Project collaboration software provider BIW Technologies has come up with what could be the answer to the perennial gripe of slow download times from the web. It seemed that broadband was the answer to web users’ prayers, but according to BIW this is not the case. For a start, if several people are using one connection it reduces speed dramatically. Also the connection may be fast but it slows down to a snail’s pace once it has struggled through the average company’s routers, firewalls and content management devices. BIW also reckons broadband is a bit like widening the M25; the faster it gets, the more people want to use it.

Because BIW says the effective speed of the internet is not going to radically improve, the company has been working on a solution to improve their customers’ experience. This is important to them because project collaboration users are constantly uploading and downloading large files.

The solution is called Accelerated Delivery, and BIW says it can reduce download times by up to 90%, and by a minimum of 50%. It is intended to speed up the business of revisions and amendments of drawings; at the moment, users have to download an entire drawing that they already have on their system every time some small change is made.

The technology works by comparing the differences between the file already on the user’s system and the amended drawing waiting to be downloaded. It identifies the differences and only downloads the changes, thus speeding up the whole process. BIW says the differences are compared at byte level – the basic building blocks of computer code – so the technology will work with any file type and the updated drawing is identical to the original drawing apart from the deliberate changes. BIW users can sign up for the technology for an annual fee by downloading a small add-on to their browser.

BIW has also launched a plug-in for AutoCAD users. Called Accelerated Publishing, it is for users who need to create several file versions of a drawing, such as a pdf. All the user does is hit a button and the software does the rest, saving time.