From the Desktop to the Cloud

March 20, 2023

Since the completion of version 7.0 of the AASHTOWare BrDR software, the Task Force and ProMiles have been working diligently toward implementing many of the enhancements that have been requested throughout the modernization and, at the same time, setting the strategic goals for the coming 3 to 5 years.  One of the next long-term goals is to add new capabilities to BrDR to utilize the power of the cloud.  The current vision is to maintain the desktop client version of the software while building out the cloud essential features that can achieve immediate benefits for the user while maintaining long-term strategic goals.  This will require building out a new cloud-based system with a cloud-native data platform and rearchitecting the analytical engines to support usage in the cloud.

This planning effort is in the early stages; however, a preliminary phased approach has been developed and is listed below:

• Phase 1 – Data in the cloud (Short Term)
  • Phase 1 – Data in the cloud (Short Term)
  • Data would be centralized in a multi-tenant environment.
  • Easier to create, share, scale, and manage.
  • Implement in subphases (by feature)
• Phase 2 – Analysis in the cloud (Medium Term)
  • Allow users to offload complex analyses to the cloud.
  • Allow users to automate high-volume analysis in the cloud.
  • Implement in subphases (start with single structure type)
• Phase 3 – Modeling in the cloud (Long Term)
  • Allow users to model bridges entirely via the web browser without the need of the desktop client to be installed
  • Implement in subphases (start with single structure type)