Introduction

Engineering and architecture firms depend heavily on AutoCAD and similar design tools that generate large, complex files with multiple reference dependencies. When project teams are distributed across continents, file synchronization and version control can quickly become major obstacles to meeting deadlines.

In 2017, our company designed and implemented a proof of concept (PoC) and minimum viable product (MVP) for Alliance Engineers to address this challenge. The goal was to integrate cloud-based collaboration with traditional wide-area file services (WAFS) to enable seamless sharing of massive CAD files across offices in North America and South Asia —while maintaining exceptional performance and data integrity.

The Challenge

AutoCAD project files often exceed 300 MB and consist of numerous interlinked reference drawings and external dependencies. For geographically distributed teams, keeping a single master copy synchronized across multiple locations without lag or conflicts is essential to ensure efficiency and consistency.

Traditional file-sharing methods such as VPNs, FTP servers, or manual transfers introduced significant latency and version mismatches. To remain competitive and meet tight project deadlines, Alliance Engineers required a real-time, enterprise-grade synchronization solution that combined cloud scalability with on-premise performance.

Our target was ambitious yet realistic:

Synchronize AutoCAD files of 300MB+ size with under 5 seconds of latency between cross-Atlantic offices.

The Solution

Our team developed a hybrid cloud and on-premises architecture leveraging Microsoft Office 365 OneDrive for Business alongside Wide Area File Services (WAFS). This combination provided both speed and reliability for managing large design files across geographically dispersed teams.

The PoC focused on validating real-world performance, latency, and user experience when working with dependency-heavy AutoCAD files.

Key Solution Components:

• Microsoft OneDrive for Business – for cloud-based synchronization and secure sharing.
• Globalscape WAFS (datasheet) – for accelerated replication and caching between distributed offices.
• MyWorkDrive (myworkdrive.com) – for secure remote access through the corporate network.
• Integration with on-premises file servers to simulate production conditions and evaluate hybrid workflows.

The resulting architecture allowed engineers to work locally on cached copies of CAD files, while background synchronization processes ensured updates were quickly replicated across all sites.

Architecture Overview

The system architecture combined the flexibility of cloud solutions with the reliability of on-premise file infrastructure:

• Local caching to deliver near-instant access to large design files.
• Delta-based synchronization transferring only changed portions of files to minimize bandwidth use.
• Office 365 integration for unified identity, sharing, and redundancy.
• Hybrid sync model blending WAFS and OneDrive for high performance and scalability.

Our performance testing simulated real-world cross-Atlantic latency conditions to ensure consistency and stability under load.

Results and Impact

The proof of concept demonstrated that a hybrid synchronization strategy could handle large, dependency-heavy AutoCAD projects efficiently across globally distributed offices.

Key achievements included:

• Achieved under 5-second latency for synchronizing 300MB+ CAD files.
• Enabled seamless collaboration between teams in multiple time zones.
• Maintained version control integrity and eliminated manual transfer delays.
• Validated interoperability between Office 365 cloud services and on-prem WAFS infrastructure.

The successful PoC provided Alliance Engineers with a scalable model for high-performance file synchronization—laying the foundation for modernizing their distributed collaboration workflow.

Conclusion

This project underscored our company’s strength in hybrid cloud architecture and enterprise file optimization.

By combining Microsoft 365, Globalscape WAFS, and secure file access solutions such as MyWorkDrive, we proved that even data-intensive engineering workflows can achieve near-local performance—enabling teams to work as one, no matter where they are in the world.