If Autodesk’s Content Catalog content management system (CMS) is available to all Autodesk Doc users at no additional cost, why, then, would a firm pay for a Revit CMS like AVAIL? The answer is simple: you get what you pay for. AVAIL has a free option, too, but paid subscriptions unlock more time-saving capabilities so your team can spend fewer hours searching for what they need in a project or performing manual tasks and more time designing and moving projects through construction documentation. There are a few more key differentiators between Content Catalog and AVAIL, too. Below, we outline five reasons your firm should consider AVAIL for Revit content management and beyond.
FIVE Reasons Your Firm Should Consider AVAIL:
- You need robust Revit support
- You host files locally and/or on third-party cloud systems
- You have other files (not just Revit) you need to manage
- You desire expert support to train and troubleshoot
- You prefer to invest in a CMS designed for the future
Is content management a business objective for your firm?
(1) You need robust Revit support
Autodesk’s Revit can be convoluted and difficult to collaborate and design in. Designers often experience difficulty navigating the Revit project, while BIM managers struggle reusing and managing non-Family elements such as Drafting Views, Groups and full Sheets all while trying to keep updating them to newer versions.
A content management system (CMS) that can simplify Revit life for the entire design team is key to firm efficiency. AVAIL, for example, allows designers to simply drag and drop a variety of Revit elements (see below) directly into Revit from AVAIL.
AVAIL supports the following elements:
- Families
- Drafting Views
- Sheets
- Schedules
- Legends (including “live Legends”)
- System Families
- View Templates
- Groups
- Materials
- Pattern Files
Three game-changing Revit capabilities from AVAIL:
Designers: Navigate the project with ease
AVAIL Subscription Required: Free
Revit Project Navigator allows easy searching inside an active Revit project, including the ability to search the project and the library at the same time. Project Navigator also supports drag and drop just like the Revit Project Browser.
BIM Managers: Harvest what you need
AVAIL Subscription Required: AVAIL or Enterprise
Harvest for Revit simplifies what it means to manage, deploy and use Revit elements such as Drafting Views, Sheets, Schedules, View Templates, Materials and more. This feature harvests these elements out of their “Container Libraries” or “Warehouse Files” (ultimately a Revit .rvt file) while providing users of that content a simple, searchable, and highly visual means of actually using the content.
BIM Managers: Batch upgrade Revit versions
AVAIL Subscription Required: Enterprise
Revit Application Version Management automatically upgrades Revit content to new Revit versions beginning with Revit 2021. Designers are shown a single object in the interface and then our API will automatically pull in the correct version based on the open Revit session.
(2) You host files locally and/or on third-party cloud systems
Some AEC content management systems such as Autodesk’s Content Catalog are cloud-based, which can be great to easily share and access content with an expansive team, but it can also raise security risks.
Many firms prefer to keep files on local network servers, while others prefer the control of picking the cloud-based service they use to host their files over a required service like Autodesk Construction Cloud (ACC), for example.
AVAIL offers firms the flexibility to choose where to keep their files. BIM files can be hosted on both a firm’s local server and the cloud, making it easier to manage and share content across a firm, as well as with customers and contractors—while keeping all files secure.
Discover the best content hosting strategy for your firm. Here are three ways firms can host and manage content in AVAIL.
- Locally hosted
- Locally hosted, pushed to AVAIL’s Host in Cloud for easy access
- Cloud hosted using third-party system like SharePoint, Egnyte, or ACC
Learn more about AVAIL hosting options in the blog Local Server or Cloud? Host BIM Files on Both With AVAIL
(3) You have other files (not just Revit) you need to manage
Revit, Rhino, AutoCAD, 3ds Max, SketchUp, Civil 3D, MicroStation, and hundreds more are all supported by AVAIL’s content management system.
AVAIL is content agnostic, meaning the platform supports all file types—not just Revit. All your team’s files from AutoCAD, Rhino, SketchUp, Adobe Suite, Microsoft Office, Miro, photos, and more (even links!) can be indexed, tagged, and searched in AVAIL just as Revit content can.
Even better, our latest AVAIL 5.0 release includes automatic thumbnail generation for 30 of the most common file types found in AVAIL. Functionally, this means your team has more visual queues to find the files they need. Even your team members without Revit installed can view the virtualized thumbnails.
(4) You desire expert support to train and troubleshoot
Based in Lexington, Kentucky, AVAIL’s on-site team is friendly and reliable. Customer Success offers one-to-one support to AVAIL’s customers, including onboarding and training for your team. Additionally, Customer Success works directly with AVAIL’s development team to troubleshoot issues as they arise and advocate for customer needs as the team plans its roadmap.
Director of Customer Success Clay Watson (left) and AVAIL developers Zach Jones and Tucker Overton play with team poses at AVAIL’s industry leadership event Confluence in Lexington, Kentucky September 2024.
(5) You prefer to invest in a CMS designed for the future
AVAIL’s dedicated development team is not only developing AEC content management solutions to increase efficiency at firms today, but we are also thinking ahead to what will be most useful to firms in the future.
In 2024, AVAIL released the following features to its suite of content management solutions:
- Revit Application Version Management - Automatically convert Revit files to newer versions from Revit 2021 through Revit 2025 in AVAIL Host-in-Cloud Channels
- Palettes - Curate unique lists of content to streamline your project workflows
- Related Content - Create relationships between information being managed in AVAIL
- Help Chatbot - Powered by AI, Help Chatbot is here to answer your AVAIL questions in real time
- Automatic Thumbnail Generation - Thumbnails are now automatically generated for 30 of the most common file types found in AVAIL
- AVAIL User Groups - Create custom groups and map Active Directory groups for simpler sharing
- Channel Audit - Run an audit to automatically find broken content locations in a Channel
Discover additional enhancements in CEO and Founder Randall Stevens’ 2024 Year in Review.
These features are laying the foundation for future systems that will bring information to end users, reducing manual tasks that kill time.
Additionally, to anticipate what AEC industry firms are going to need and want from technology solutions in the future, AVAIL hosts Confluence professional development events. Confluence programming explores pressing industry technology issues and brings design technology practice and software technology product leaders together in collaborative discourse. Learn more about Confluence and register interest in joining the next conversation at confluence.getavail.com.
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AVAIL hosts two Confluence events per year, exploring pressing industry technology issues.
Is Content Management a Business Objective for Your Firm?
The decision to move forward with a free solution like AVAIL for Free or the Autodesk Docs’ included Content Catalog comes down to your firm’s business objectives. Ask yourself, “Is content management a strategy for my firm?” If yes, a streamlined solution with maximum content management capabilities like AVAIL’s paid subscriptions will serve your team best.
However, if your firm is simply exploring content management, a free solution (AVAIL’s included!) is a great way to get your toes wet and your files managed.
Ready to get started with AVAIL?
About AVAIL
Founded in 2016 as a solution for architectural firms to find the information they need faster, AVAIL creates software for the global architectural, engineering, and construction (AEC) industry. AVAIL’s content management system (CMS) platform and Revit application tools help designers and engineers take control of their intricate network of files in one visual, streamlined solution. Spun out of ArchVision, a provider of Rich Photorealistic Content (RPC), AVAIL’s customers include industry leaders like Gensler, Perkins + Will, IMEG, LEO A DALY, and Populous.
