Revit 2025 Upgrades
Like the returning of the swallows to San Juan Capistrano, Autodesk has released a new version of Revit, and our firm is like Father St. John O’Sullivan is giving it a home. Just like the priests at the mission, the department I work in has some cleaning to do after it lands. Now in no way am I comparing Autodesk to a bunch of messy birds (maybe just a little), but now we have work to do before the new version to be rolled out. In the Legend of the Swallows- and I will paraphrase it a bit for you- a shopkeeper destroys their nests and Father O’Sullivan gives the birds a home at the mission to nest. Now that you understand the reference let’s move on.
Preparation
So as a mid-sized firm with a little over five hundred unique users, the Practice Technology group which I belong to has a good bit to take care of before we can roll out and then require the use of the new version. What might some of those tasks be you ask? Well, I thought you would never ask. Within the vertical building portion of our firm, Gresham Smith, we have architectural, structural, electrical, mechanical, plumbing, and water and environment that all use Revit. We manage content for all those groups but also must do the following tasks before we can roll out the latest version.
- Upgrade templates.
- Upgrade starter files.
- Upgrade library files.
- Upgrade families.
- Request updated purchased add-ins like JO Tools or PyRevit
- Test purchased add-ins.
- Test custom developed add-ins.
- Test with standalone software that uses Revit exports.
- Update firm specific workflows.
- Update documentation.
In addition to those items, we typically do some testing of the version upgrade process in the cloud to see if there are any concerns we should be aware of on our projects. We will also test some workflows if they are affected by new features and update any associated documentation. That doesn’t even include building the deployments and testing those and making sure they are compatible with security software and those other things our network team deal with.
So, what do we get for all that?
Well, there are a bunch of posts and articles that explain those new features and I certainly don’t want to try to get into that in this article. Historically, every year our firm since 2018 has rolled out the latest version of Revit every fall and for the most part it has been a very smooth transition from one version to another. Now that is not to say we haven’t had some issues, but it has been mostly positive. The payoff comes from efficiencies gained with new tools or features of the software but also by keeping up with the technology. Our industry is ever-changing and so is the technology that drives it. Keeping our users up to date or at least giving them the opportunity to be up to date with the current version I think adds value.
Act of Defiance?
Some firms only upgrade their Revit version every other year to avoid the expense of the upgrade cycle which made a lot of sense when we used to own software. Now very few firms own the software and almost everyone is on subscription. Some firms elect to only upgrade to a newer version of Revit when they must. Now there are even grumblings of certain firms not using ACC and staying on BIM360 as some sort of protest or as an act of defiance. Not sure to what end but I have experienced this on some joint venture projects, and it can be challenging.
Opt in
Is it mandatory to transition to the latest cloud platform or Revit version? Not at all, but wouldn't it be beneficial to take advantage of the new features and ensure that all your company's tech systems are seamlessly integrated? Consider this - you've invested in it, so why not fully utilize it? Furthermore, your participation could assist other companies and users in identifying and resolving issues related to the newest release. Hence, by engaging with newer versions, you're actively contributing to their improvement.
Priest or Shop Owner
As an average Revit user in a firm why resist? What do you have to lose? Take the opportunity to add Revit 2025 or ACC to your resume. Better yet why not excel at it and become a “Revit Power User”. Give those swallows a place to nest like Father St. John O’Sullivan did.
