Architectural-engineering firm Cushing Terrell saw the value in enhancing its content management practices but was unhappy with the content management systems (CMS) the team tried before landing on AVAIL in January 2023. Once transitioning to AVAIL’s user-friendly, comprehensive solution, however, Cushing Terrell’s experience has been seamless. AVAIL has helped achieve greater productivity across its teams, providing all the necessary CMS features Cushing Terrell has become accustomed to—plus more reliable development and robust functionality.
Finding the Perfect Fit: Cushing Terrell’s CMS Journey
With over 500 team members spanning 17 offices, architectural-engineering firm Cushing Terrell recognized the need for a content management system (CMS) to fill in where Windows' and the Revit application’s file organization systems faltered.
Over the last seven years, IT BIM Specialist Casey Huffman tried a few CMS options at Cushing Terrell but felt these former platforms were lacking in development, efficiency, and support.
The first product Cushing Terrell used to manage its BIM content was quickly loaded down by the firm’s file volume and slow to process. “I had to split files up to make it useful,” Casey says. Eventually, this practice became too cumbersome, so the team transitioned to another content management platform. But, again, Casey was unimpressed. The second tool was not being developed quickly enough to meet Cushing Terrell’s needs and didn’t offer the level of customer support Casey desired.
When it was time to renew, Casey started to look around for an alternative CMS. AVAIL boasted the features Cushing Terrell had become accustomed to in its previous content management platform—like harvesting Revit content, for example—and offered additional features—like AVAIL Stream (see below)—that could make the team’s workflows even more efficient.
Cushing Terrell's AVAIL environment. Because Cushing Terrell’s teams were already used to working with a content management system, the transition to AVAIL was seamless.
Mostly, however, what Casey and his team appreciated about AVAIL was how straightforward the tool is. “It’s easy to learn. Most people can pick it up quickly and get what they need,” Casey says of Cushing Terrell’s designers.
On top of the seamless software experience, the cost of AVAIL was also cheaper than Cushing Terrell’s legacy system.
For Casey and the Cushing Terrell team, the transition to AVAIL just made sense.
Cushing Terrell’s Favorite AVAIL Features
AVAIL offered all the content management features Cushing Terrell found useful in its past platforms, plus additional features that improved productivity and encouraged collaboration. Here are some of Cushing Terrell’s favorite AVAIL features.
AVAIL Stream
Casey’s Number 1 favorite feature of AVAIL is AVAIL Stream, which automates content publishing. This is a feature Cushing Terrell’s old CMS did not have and saves its BIM team an immense amount of time. Stream monitors selected folders for changes and then publishes these changes in AVAIL automatically. Before AVAIL Stream, Cushing Terrell’s files could easily be missed or forgotten in the manual update process. AVAIL Stream’s automation captures this once forgotten content, making the team more productive and saving leaders like Casey time to focus on other projects.
AVAIL Stream automatically updates changes to selected folders in AVAIL, saving BIM managers valuable time.
Dedicated Development Team
One of the reasons Cushing Terrell’s team started to look to other platforms was because they did not feel their former system was being developed at a pace that kept up with their needs. They appreciated how AVAIL is constantly progressing, making updates on a regular schedule and keenly listening and responding to client and user feedback.
Intuitive, Visual User Interface
Cushing Terrell’s team found AVAIL very easy to use and adopt, especially because the BIM team had already planned through a CMS strategy and designers had become accustomed to a dedicated library. AVAIL is a much quicker and visually driven system than the team’s previous CMS platforms. “I simply like the way that AVAIL works,” Casey says. “It looks nice and does what it needs to do. That’s all you can ask for: an efficient tool that does what you want it to do.” There were no hiccups or complaints during—and since—Cushing Terrell’s transition to AVAIL.
Files Can Be Locally Hosted
It was imperative for Cushing Terrell that its new CMS have the ability to host content locally. “We don't host anything in the cloud,” Casey says. AVAIL does have Host-in-Cloud options, but it also functions just as well with files hosted on servers. “We appreciate having the ability to host our own content on our server and load from there,” Casey says.
AVAIL Harvest for Revit
Harvesting Revit drafting views from containers was something Casey enjoyed in Cushing Terrell’s previous CMS. “I wouldn't have switched if AVAIL didn't have that option,” Casey says of AVAIL Harvest for Revit. “It's very handy.” He’s excited to expand Cushing Terrell’s tool usage to capture elements like wall types in the future with AVAIL Harvest for Revit.
AVAIL Analytics
Likewise looking to the future, Casey is excited to utilize AVAIL Analytics to monitor and track content library engagement in an analytical way. If a piece of content needs updating or if there is a critical issue, AVAIL Analytics’ series of reports can help the team pinpoint what projects need attention.
Our Next Successful CMS Switch Story …
This is a time of change, and the team at AVAIL is here to guide firms through it. With Autodesk’s acquisition of UNIFI—now Content Catalog—those who manage Revit content live with uncertainty about what the future holds.
AVAIL can’t speak to what Autodesk has up its sleeve for UNIFI, but we can speak to what is coming down the pipeline for us. We just released preview features of Revit Application Version Management and workflow tool Palettes. Next up, we plan to release a new Related Content feature to keep information together and easier to consume.
Those who have already thought through their firm’s content management strategy like Cushing Terrell are the easiest to onboard to AVAIL. Last year, a third of our customers who switched from another CMS were onboarded in about a month’s time.
To make the switch even easier, AVAIL now offers a guided AVAIL Team Test Drive that includes in-person set-up of AVAIL and training for your team, as well as a 30-day Enterprise trial period. We do the heavy lifting developing a content management strategy and transferring your content onto AVAIL so you can focus on the system and whether it works best for your firm’s needs. No contract is required! Learn more about the AVAIL Team Test Drive.
Ready to switch your team to AVAIL, too? We can help! Book a demo today.
About Cushing Terrell
Founded in 1938 by architects Ralph Cushing and Everett Terrell, the firm’s two co-founders acted on the belief that integrating architecture, engineering, and design opened the doors for deepened relationships and enhanced creativity – a belief that still defines the firm in the 21st century. Empathy is their guiding light. Their multidisciplinary teams work together to design systems and spaces that help people live their best lives, achieve their visions, and enjoy healthy, sustainable built environments.
Image credit Marco Zecchin Photography
