CMiC Transforms Construction Project Management with PSPDFKit Integration

PSPDFKit had a lot of the annotation tools that we needed already. The APIs were very deep. It was extremely well documented.

CMiC Overview

An industry pioneer, CMiC delivers complete and unified financial and project management software solutions for construction and capital projects firms. CMiC’s powerful software transforms how firms optimize productivity, minimize risk, and drive growth by planning and managing all financials, projects, resources, and content assets from a Single Database Platform™. With customers throughout North America and overseas, CMiC serves one-quarter of the Engineering News-Record’s Top 400 Contractors and hundreds of small and mid-sized construction firms — from general and specialty contractors, to heavy/highway and project owners.

Chief Product Officer Steven Cangiano spoke about CMiC’s construction management software, specifically how the company helps finance teams effectively manage accounting processes with the help of PSPDFKit as a partner.

The company offers two deployment models:

• Enterprise Private Hosted Model — Designed for larger organizations with extensive implementation needs.

• SaaS Product — A subscription-based model for mid-market customers.

Over the last 10+ years, PSPDFKit has been able to enable CMiC to develop and maintain the industry’s most comprehensive construction enterprise resource planning (ERP) system. However, before partnering with PSPDFKit, CMiC faced challenges that needed addressing.

Delivering Mobile Integrations and Overcoming Development Delays

CMiC offers a comprehensive platform with a wide range of features, which serves as a foundational backbone for many customers who need an integrated system that combines various business functions, including CRM and accounting. CMiC knew its customers often use additional tools, so the company also wanted to focus on building strong integrations to accommodate these external applications. A major shortcoming of CMiC was its lack of integration with mobile applications for managing PDF drawings, a crucial aspect in project and construction management fields.

CMiC realized it was falling behind its competitors by approximately two years in this aspect. This setback posed significant obstacles, especially in regards to providing prompt benefits to clients. According to Cangiano, “One of my biggest concerns was time to value and being able to make up for one to two years of not working on this.”

To address this, CMiC prioritized accelerating the development of critical features, like the mobile app for managing PDF drawings, and enhancing integration capabilities to meet customer needs and enhance the overall user experience.

“We were searching for a technology partner that was going to allow us to catch up in a big way,” Cangiano said.

CMiC was initially focused on iOS, and that’s when Cangiano and the team found PSPDFKit. CMiC used the free demo in the app store and began to experiment with how PSPDFKit could help.

Using Advanced Annotation Tools to Overcome Development Challenges

CMiC faced the challenge of lagging behind competitors in offering a mobile app to manage PDF drawings. To address this, the company turned to PSPDFKit, which provided the necessary annotation tools and APIs for customization. Initially, CMiC integrated the PSPDFKit for iOS SDK into its mobile application, using it as an engine while maintaining its own frontend interface. This enabled the company to leverage PSPDFKit’s comprehensive API for immersive onscreen interaction.

“We had some of these needs met in iOS fairly quickly, right? Because it was very comprehensive,” Cangiano said. “PSPDFKit had a lot of the annotation tools that we needed already. The APIs were very deep. It was extremely well documented. The support was unbelievable.”

Another great solution PSPDFKit offered was the ability to allow licensing the bundle ID so CMiC could scale as needed. This enabled CMiC to quickly make up competitive ground. This, along with cross-platform support, made it so CMiC was able to extend this immersive user experience from iOS to Android and web applications. This consistency was crucial for meeting customer expectations. “I think that PSPDFKit is a very, very solid and stable SDK partner for CMiC,” Cangiano added.

In addition, PSPDFKit’s annotation format, Instant JSON, was instrumental in addressing a critical construction industry need: slip sheeting. This process involves programmatically applying annotations from old PDF drawings to new revisions, guaranteeing that important markups aren’t lost. The ability to handle such specific requirements highlighted PSPDFKit’s adaptability and suitability for CMiC’s needs.

“As the years have gone on, we are using pretty much every annotation type PSPDFKit has,” Cangiano said. “I really like that we have a relationship with such a collaborative vendor. Even as PSPDFKit has grown, we still feel like we have that kind of a personal touch.”

Enhancing Efficiency and Growth with Advanced PSPDFKit Solutions

CMiC clients have experienced significant benefits from integrating PSPDFKit’s solutions. In the highly competitive construction space, providing the features customers need is crucial. PSPDFKit played a key role in helping CMiC meet these demands. As Cangiano noted, “It’s a very, very competitive space, and I think that it would have hurt us quite a bit to not have that [drawing management] solution in place.”

By partnering with PSPDFKit, CMiC avoided the need to allocate a large budget and team to maintain its own PDF engine, which would have been less efficient. “We were able to close that gap from starting much faster than we would have otherwise,” Cangiano said. “And we were able to allow our engineers to not become PDF viewing engine experts.”

PSPDFKit annotation tools, especially the overlay and comparison features, are critical for construction projects, making drawing management a core part of CMiC’s module. This system was attractive to customers who needed integrated accounting and project management solutions. Drawing management capabilities are a core component of CMiC’s application and have contributed to CMiC’s healthy double-digit growth in both enterprise and SaaS categories. Cangiano shared that it’s “a core component of the application,” and with the growth in revenue, “a big part of that could be attributed to a stronger project management solution.”

The Impact of PSPDFKit on CMiC Clients

The comprehensive annotation tools and reliable performance of PSPDFKit have made CMiC’s platform more attractive, even to customers who may not immediately use all of its features. The strength of the project management solution and the potential for future efficiencies have been key factors in closing new business deals, which has improved CMiC’s market position.

CMiC has maintained a strategic partnership with PSPDFKit for more than a decade, during which PSPDFKit has evolved into a fundamental element of CMiC’s application, significantly enhancing the company’s project management solutions. Cangiano expressed deep appreciation, stating that PSPDFKit is “one of our most critical and prioritized strategic partners, as well. PSPDFKit is obviously a long-standing customer, but the company and its products also help influence our roadmap.” This acknowledgment emphasizes the vital role that the partnership plays in shaping CMiC’s future directions.