One of the key arguments for adopting Qonic in our organization (alongside its unique functionalities) is the potential to consolidate tools and discontinue multiple licenses, including BIMCollab.
We currently use BIMCollab primarily for:
- Browser-based model viewing → Qonic handles this excellently
- BCF Management “Issues” → Currently quite basic in Qonic
- To a lesser extent: clash detection, IDS checks, etc.
Missing Functionality & Feature Requests:
1. Multi-platform Synchronization & Add-in Ecosystem
BIMCollab has built a robust ecosystem with add-ins for most major BIM software (modeling and coordination tools). However, with the shift to SaaS, they seem stuck on BCF 2.1 and rely on their proprietary API rather than the BuildingSmart API for server communication.
While theoretically possible to communicate between different vendors via the BuildingSmart API, many vendors don’t seem to support (or want to support) this yet. File-based BCF exchange works universally, but real-time API synchronization is limited to vendors with dedicated add-ins.
Request: Develop native integrations or support the BuildingSmart API standard for seamless BCF synchronization across major BIM platforms.
2. Advanced BCF Topic Management Outside the Model
BIMCollab’s cloud-based topic management is mature and feature-rich, including:
- Custom fields (both platform-level and project-level in advanced plans)
- Advanced filtering and reporting
- Topic linking and relationship management
We use this for managing engineering topic lists (previously tracked in Excel) and could extend it to site meetings, keeping all communication bundled per topic with filtering, cross-referencing, and version control.
Much of this information isn’t model-related initially, though it increasingly links to models when available.
Request: Expand the Project Dashboard with comprehensive BCF topic management capabilities, including custom fields, advanced filtering, topic relationships, and support for non-model-related issues.
3. Export & Reporting Functionality
Currently missing from the interface but crucial for adoption. Not everyone is willing to create accounts on multiple platforms (especially when clients and consultants already use their own SaaS tools like Bimefy/Openspace for reality capture, Cooperlink/Bricsys/ACC for document management, etc.).
Request: Implement robust export and reporting features supporting Excel/PDF formats alongside standard BCF file export.
