applications depend on, and we work with Autodesk and the other vendors when an application itself misbehaves. We do not replace your BIM standards; we keep the machines and files they run on fast and safe.
It depends on how your team works. Revit central models want low latency, so a studio that works together wants a fast local server, while a firm spread across locations does better on a cloud platform built for large project files. Correspondence and admin files belong in Microsoft 365 either way. We will look at your projects and recommend one, plainly.
Yes. Remote desktop to the office workstation keeps the model on the fast network and sends only the screen home, and most firms find it faster than a heavy laptop. We set it up with multi-factor authentication and no open ports.
Yes. We specify and build CAD and rendering workstations with certified graphics cards and the memory the models need, at cost plus our time and without commission, and we plan replacements so no one works on a machine that has fallen behind the software.
No minimum and no long-term contract. Month to month, per device, and you can leave with your documentation and your credentials in hand.
If a model opens too slowly, a submittal week is coming, or a client questionnaire is sitting in someone’s inbox, call 952-548-5558 or contact us for a free consultation. We will review your workstations, files and security, tell you plainly what we would change, and give you a flat monthly price.
