BIMcloud Basic – Future on macOS

[florianvoi]

I just read on IDC’s website (a Swiss Mac distributor) that BIMcloud Basic, the non-subscription version, will no longer be developed for macOS in the future.

At the moment, it still runs via Rosetta / Intel code, which means that at some point it will no longer be able to run on future versions of macOS. Apparently, there are currently no plans to port it to Apple Silicon.

So what does this mean for the future of Archicad on the Mac? Especially now that Apple is finally offering genuine professional computers again.

Please note: BIMcloud 2027 will be the last version to support macOS. Starting with BIMcloud 2028, there will no longer be a Mac version of BIMcloud.

[MSDC]

Wow we were so close to moving to mac a couple of months ago, this would have been an absolute nightmare.

Feel for those having to deal with this. How are you supposed to work with projects that require data to be held locally? 

[Tex]

Yes, Lucky you didn't. We have clients that require data be held on premises. The cheapest way for us to uphold these requirements is on MAC mini´s or Ultra´s.

[florianvoi]

I don’t get it. Why don’t they simply increase the price of the regular subscription and offer fully compatible Mac and Windows applications, including an offline BIM server, instead of pushing people into yet another subscription and forcing them to change their established and proven working environments?

Is their goal to increase revenue by losing their customer base? Who is advising this company?

[Tex]

They obviously haven't checked with their users or partners before making this decision.

[AndersStahl]

I think you're spot on the issue here!
We have been forced take on bigger and bigger costs for the subscription. We have signed deals with Graphisoft for a period extending beyond 2027.

And for a studio that has been proud to be a Mac- and a ArchiCAD-user for 20+ years this is a stab in the back.

We have a need to keep our informations local and not server based. Working with big klients the server based solution is not an option. They demand security for their valuable information.

In Sweden, where we work, ArchiCAD is a non-standard cad-system, but we have seen the benefits and been happy and proud to work with it.

But to be forced into a Windows-based server solution is not easily accepted. 

[Karl Ottenstein]

So, they've posted the official policy/plan.  They won't be spending resources (even if only AI resources) to port the Intel-based BIMcloud Basic to Apple Silicon for when macOS stops supporting Rosetta 2 with the release a year from now.  This will be an expensive transition to a Windows server (or to BIMCloud Saas subscriptions) for affected firms - the expense pushed to them, rather than absorbed by Graphisoft by transitioning.  I wonder what the calculation was here.  Perhaps not that many total licenses use BIMcloud Basic on Macs?

https://community.graphisoft.com/t5/Graphisoft-Insights/Phasing-out-on-premises-BIMcloud-support-for...

[Tex]

It would be interesting to see how many are affected by these plans however, that is not the point. Graphisoft is increasing its prices year after year. As MAC users we expect them to then fully support us even though we might be fewer. I mean that is what we are paying for right? Not to make it even more expensive for us by having to buy new hardware to be able to upgrade and host our projects locally. They are indirectly creating problems for their users with this decision.

[Eric Milberger]

WE just upgraded tp apple as the hardware is so much faster and reliable than a PC.  This company is not customer friendly.