Your Technology Environment.
One Accountable Partner.
We manage IT, cybersecurity, and AI for architecture and engineering firms, so your team spends its time on project work instead of technology issues.
What Changes With One Accountable Technology Partner
Most firms don't need more IT support. They need technology to stop being something leadership has to think about.
Deadline weeks stop being technology risk
When a model crashes or the file server chokes during a submittal push, the cost isn't the support ticket. It's the hours your senior staff spend not billing and the deadline you're now renegotiating with a client. We build the environment against your worst week, not your average one.
Your environment scales as the firm grows
Adding six people, opening a second office, or taking on a larger project shouldn't mean rebuilding how your technology works. We plan capacity, licensing, and access ahead of the growth instead of reacting to it.
One accountable partner instead of three vendors
Most firms your size have an IT provider, a security product bought separately, and now someone selling them AI. When something breaks across those seams, nobody is quite sure who is responsible. Optive coordinates IT, security, and AI vendors and tracks every issue through to resolution, so there is one number to call.
Technology cost becomes predictable
Break-fix billing means your worst months cost the most, which is exactly backwards. A managed relationship lets you forecast technology spend against staffing plans and project pipeline the same way you forecast anything else.
Your team can use AI without you policing it
Your staff are already pasting drawings, scopes, and client data into public AI tools. The question is whether that happens inside something you control. We put the governance and the plumbing in place so the productivity is real and the confidentiality clauses in your contracts stay intact.
Leadership stops being the escalation path
When principals are the ones getting texted about the VPN, technology has become a leadership job. The goal is simple: you hear from us on a schedule, not in an emergency, and important issues do not disappear into a ticket queue.
The Accountability Model
Optive serves as the operating technology partner for the business. We manage the day-to-day environment, identify what needs to change, advise management on technology decisions, and carry approved technical work through implementation. The relationship is designed around managing the technology function, rather than selling a fixed set of support services.
You keep the licenses, the data, the documentation, and the decisions. Optive is operationally accountable for the covered technology environment.
IT Management vs. Technology Accountability
Traditional IT Providers
- Wait for issues to be reported
- Execute tasks as requested
- Optimize for ticket volume and response times
- Share responsibility when problems occur
- Treat IT as a collection of tools
Result: Technology becomes another system leadership has to oversee.
Optive's Accountability Model
- Proactively identify risk, constraints, and failure points
- Design standardized, resilient technology environments
- Maintain agreed security and reliability standards
- Manage change intentionally as the firm grows
- Treat technology as critical operational infrastructure
Result: Technology is managed by an accountable partner, so leadership does not have to chase vendors or decide who is responsible.
What We Are Accountable For
Within the agreed scope, Optive manages and is accountable for:
Identity & Access Control
Across project teams
Microsoft 365 Collaboration
For drawings, models, and documents
Workstations & Mobile Devices
Office and field workflows
Data Protection & Backup
Verification and recovery readiness
Network & Site Reliability
Across offices and job locations
Vendor Coordination
For engineering applications and platforms
AI Stack Management
Data connectors, workflows, and agents
Growth Planning
New offices and staffing changes
Who Decides What
Optive is responsible for identifying what needs attention, recommending, coordinating, and following issues through to resolution or a documented client decision.
Optive manages and is accountable for:
- Identify what needs attention and recommend appropriate improvements
- Maintain agreed technology and security standards
- Proactively monitor covered systems
- Coordinate covered technology vendors and track issues to resolution
- Execute approved changes within scope and escalate decisions for client approval
- Maintain lifecycle and technology planning, and report the condition of the environment to leadership
The client retains authority over:
- Set budgets and business priorities
- Approve major expenditures and significant changes
- Accept risk outside the agreed scope
- Set internal business policies
- Make decisions outside the agreed scope
Who This Model Is Built For
Optive is a strong fit if you:
- Value structure, standards, and accountability
- Want technology to scale with the business
- Operate in regulated or risk-sensitive environments
- Prefer proactive planning over reactive support
- Want IT treated like any other core system
May not be the right fit if you're:
- Looking for a transactional IT vendor
- Seeking the lowest-cost helpdesk option
IT, Cybersecurity, and AI for AEC Workflows
Three service areas managed by a single team, built around large BIM files, project deadlines, compliance requirements, and the AI workflows that run alongside them.
Managed IT for AEC Firms
Day-to-day IT management for BIM performance, large file handling, and design-build workflows.
- Workstation configuration for Revit, Civil 3D, SketchUp, and Procore
- Large file storage and network performance
- Plotter and large format printer support
- Microsoft 365 and SharePoint for project collaboration
- Hardware lifecycle management for high-performance workstations
Cybersecurity
Protection for project data, staff identity, and the AI tools your team is already using.
- Project data encryption and secure file sharing
- Multi-factor authentication and identity protection
- Endpoint detection for ransomware targeting AEC firms
- Offsite backup and disaster recovery for project files
- AI governance and acceptable-use policies
- Compliance support when contracts require it
AI for AEC
AI advisory, custom automations, and ongoing management of the pipelines, agents, and workflows that support day-to-day operations.
- AI Strategy and Readiness assessments for AEC workflows
- Custom AI tools for proposal, RFI, submittal, and document automation
- Managed AI: data connectors, pipelines, skills, and agents
- AI Governance: policies, data protection, and rollout planning
- Microsoft 365 Copilot deployment, training, and controls
Fractional CTO
Technology leadership across all three pillars without the cost of a full-time executive.
- Technology roadmap aligned with firm growth
- Software and AI licensing review (Autodesk, Bluebeam, Procore, Copilot)
- IT and AI budgeting tied to project profitability
- Vendor management for software, hardware, and AI platforms
Specialized IT for Architecture, Engineering & Construction
Every AEC discipline has unique software, workflows, and challenges. We've built deep expertise in all three.
Architecture Firms
Design Studios & Architecture Firms
IT support for design workflows, from complex Revit models to visualization tools, so design teams can focus on their work.
Software We Support:
Common Challenges We Solve
- •Revit models are slow and crash during complex projects
- •Rendering jobs overwhelm workstations for hours
- •Cloud collaboration with clients is unreliable
- •Large presentation files take forever to sync
How We Help
- BIM-optimized workstations for smooth Revit performance
- GPU-configured workstations for Enscape, Lumion, V-Ray, and Twinmotion
- Dedicated rendering solutions that free up design machines
- Reliable cloud sync for BIM 360 and project sharing
- Fast, secure file access for remote and hybrid teams
- Managed AI with governance for design research, spec review, and presentation content
Built for AEC Firms
You didn't become an architect, engineer, or contractor to troubleshoot IT issues or navigate complex cybersecurity. Every day, you face project deadlines, client expectations, and the need for reliable technology that just works.
We've optimized workstations for complex Revit models and 500MB+ Civil 3D files. We've configured secure remote access for field crews. We've helped firms meet cybersecurity requirements for government and private sector contracts. We know your world.
Software We Support Every Day:
Our Mission
Manage the technology environment for AEC leaders end to end, so principals, partners, and project managers can focus on project delivery and firm growth.
BIM & CAD Performance Experts
We optimize your workstations and network for Revit, Civil 3D, and complex rendering workflows.
Field-to-Office Connectivity
Secure remote access for surveyors, inspectors, superintendents, and design teams working on-site.
One Team, Three Disciplines
IT, cybersecurity, and AI managed by the same team, so nothing falls between vendors.
Proactive, Not Reactive
We prevent IT issues before they delay your project deadlines or billable hours.
Infrastructure Work We've Delivered
A sample of recent engagements. Client names available on request.
Civil Engineering Firm
San Diego, mid-size
Migrated approximately 12 TB of project data from aging on-premises servers into Azure. Rebuilt the domain controller and file server, then established site-to-site connectivity and client VPN so field and office staff kept uninterrupted access to project files.
Specialty Trade Contractor
Southern California
Full on-premises to Azure migration covering Active Directory, roughly 2.5 TB of file data, SSL VPN with Entra ID authentication, and a complete rebuild of print infrastructure with hardened deployment policy.
Multi-Site Fuel and Lubricants Distributor
Nine locations, California
Deployed firewalls across all nine sites with primary and backup internet circuits, load balancing, and automatic failover. Built site-to-site VPN tunnels into their Azure network and layered on intrusion detection and content filtering.
Frequently Asked Questions
Common questions about our IT services and how we work.
One Partner for IT, Cybersecurity, and AI
One team managing your IT, security, and AI, instead of three separate vendors.
What to Expect (No Cost, No Obligation):
- A conversation about how your current setup is working
- An honest read on where the real gaps are
- Prioritized recommendations, whether or not you hire us