BIM 360 Design Europe Data Center FAQ

Autodesk Support

Apr 7, 2020


With this option, customers have more choice for where their project data resides

Effective April 8, 2020 BIM 360 Design customers will have the option to set up a BIM 360 account that allows them to specify the primary storage location for their BIM 360 Design Covered Content (known commonly as “project data” but defined as “Covered Content” in the Terms of Understanding) either in the USA or in Europe.

This regional storage option gives customers more choice for where their project data resides.

With this update, BIM 360 Design joins the family of other BIM 360 offerings and modules currently enabling primary storage of Covered Content in Europe, like BIM 360 Docs, BIM 360 Build, and BIM 360 Coordinate (offerings) and BIM 360 Cost Management (module).

Table of contents

1. General questions

        1.1 What is being announced?

        1.2 What is the primary location of BIM 360 Design Covered Content in Europe?

        1.3 How can I set up a project on the Europe data center?

        1.4 How will current customers be notified of this offering?

        1.5 I am a new BIM 360 Design customer. How do I choose the Europe data center option?

        1.6 As of this announcement, what BIM 360 capabilities are available to use on the Europe data center?

2. Covered Content, Regionalization, Data Transfer & Processing in the USA

        2.1 What content constitutes “Covered Content”?

        2.2 Will customer data only stay in Europe data centers?

        2.3 What do we mean when we say, “Europe data center”?

        2.4 Does Autodesk transfer a customer’s personal data across national borders?

        2.5 Can I access my Covered Content from outside a Region?

        2.6 Can both BIM 360 Design and BIM 360 Docs Covered Content be stored in Europe?

        2.7 Can I request BIM 360 Covered Content to be stored in a specific European country?

        2.8 Can I store my BIM 360 Covered Content in Asia?

3. Account Setup & Management on Europe Data Center

        3.1 Which BIM 360 Design components are available to use with the Europe data center?

            3.1.TABLE A: BIM 360 Design components

        3.2 Which versions of Revit, Civil 3D, or Plant 3D should I install if I want to use Europe data center?

            3.2.TABLE B: Desktop software & services used with BIM 360 Design & Europe data center availability

        3.3 What is the URL to access a BIM 360 Design account on the Europe data center?

        3.4 Can one BIM 360 account have some projects hosted in the USA and some projects hosted in Europe?

        3.5 What if I need to store some project content in the USA and some in Europe?

        3.6 If I have two accounts, does each account have two different Account Admin (or “HQ”) portals?

        3.7 I am an existing BIM 360 Design customer with projects in the USA. How do I host a new project in Europe?

        3.8 Will existing BIM 360 content for European customers be moved to Europe?

        3.9 As an existing customer, can I request to have my Content moved from the USA to Europe?

        3.10 How does I set up my account on the Europe data center

            3.10.TABLE C. I am a current BIM 360 Design customer. How do I set up an account on the Europe data center?

        3.11 Why can I see a Europe-based account in Revit but not click on it?

4. Security & Compliance

        4.1 What are the security processes and procedures implemented to protect customer data?

5. Bring Your Own Subscription Policy

        5.1 Does BYOS (Bring Your Own Subscription) change with Europe data center availability?

6. Product Trial on Europe data center

        6.1 Can I set up a BIM 360 Design trial on the Europe data center?

        6.2 If I sign up for a BIM 360 Design trial, can I host the trial account in Europe?

        6.3 What happens when I want to convert my trial account into a commercial account?

 

 

1. General Questions 

1.1 What is being announced?

Effective April 8th, 2020, BIM 360 Design customers now have the option to set up a BIM 360 Design account that allows them to specify the primary storage location for their BIM 360 Covered Content either in the USA or Europe.

“Primary storage location for BIM 360 Design Covered Content in Europe” is also abbreviated to the simpler, easier-to-say moniker: BIM 360 Design Europe data center. Every time you see the term “Europe data center” used in this document or in marketing materials related to BIM 360 Design, it indicates that the primary storage location for the Customer’s Covered Content is in Europe. Please see Section 2 for important notes regarding this moniker, regionalization, and data transfer and processing in the USA.

 

1.2 What is the primary location of BIM 360 Design Covered Content in Europe?

The current primary location of BIM 360 Design Covered Content in Europe is Ireland in a classified and audited environment. For more information, see the BIM 360 Cloud Security whitepaper.

 

1.3 How can I set up a project on the Europe data center?

To set up a BIM 360 Design account in Europe, please review Section 3 on “Managing BIM 360 Design Accounts & Projects on Europe Data Center”.

As a customer, your setup steps will vary based on whether you are a new customer or a current customer with a project hosted on the US data center. The Europe data center option is currently not available for BIM 360 Design trial customers.

We encourage all existing customers to finish ongoing projects on the US data center and start new projects on the Europe data center because at this time, it is not possible to automatically migrate data between the two locations. If a customer does not wish to finish their ongoing projects on the US data center and prefers to migrate to the Europe data center, they will need to download and re-upload project data to their new account site on the Europe data center. Please note: Non-model metadata like markups, issues, user permissions, contents of packages in Design Collaboration module and more, cannot be downloaded.

 

1.4 How will current customers be notified of this offering?

Current BIM 360 Design users will be notified of Europe data center availability via an in-product message in the BIM 360 Design Collaboration module on April 8, 2020. 

 

1.5 I am a new BIM 360 Design customer. How do I choose the Europe data center option?

As a new customer, you will have the option to select the storage location of project data in your BIM 360 Design account during the account activation process.

On the fulfillment setup form in Autodesk Accounts, you will indicate the account name and location for where you want your project data hosted. See Section 3 for screenshot and details.

 

1.6 As of this announcement, what BIM 360 capabilities are available to use on the Europe data center?

BIM 360 MODULES & DASHBOARDS: At this time, the following next-generation BIM 360 modules and dashboard are available on the Europe data center:

  • Modules: Design Collaboration, Model Coordination, Document Management, Field Management, Cost Management, Project Management, Account Administration, Project Administration.
  • Dashboards: Project Home, Insight

 

BIM 360 OFFERINGS: The following BIM 360 offerings provide primary content data storage on Europe data center: BIM 360 Docs, BIM 360 Coordinate, BIM 360 Build. For documentation on BIM 360 Build with Europe data center, go here.

CLASSIC BIM 360 OFFERINGS: BIM 360 Classic Field and BIM 360 Classic Glue have been available on the Europe data center and continue to be supported.

BIM 360 TEAM: If customer is a Revit or Plant 3D user currently using BIM 360 Team, please be advised that BIM 360 Team is not available on the Europe data center, since the two platforms (BIM 360 Team and next-generation BIM 360) are not connected.

 

2. Covered Content, Regionalization, Data Transfer & Processing in the USA

2.1 What content constitutes “Covered Content”?

“Covered Content” is “Your Content” as defined in the Autodesk Terms of Use. Specifically, “Covered Content” means,

  1. any files, designs, models, data sets, images, documents or similar materials submitted or uploaded to the Service by the Customer or the Customer’s Authorized Users and
  2. the specific output generated from the Service based on the Customer’s own raw data or information. Please see the Autodesk Terms of Use (https://www.autodesk.com/company/terms-of-use/en/generalterms) for additional important information regarding Your Content.

 

2.2 Will customer data only stay in Europe data centers?

While the primary storage location for Covered Content in BIM 360 will be in the Region the customer selects, some data (in services like Translation and Rendering as a Service) may be temporarily processed in the US and other locations.

Identity, login information and other pertinent information may be stored, processed, and accessed from other global locations for all global services offered by Autodesk, including support and maintenance, availability and reliability, account management, product entitlements, email, and collaboration services.

Please read the BIM 360 Cloud Security whitepaper for more details.
 

2.3 What do we mean when we say, “Europe data center”?

We use the term “Europe data center” as a moniker to indicate deployment of local data storage hosting in Europe for certain Autodesk products. For BIM 360 Design, this means being able to set up a BIM 360 Design account that allows customers to specify the primary storage location for their BIM 360 Covered Content in Europe.  It does not mean that Autodesk is setting up a physical data center in Europe (Ireland), neither does it mean that all of a customer’s data will be processed and stored entirely in Europe.

Autodesk reserves the right to move its local data storage at any time to another location in Europe. It is important to note that Autodesk processes data in a variety of locations in North America and Europe for its cloud products.

You may see the following terms used in reference with Europe data center. These terms generally all mean the same thing:

Europe Local Content Data Storage, project data residence in Europe, primary storage location for Content in Europe, primary storage location for BIM 360 Design Covered Content in Europe.

Storage’ and ‘hosting’ may be used interchangeably.

As a company, Autodesk’s believes in free data flow between global regions. To learn more, visit the Global Data Alliance organization's website. We recognize that data hosting in Europe has been highly requested by customers in Europe and beyond. We are happy to enable this going forward and are excited to see where this will take them.

 

2.4 Does Autodesk transfer a customer’s personal data across national borders?

For the Europe Data Center offering, other than primary storage of Covered Content, data will be stored, retained and transferred as noted in Autodesk’s privacy statement here: https://www.autodesk.com/company/legal-notices-trademarks/privacy-statement

 

2.5 Can I access my Covered Content from outside a Region?

Yes, if you are a current BIM 360 Design customer, you and any authorized users and collaborators in your account can access your Covered Content from anywhere in the world. As long as your authorized users and collaborators have been invited and have valid credentials (username and password), they can access Covered Content from anywhere.
 

2.6 Can both BIM 360 Design and BIM 360 Docs Covered Content be stored in Europe?

Many customers use both BIM 360 Design and BIM 360 Docs on their projects. Some team members only need BIM 360 Docs capabilities while the other team members collaborate in design tools like Revit and Civil 3D with the help of BIM 360 Design.

To that end, both BIM 360 Design and BIM 360 Docs Covered Content can be stored in Europe when setting up the contract.

  1. New BIM 360 Design customers can choose to have their account site and Covered Content associated with their project primarily stored on data centers located in either Europe or the USA. Their Account Administration (HQ) data will be stored in that same location.
  2. New BIM 360 Document Management customers can choose to have their account site and Covered Content associated with their project primarily stored on data centers located in either Europe or the USA. Their Account Administration (HQ) data will be stored in that same location.

If you add a new user with a BIM 360 Docs entitlement to a BIM 360 Design project hosted on the Europe data center, the new user will be able to see the project. See Section 3 for additional details.

 

2.7 Can I request BIM 360 Covered Content to be stored in a specific European country?

No. At this time, the Covered Content is stored in one location in Europe. It is in Autodesk’s discretion to move data among servers.


2.8 Can I store my BIM 360 Covered Content in Asia?x

Not at this time.

 

3. Account Setup & Management on Europe Data Center

3.1 Which BIM 360 Design components are available to use with the Europe data center?

Today, a subscription to BIM 360 Design includes access to the components listed in Table A below. These components will work on projects and account sites set up on the Europe data center as shown.

  • Services / Entitlements: Revit Cloud Worksharing, Collaboration for Civil 3D, Collaboration for Plant 3D
  • BIM 360 Modules: Design Collaboration, Document Management, Account Admin, Project Admin
  • BIM 360 Dashboards: Project Home

3.1.TABLE A: BIM 360 Design components

BIM 360 Design Component

Type

How to activate & manage

Data center locations

Revit Cloud Worksharing

Cloud service (enables cloud worksharing in Revit)

Manage entitlement in Autodesk Accounts

US, Europe

Collaboration for Civil 3D

Cloud-based (enables collaboration in Civil 3D)

Manage entitlement in Autodesk Accounts

US, Europe

Collaboration for Plant 3D

Cloud-based (enables collaboration in Plant 3D)

Manage entitlement in Autodesk Accounts

US, Europe

BIM 360 Document Management

Cloud service (BIM 360 Module)

Manage activation in BIM 360 HQ 

US, Europe

BIM 360 Design Collaboration

Cloud service (BIM 360 Module)

Manage activation in BIM 360 HQ 

US, Europe

BIM 360 HQ (BIM 360 Account Admin & Project Admin Modules)

Cloud services (BIM 360 Modules)

Manage activation in BIM 360 HQ 

US, Europe

BIM 360 Project Home

Dashboard which pulls data from other modules

Available to all users

US, Europe

Oxygen (Identity & Login data)

Backend cloud service

Used during user authentication

US only

BIM 360 Team (for Revit & Plant 3D users on older versions)

Cloud platform (not connected to next-gen BIM 360)

 

US only

 

3.2 Which versions of Revit, Civil 3D, or Plant 3D should I install if I want to use Europe data center?

Please see below for versions of desktop design software that you will need to install in order to use the Europe data center. As a reminder, Autodesk Revit, Civil 3D, and Plant 3D are desktop products and store project data locally on a user’s machine.

 

3.2.TABLE B: Desktop software & services used with BIM 360 Design & Europe data center availability

Design Software

Version required for Europe data center

Revit

Revit 2021 and later versions

Civil 3D

Civil 3D 2020.2 and later versions

Plant 3D

Plant 3D 2021 and later versions

Desktop Connector

Please download the latest version here.

P&ID Modeler for Revit

Currently not available on the Europe data center

 

3.3 What is the URL to access a BIM 360 Design account on the Europe data center?

 

3.4 Can one BIM 360 account have some projects hosted in the USA and some projects hosted in Europe?

No. At the time of account setup, you must specify a single geographical location for primary storage of Covered Content in the account site. This specifies where all project data associated with that account site will be stored. When you purchase a new account, this is your chance to choose whether you’d like to have that account site and associated Covered Content primarily stored in the USA or in Europe. See Table C below.

 

3.5 What if I need to store some project content in the USA and some in Europe?

If you need to have a project primarily stored in the USA and another project primarily stored in Europe, you will need to have two BIM 360 accounts sites or tenants: one in the USA and one in Europe. See Table C below.

 

3.6 If I have two accounts, does each account have two different Account Admin (or “HQ”) portals?

Yes. For context, the Account Admin and Project Admin modules in BIM 360 (sometimes called “BIM 360 HQ”) help companies manage their users, projects, project profiles, and account level data. If you choose Europe as the primary location for Covered Content in one account, HQ data for this account will be stored in Europe. If you choose the USA as the primary location for Covered Content in a second account, HQ data for this second account will be stored in the USA.

This means each account will need to be managed in these separate Account and Project Admin interfaces or portals.

3.7 I am an existing BIM 360 Design customer with projects in the USA. How do I host a new project in Europe?

If you are an existing customer with projects (Covered Content) in the USA and you’d like to host a new project (Covered Content) in Europe, you will need to set up a new BIM 360 account on the Europe data center.

To do this, you will need to have a second contract manager with separate credentials purchase and set up a new BIM 360 account and choose the Europe data center as the location to host project data. Please see Table C for details.

 

3.8 Will existing BIM 360 content for European customers be moved to Europe?

No. Many of our largest European customers have been BIM 360 Design customers for years and have accumulated a lot of project content on USA data center. Today, we have no easy way to move existing content.

If you are an existing customer based in Europe, you can either keep all projects in one account in the USA, or have a second contract manager purchase and set up a new BIM 360 account on the Europe data center to manage future projects.

We encourage all current customers to finish ongoing projects on the US data center and start new projects on the Europe data center.

 

3.9 As an existing customer, can I request to have my Content moved from the USA to Europe?x
 

Today, we do not offer that option. We also do not offer the option to move Content from an account hosted on the Europe data center to the US data center.

 

3.10 How does I set up my account on the Europe data center?
 

In Autodesk Accounts, you can indicate the account name and location for where you want your project data hosted when filling out the fulfillment setup form. See Screenshot A.

Once your preferred location is selected, all Account Administration data (also known to customers as “BIM 360 HQ” data) will be stored in the same location.

 

Screenshot A
Activate BIM 360 Account screenshot

 

 

3.10.TABLE C. I am a current BIM 360 Design customer. How do I set up an account on the Europe data center?

 

CUSTOMER

PROCESS

CONSIDERATIONS

EBA/T-flex​ accounts

Please contact your account manager and/or premier support for assistance

Metering will take place on all products as previously defined in your contract.

New Customers (Non-EBA/T-flex)

Please use the automated process during account set up. Select your preferred location for project data (Covered Content) by using the form above, choosing between the USA or Europe.

 

For information on this process, go here.

​Please read answers to questions 3.1 through 3.9 for additional considerations.

Existing Customers (Non-EBA/T-flex) who want an additional account site on Europe data center

If you are an existing customer with an account site hosted on the US data center looking to set up an additional account site on the Europe data center, follow these steps:

  1. Please identify a second Contract Manager (CM) to help you set up a new contract. This second CM must have distinctly separate credentials from the current CM for your company’s existing US account site*.
  2. The new CM must purchase a new subscription of BIM 360 Design and select “Europe” as the location of project data during the account set up process. (Screenshot A)
  3. Any new BIM 360 Design contracts purchased henceforth by a CM are automatically assigned to the first account site they set up. This is why existing customers will need a second CM to set up the new account site on Europe data center

 

Example: CM “Samantha” manages a BIM 360 Design account site for Acme Company on the US data center. Acme has decided they would like a new BIM 360 Design account site hosted on the Europe datacenter. Samantha will need to work with a new CM “Jack” in her company in order to purchase a new BIM 360 Design subscription. Jack will go through the steps listed above and in answer 3.10 to set up Acme Company’s new account site on the Europe datacenter.

In the future, if Samantha or Jack purchase any new subscriptions/seats to BIM 360 Design, they will automatically be assigned to the account site that Samantha or Jack own.

 

*“Account site” means the BIM 360 site where your company or organization sets up its projects.

For current customers, purchasing a single NEW subscription or seat of BIM 360 Design with a new CM is essential to this process.

 

In the example to the left, after Jack purchases a new BIM 360 Design subscription, he can invite Samantha and other Acme users with a current BIM 360 Design subscription to his new account site that’s hosted on the Europe data center.

Jack is able to do this because of BIM 360 Design’s BYOS policy, which allows a customer to invite team members into a project on any account site​.

 

It is not possible to split a project between two account sites. It is also not possible to move or split a user pack or subscriptions/seats between two account sites.

 

Existing Customers (Non-EBA/T-flex) who want to move their project data hosted on the US data center to the Europe data center

Data migration between data centers is manual​ and the sole responsibility of the customer.

 

Please be informed that the customer will be able to download all data that was uploaded to the BIM 360 site, except all non-model metadata like markups, issues, user permissions, audit trail, contents of packages in Design Collaboration module and more. These cannot be downloaded.

We encourage all current customers to finish ongoing projects on the US data center and start new projects on the Europe data center.

BIM 360 Design Trial customers

BIM 360 Design trial is currently not available on the Europe data center.

 

Trials cannot be converted to paid accounts on the Europe data center.

 

Reminder: The trial is only available for Revit workflows at this time.

To convert a trial to a paid account on the US data center (Europe data center not available), please submit a case through a Partner Reseller​. You can locate one here.

 

3.11 Why can I see a Europe-based account in Revit but not click on it?

If you have access to a Europe-based project, the name of the account within which the project is will show up in the Revit Cloud Worksharing UI (as seen in Revit and Desktop Connector).

The customer will not be able to select any of these Europe-based projects. For more information, see here.

 

4. Security & Compliance

4.1 What are the security processes and procedures implemented to protect customer data?


The BIM 360 Security whitepaper outlines Autodesk BIM 360 operations, software development, and security measures implemented in the environment.

For more information, please download the BIM 360 Security whitepaper.

 

5. Bring Your Own Subscription Policy

5.1 Does BYOS (Bring Your Own Subscription) change with Europe data center availability?


BIM 360 Design is sold under a bring-your-own-subscription model. Each company is allowed to have the subscribed number of users from the purchasing company and can invite others from outside their company that have their own BIM 360 Design license.

This “Bring Your Own Subscription” or BYOS policy for BIM 360 Design will continue to work on the Europe data center. For more information on the policy, please go to this link.

Customers are responsible to avoid over-usage and stay within their purchased limits per the contract terms and conditions. Autodesk may monitor accounts to ensure usage is within limits.

 

6. Product Trial on Europe data center

6.1 Can I set up a BIM 360 Design trial on the Europe data center?

Not at this time.

 

6.2 If I sign up for a BIM 360 Design trial, can I host the trial account in Europe?
 

No, the BIM 360 Design trial can only be set up on the US data center at this time. To understand other restrictions in place, how to invite users to the trial, and other helpful links, check out the FAQs on BIM 360 Design trial.

Reminder: The BIM 360 Design trial is currently available for Revit workflows only.

 

6.3 What happens when I want to convert my trial account into a commercial account?

 

Trial accounts on the US data center can be converted to commercial accounts (still on the US data center) by contacting a reseller or calling an Autodesk hub for support. Click here to contact the BIM 360 sales hub.

If you have a commercial subscription of BIM 360 Design, your free BIM 360 Design trial account will NOT connect to existing commercial hubs/sites of these products. Additionally, when you download your data from a BIM 360 Design trial hub/site, you will be downloading the Revit model(s) that were uploaded to the BIM 360 site. All non-model metadata like markups, issues, user permissions, audit trail, contents of packages in Design Collaboration module and more, cannot be downloaded.



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