The Esri and Autodesk Strategic Alliance brings together two enterprise platforms that are in use across a wide array of organizations. The manner in which organizations use GIS, CAD and other modeling software can vary based on industry, use case, or historical patterns, but the need to integrate workflows and systems built on Autodesk and ArcGIS software is common across these scenarios.
ArcGIS for Autodesk Forma is a technical integration that embeds Esri’s geospatial capabilities directly into Autodesk’s cloud-based design platform, Forma. This extension allows users – primarily architects, urban planners, and engineers – to access and incorporate authoritative GIS data into their early-stage design workflows without leaving the Forma environment. Through a seamless connection to ArcGIS Online or ArcGIS Enterprise, users can browse and select spatial datasets from their organization or the ArcGIS Living Atlas of the World, or add basemap content from one of the options available. Supported data types include 2D polylines, polygons, and imagery layers, and once integrated, these layers provide real-world geographic context—such as hydrology, infrastructure, and environmental zones—enabling more informed site analysis and design decisions.
Designs enriched with GIS context can be exported to Autodesk Revit and other applications, preserving spatial integrity across platforms. The integration supports iterative design processes by enabling rapid environmental impact assessments, zoning analysis, and visualization of site constraints, all within a unified interface. This technical bridge between GIS and BIM empowers AEC professionals to design with location intelligence from the outset, in the application they are already using, and connecting to authoritative spatial layers from their organization at the appropriate step in their workflow.
ArcGIS GeoBIM is a web-based application, delivered as part of ArcGIS Online or ArcGIS Enterprise, which provides a solution for working with BIM datasets within a GIS workflow. With direct connectivity to Autodesk Construction Cloud, GeoBIM provides users the option to attach datasets to a geospatial location, integrate with existing GIS layers, and work with documents or other non-spatial assets as well.
ArcGIS for AutoCAD is a plug-in built by Esri for use within AutoCAD applications, to allow CAD users to interact with GIS data directly through web services from ArcGIS, including editing geospatial features directly from AutoCAD.
The ArcGIS Indoors for AutoCAD extension adds additional features and tools to help with building and editing floor plan and indoor data from within AutoCAD, to enable ArcGIS Indoors workflows or better integrate CAD data sources.
ArcGIS Pro supports importing and working with a variety of data formats from Autodesk products. CAD files from Autodesk Civil3D can be imported into ArcGIS Pro as layers and visualized as spatial layers, and geo-located to real world coordinates. Connections to BIM cloud services, including Autodesk 360 and Autodesk Construction Cloud can also be created directly in ArcGIS Pro. Many ETL workflows also support working with CAD-based datasets, for building ArcGIS Indoors information model contents, for cartographic display of built environment features, and for creating the backgrounds for dynamic dashboards and interfaces.
Many organizations use Autodesk and ArcGIS software as enterprise business systems, often integrating with an external Identity Provider (IdP) to allow users of these systems to authenticate and access the systems with their standard identity and login credentials. Applications like ArcGIS GeoBIM and ArcGIS for AutoCAD create a dual-session experience, where a user working in a single client application interacts with two separate software services, a combination of AutoCAD and ArcGIS REST endpoints.
For these applications, ensuring that a user’s sign-in process is as smooth as possible is critical to adoption and success. Esri strongly recommends configuring ArcGIS Enterprise and ArcGIS Online organizations using Single Sign-on (SSO) through either an OpenID Connect (OIDC) or SAML login flow. Once configured, organizations should disable built-in logins if possible, to reduce the risk of single-factor logins, and automate the login flow. When only OIDC or only SAML logins are available, ArcGIS software will automatically forward users to login with their identity provider, which reduces the number of clicks and interaction required. SSO for ArcGIS organizations (ArcGIS Enterprise or an ArcGIS Online subscription) are configured independently, so be sure to set up SSO for any users in your organization where feasible.
Autodesk also supports SSO configuration at the domain level, which applies to all users entering an email address from that domain during login. See the Autodesk single sign-on setup guide for details. Organizations should implement SSO for their Autodesk domain logins where possible, to reduce user login friction and make use of standard identity provider practices.