As AEC firms deal with growing project complexity, distributed teams, and ballooning data volumes, the shift from on-premise infrastructure to the cloud isn't really a question of if anymore. It's a question of how.
ARKANCE recently partnered with Autodesk and Colliers Engineering & Design for a webinar on what it actually takes to pull off a large-scale migration to the Autodesk Forma platform. The conversation was candid and grounded in real experience, not theory.
For Colliers Engineering & Design, this wasn't just an infrastructure upgrade. As Joseph Gaffney, Director of Design Technology Services, put it: "This journey from on-prem to cloud represented not only a technology upgrade, but a strategic initiative to improve collaboration, governance, and project delivery across all of CED."
Why Firms Are Moving
Legacy systems that once served as a foundation have become a bottleneck. On-prem environments limit accessibility, slow collaboration, and create version control headaches.
Autodesk Forma addresses this with:
- Real-time collaboration across teams and geographies
- Centralized project data and improved visibility across the project lifecycle
- Infrastructure that scales as you grow
But here's what most teams get wrong: the technology is the easy part.
The 4 Lessons
1. It's a business transformation, not an IT project
Cloud migration touches workflows, standards, and daily collaboration, not just servers. Treating it as a technical upgrade is how firms miss the bigger opportunity and set themselves up to fail. For Colliers, staying put had become unsustainable. "We realized that staying put just wasn't an option," Gaffney said. The migration forced an honest rethink of how teams collaborate and manage data.
2. Data strategy matters more than data movement
Moving files is the straightforward part. Organizing them, standardizing them, and making them actually usable in a new environment is another matter. That requires:
- Clear governance frameworks
- Defined folder structures and naming conventions
- Real agreement on what data should (and shouldn't) move Skip this step and you'll just rebuild the same mess in a new system.
3. Change management is what makes or breaks it
Even solid technology fails if people don't adopt it. Application Success Manager John Gray was direct about this: "The end user could care less about the technology. They just want it to work." Colliers Engineering & Design learned this firsthand. They invested in:
- Early stakeholder alignment
- Clear and consistent communication throughout the process
- Training built around real workflows, not generic feature tours
- Support that didn't stop at go-live
"People truly drive change," Gaffney reflected. "We didn't see progress until we actively engaged our staff and teams."
4. Go in phases
Migrating everything at once is a recipe for disruption. A phased rollout lets you:
- Test workflows under real conditions
- Catch gaps early
- Build internal champions
- Refine before you scale
It also creates room for unexpected wins. As Application Success Manager Chris Sieber noted, "What started out as a challenge became an opportunity to reinforce a shared Colliers culture."
What Success Actually Looks Like
Getting the data moved is not the finish line. Success starts with a strategy that aligns people, processes, and technology before anyone touches a tool. As Digital Solutions Manager Len Fiorilli put it: "Start with strategy, not the tools. If you don't define how you want everyone to work, you'll just recreate the same problems with whatever tool you choose."
If you're planning a migration, keep these priorities in order:
- Nail down your strategy first
- Get serious about data governance early
- Invest in change management
- Go in phases
Measure success by adoption and outcomes, not by whether the migration is "done."
Keep Projects Moving
Disruption is the fear that stops most firms from acting. It's a valid concern, but it's manageable. With the right approach, migration doesn't have to slow anything down. Done well, it creates a more connected environment where teams stay aligned and projects keep moving.
ARKANCE helps AEC firms through cloud transitions with a focus on continuity, adoption, and long-term results. A Digital Practice Assessment is a good place to start if you want to identify where inefficiencies live and map a path from your current state to something built for the future.