GroundControl vs Discus: Modern First Article & Inspection Software Compared

The biggest difference between the two software's is that GroundControl is 100% cloud-based, while Discus is on-premises software. What does this mean? In the past, on-premises software offered greater security, as data did not leave the client's servers. However, that comes at the cost of requiring IT resources to help setup the software and any necessary databases, as well as provide ongoing maintenance and upgrades.

GroundControl requires no IT setup, meaning you can literally get going in less than 5 minutes! In addition, we push weekly updates to ensure a bug-free experience that consistently gets better over time. That being said, we take security seriously.

An accurate FAI report is absolutely critical to preventing delays and keeping customer satisfaction high. GroundControl has the most accurate OCR (optical character recognition) on the market, meaning we recognize what is written on drawing PDFs more accurately than Discus. This is not to say that Discus is bad, by any means. What we did to separate ourselves was add a logic layer. This logic layer is a custom AI model which looks at the parsed text and thinks about whether that text actually makes sense and the meaning as it relates to your quality reporting.

For example, if the OCR detects "all h0les thru", the logic layer will recognize the word is likely holes, not h0les. This can prevent unnecessary rejections from source inspectors. Our parsing accuracy is high, with logic to sanity-check what’s parsed against context to reduce those common misreads. Read more here: https://www.gndctl.com/resources/a-guide-to-ocr-on-pdf-drawings

1) How does GroundControl compare to Discus for AS9102 FAIRs? Both platforms support AS9102 FAIR creation, but they’re built a bit differently:
- GroundControl is a cloud-native AS9102 system designed around a single, end-to-end workflow: auto-ballooning, characteristic extraction, measurement capture, and one-click compliant Forms 1–3.  
- Discus (often called “DISCUS Desktop”) is a long-standing quality/FAI toolset that supports AS9102 along with PPAP and other standards. It centers on managing a Technical Data Package (TDP), extracting characteristics from drawings/specs, and generating ballooned drawings/inspection sheets.
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If your priority is a modern, browser-based AS9102 workflow with centralized collaboration and quick rollout, GroundControl typically fits that model. If you want a desktop-style suite that also spans non-AS9102 inspection use cases, Discus is often the broader legacy option.  

2) Which tool is better for auto-ballooning PDFs and extracting GD&T? Both do auto-ballooning and characteristic extraction, but the emphasis differs.
- GroundControl focuses on parsing real aerospace PDFs (notes, tolerances, GD&T) so characteristics flow directly into AS9102 Form 3.  
- Discus provides auto-ballooning for PDF/TIFF via its IDA (Intelligent Drawing Analysis) capability and highlights OCR-based extraction of numeric dimensions, notes, and GD&T symbols, plus GD&T included in inspection sheets.