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Introduction

VIM lets you analyze and visualize complex BIM models sourced from Revit or IFC using Microsoft Power BI.

BIM model in Power BI

BIM in Power BI​

"Why do I need my BIM model in Power BI?"

When VIM brings your BIM model into Power BI, you gain the supernatural ability to:

  1. Share fully interactive and customized 3D BIM model reports on the web with your team members and stakeholders.

  2. Automate the analysis of your BIM model's compliance relating to your project's naming conventions, parameter values, materials, warnings, worksets, rooms, and level associations, to name but a few use cases.

  3. Connect your BIM model to other construction project management services like ACC, Assemble, and Revizto to analyze and visualize the construction status in an interface tailored for you.


    Joining Your Data 🔑

    You can join your data sources to the BIM model in Power BI using the element unique ID or using a designated element parameter.

VIM Software​

VIM provides the following software products to bring your BIM data into Power BI and beyond. Feel free to book a demo to know more!

  • VIM Enterprise is a licensed, self-hosted product which lets you convert your BIM models into customized Power BI reports. With VIM Enterprise, you are in full control of your data and its IT resources, which is ideal for big projects where data stewardship is critical.

  • VIM Cloud is our online service which lets you quickly convert your BIM models into customized Power BI reports which can be shared with team members and stakeholders.

  • VIM Desktop is our free software suite, which includes

    • VIM Revit Exporter: to convert your Revit projects into VIM files.
    • VIM IFC Exporter: to convert your IFC projects into VIM files
    • VIM Desktop: to visualize VIM files on your machine, built with our high-performance Vulkan-based rendering technology.

  • VIM for 3ds Max is our free importer which lets you quickly import VIM models into Autodesk 3ds Max, allowing you to save time on an otherwise very lengthy process.

  • VIM for Developers is a collection of programming libraries and tools which let you white-label VIM technology so you can build your own products and workflows. This collection includes both open-source libraries and licensed tools.

Our Technology​

1. The VIM File Format​

At the core, we've designed the VIM file format as an efficient binary snapshot of a BIM model's 3D geometry and its related data. This data includes:

  • Elements
  • Parameters
  • Family Instances
  • Family Types
  • Families
  • Categories
  • Worksets
  • Materials
  • Compound Structure Assignments
  • Units
  • Levels
  • Rooms
  • Areas
  • Views
  • Phases
  • Linked BIM Documents
  • ...and more.

The VIM file format is open-source and we provide open-source libraries to let software developers gain unparalleled access to their BIM data. We enable you to build your own bespoke BIM visualizations and data analysis workflows.

2. Two Great Renderers​

To visualize VIM files in a highly performant manner, we maintain two renderers:

  • VIM Web is a flexible open-source 3D renderer which loads VIM files from a URL into your web browser.

  • VIM Ultra is a high-performance renderer written in C++ and Vulkan, capable of loading the largest 3D models and streaming the session into a web browser or a Power BI report. This renderer also drives our native VIM Desktop application.

3. VIM to SQL​

SQL is the lingua franca of data, and we built the tools to transfer VIM file data into SQL Server so it can be loaded easily into Power BI. With VIM to SQL, your BIM data is normalized, relational, and ready to analyze.

The VIM to SQL technology is featured in VIM Enterprise, VIM Cloud, and in the VIM Tool, our developer command line tool.

4. The Human Factor​

We're a tiny, tight-knit team and we care about each other, about you the customer, and about making a big difference in improving the efficiency of the construction industry by unleashing the data that is so desperately needed to make accurate decisions.

Get in touch!​

Let's have a chat to see what VIM can do for you. Book some time with us today!