The Most Expensive Connector Is the One You Build Twice
Modern Enterprise Architecture for Secure, Scalable, AI-Ready APS Integration
Autodesk DevCon 2026 📅 April 15–16, 2026 · 📍 Beurs van Berlage, Amsterdam · 🎤 Varun Bhartiya, (CEO, nCircle Tech), Mayank Mridul, (Senior Software Engineer at Autodesk)
What This Session Is About
If your team builds integrations between Autodesk Platform Services (APS) and Power BI, Tableau, Salesforce, or a custom dashboard — you have almost certainly rebuilt one from scratch at least once.
New customer needs it with different permissions: rebuild. A new BI tool comes along: rebuild. The business wants AI-ready data pipelines: rebuild again.
This cycle has a name — the thick connector anti-pattern — and it is costing enterprise development teams in three ways most never measure: the cost of rebuilding, the cost of fragility, and the cost of every AI use case they cannot deliver.
In this session, nCircle Tech CEO Varun Bhartiya and Mayank Mridul (Senior Software Engineer at Autodesk) present the architecture that ends this cycle permanently. Drawn from a decade of enterprise APS delivery across 100+ clients in 20+ countries, this is a battle-tested three-pillar framework — in production today — that lets you build an APS integration once and have it serve every client, every tool, and every AI pipeline you will ever need.
The 3-Pillar APS Integration Framework
Pillar 1 — The Thin Connector
Your connector has one job: call your backend REST API and apply light data shaping. That is all.
Not authentication. Not pagination. Not rate-limit handling. Not business logic. Those belong in the backend.
The before-and-after is stark. Before: 500+ lines of M script doing work it was never designed for. After: approximately 50 lines — fetch from one endpoint, shape for display. The same connector serves Power BI, Tableau, Salesforce, or an AI pipeline without a single line of change.
Your connector connects. It does not compute.
Pillar 2 — The Smart Backend
The backend does all the heavy lifting the connector no longer does — in a scalable, resilient, cloud-native architecture built for enterprise data volumes.
The production pattern: an SQS FIFO queue for reliable, ordered job processing; DynamoDB for job state persistence; Streaming Parquet generation so large Revit and ACC models never cause memory blow-up; and S3 with CloudFront for secure, signed delivery back to the client.
This backend serves Power BI today. Tomorrow — with zero changes to the connector — it serves Tableau, a custom dashboard, or an AI inference pipeline. The architecture is AI-ready by design, not by accident.
Pillar 3 — Secure Service Accounts (SSA)
The traditional approach: each user manages their own OAuth token. The connector handles N tokens across every customer. Admins have no central visibility. Rate limits are chaotic and fragmented.
The SSA approach: an admin provisions one scoped service account. The backend uses it. Users never interact with credentials.
What this unlocks: one connector serving 100 enterprise customers, central access control across your entire customer base, a full audit trail on a single managed identity, and no per-user rate limit collisions. SSA turns your APS connector from a per-user tool into an enterprise platform.
What You Will Take Away
- A clear diagnosis of whether your current APS connector follows the thick connector anti-pattern — and what it is costing you
- The complete Thin Connector + Smart Backend + SSA architecture with production implementation diagrams
- An understanding of why Power BI M language is the wrong tool for complex API orchestration — and what replaces it
- A live demonstration of the DX Power BI Connector, built entirely on this framework
- Free 30-day access to the DX Power BI Connector — try the architecture before you leave Amsterdam
Who Should Attend
This session is built for anyone who builds, architects, or makes decisions about APS integrations.
APS and Autodesk Forge developers who have rebuilt the same connector more than once and want the architecture that ends that cycle.
Solutions architects designing enterprise integration infrastructure for AEC or manufacturing organisations who need a pattern that scales to 100 customers and is AI-ready without a future rebuild.
Technical leads and engineering managers who want to understand the root cause of integration rebuild cycles — and prevent them.
Power BI developers working with Autodesk data who are hitting the limits of M language when pulling data from BIM 360 or Autodesk Construction Cloud.
CTOs and VP Engineering evaluating investment in integration infrastructure — the three-cost framework in this session provides the business case.
About the Speaker
Varun Bhartiya(CEO, nCircle Tech), Mayank Mridul (Senior Software Engineer at Autodesk)
Varun Bhartiya is the CEO of nCircle Tech, a certified Autodesk Forge Systems Integrator headquartered in Pune, India. Under his leadership, nCircle has delivered 300+ solutions across 100+ clients in 20+ countries in AEC and manufacturing, earning recognition as a trusted partner to Autodesk, Siemens PLM, and Hinduja.
nCircle has been an early adopter of Autodesk Forge since its launch and is now a recognised leader in enterprise Autodesk Platform Services development — building connectors, 3D web applications, and AI-powered BIM workflows for some of the world's most demanding organisations.
"nCircle Tech is a long-standing and trusted Certified Partner of Autodesk. They have a proven track record of providing transformative solutions, most recently delivering mission-critical interoperability integrations for AEC and Manufacturing customers." — Hardev Saini, Director of Product Management, Autodesk
Mayank Mridul is a Senior Software Development Engineer on the Data Exchange team at Autodesk. With over four years of experience at Autodesk, he works on building scalable, data-driven systems that improve interoperability across platforms. Passionate about emerging technologies and collaborative development, Mayank focuses on turning complex data into real-world solutions. He has presented his work at DevCon 2025 and Autodesk University, and holds a degree in Computer Science from KIIT University, India.
Frequently Asked Questions
- What is Autodesk DevCon 2026?
Autodesk DevCon 2026 is the premier conference for developers and business leaders building with Autodesk Platform Services. It takes place April 15–16 at the Beurs van Berlage in Amsterdam, featuring 80+ sessions across AI, API integration, automation, and sustainability tracks.
- How do I add Session 1209 to my schedule?
Once registered for DevCon, visit the session catalog and add Session 1209 directly to your personal schedule. Registration is available at events.autodesk.com.
- What is the thick connector anti-pattern?
A thick connector owns all responsibilities inside the client — authentication, orchestration, pagination, business logic, and error handling. The result is 500+ line scripts, brittle integrations, and connectors that must be fully rebuilt for every new customer or use case.
- Will the session be available on demand?
Yes. All Autodesk DevCon sessions are available on demand post-event for registered attendees.
- What is the DX Power BI Connector?
A production Power BI connector built by nCircle Tech on the exact Thin Connector + Smart Backend + SSA architecture presented in this session. A free 30-day trial is available — see nCircle Tech for details.
- Who is nCircle Tech?
nCircle Tech is a certified Autodesk Forge Systems Integrator with 100+ clients in 20+ countries and 300+ solutions delivered. They are a trusted partner to Autodesk, Siemens PLM, and Hinduja, and a recognised leader in enterprise APS integration development.
Register Now — Seats Are Limited
This session fills quickly. Add it to your schedule now to secure your spot.
Attending in person gives you access to the live architecture demonstration, direct Q&A with Varun Bhartiya, and the DX Power BI Connector trial — activated on the spot. None of that is available in the on-demand recording.