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[Infographic] Deltek Clarity Architecture and Engineering Industry Study 2023

The 44th Annual Deltek Clarity Architecture & Engineering Study

The 44th Annual Deltek Clarity Architecture & Engineering Study is a comprehensive report that provides insights into the state of the A&E industry. The study was conducted between January and March 2023, and included data from a variety of firms from all sizes and regions across the United States and Canada.

The study found that the A&E industry is facing a number of challenges, including increasing competition, rising costs, and a shortage of skilled labor. However, the study also found that the industry is still growing, and that there are opportunities for firms that are able to adapt to the changing landscape.

The study includes a number of valuable insights for A&E firms, including:

  • How to compete in a crowded market
  • How to manage rising costs
  • How to attract and retain skilled labor
  • How to use technology to improve efficiency

The full study is available for download on the Deltek website. To download the study, click here: [link to study]

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The Power of a Project Management System

The choice is yours: the collaboration between your agency and your client on the latest campaign can either be a pain point or a productive process. It all depends on the project management system you have in place, the briefing process, and how you allow your client to get involved and manage this communication effectively.

The importance of the creative brief

The brief is a vital part of the project management process, as it helps you, your team and the client clearly understand the goals and constraints of the campaign. When you get the briefing process right, your agency benefits in a number of ways:

  • Saving time and money – a clear brief means fewer revisions and changes at a later stage
  • Inspiration – a good brief will get your team thinking out of the box to bring it to life

  • Deltek WorkBook

    A reference point – when reviewing the project at any point, you should always be able to check if it’s reflecting the requirements of the brief

Collaboration with the client is key…but also a lot of work  

Naturally, the client will be the one to hand you the brief explaining what they want achieved. The problem here is that, although some clients provide a detailed brief of what they want, many clients only turn in a half-thought-out brief or a confusing concept they’re unable to explain. But because the brief is the foundation of any creative project or campaign, it’s crucial that the client is given more agency to collaborate with the team until the brief is as clear and detailed as it can be.

However, managing a project is a time-consuming and sometimes overwhelming process – having to juggle the expectations and needs of everyone from executive management to the creative team – so, it may seem that going back and forth on emails with the client to gain clarity on a brief might just be asking too much.

This is why every project manager or project lead should be using a management system that not only helps you to track your projects and handle the financial side of things but is also a collaboration tool – designed to help you prioritise your communication with clients and make better strategic decisions about projects.

Using a project management system to make your creative workflow, well, flow

Raise your hand if you’ve got more than three apps or programs on your computer or phone that help you to manage various functions of the project. Most project managers end up having one tool for communication purposes, one tool for task-planning, one for document sharing and so on. Most of them don’t have anything to help with the initial briefing process and client collaboration. In a recent poll we took during a webinar, we found that 67% of those surveyed don’t currently use a software system for briefing.

Deltek WorkBook

But imagine you had one system that did it all and, most importantly, allowed you to have better alignment with your clients at the beginning of the project process. You’d no longer have to worry about remembering the login details for the 10 different management programs you’ve been using, but instead would reap the benefits of using the right software, such as being able to:

  • streamline projects, people and finance from end to end in one best practice solution designed to help you grow;
  • boost productivity and optimise utilisation through better project and resource planning; and
  • increase profitability and control costs by scoping accurately, increasing efficiency and reducing delays.

Power your agency’s success with Deltek WorkBook

Built by agency veterans, Deltek WorkBook is a total agency management system that provides best practice solutions to help your agency grow. WorkBook makes it easier to focus on your clients and make strategic decisions for the future by streamlining projects, people and finance from end to end, giving you better control, insight and visibility at any time.

WorkBook’s client portal feature, enables you to:

  • Streamline the briefing process between the client and internal teams
  • Provide clients with an easy login to the system and determine whether they can create a new brief or just view current briefs
  • Give client contacts access to new jobs created by the studio as well as remove client access to jobs that have been closed or cancelled
  • Easily liaise with clients, using the cleverly designed customer portal

Want to ensure your project process starts with a clear brief and is streamlined with helpful collaboration with your client?

Too find out more about Deltek WorkBook complete the form below:

 

 

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5 Steps To Scaling Your Agency

5 handy steps to scale your operations without falling behind

With great expansion comes great responsibility.

Making new connections and supplying top-of-the-range services are key targets for agencies. It feels affirming to win new business, but while your company grows, your internal and external operations need to keep up.

It can be challenging to scale operations with a myriad of technologies and partner services to choose from.

Fear not, as here are five key ways to grow and stay ahead of the pack.

  1. Identify your niche…

…and stick to it!

One pitfall that agencies face when starting out is being ‘people pleasers’ – trying to adapt operations to suit every single need. This will stretch your business capabilities into areas that aren’t necessary and hinder your growth.

Instead, identify exactly what your most successful services are with current clients, define your unique selling points, and run with them. That way, you can focus your attention on what really matters and deliver the best experiences to those that you work with.

  1. Get your data right!

Data still remains ‘the new oil’, offering invaluable insight into your employees, leads and clients alike. Analysing data can help to best understand how you can tailor your product or services better to suit their needs.

However, data (whether customer-focused, financial or employee information) is often stored across multiple systems for differing parts of the business. Sales teams use one lead generation tool, the hiring team uses another recruitment platform, and marketers favour content management systems. Where do you start to collate this information?

Begin with an internal audit – how many systems do you use, and which are efficient in holding the correct data? You should limit the number of systems you use to be able to pinpoint useful data quickly and easily. This planning will also identify any gaps in where you need to hire to adapt to scale.

  1. Hire across the business

When you know exactly where you need extra hands, get hiring!

A growing business not only needs new entry level candidates to handle the bread-and-butter services that define you, but also more experienced leaders with topic expertise that can take your renown to new levels. Particularly when it comes to content marketing for lead generation. Many tend to outsource creative roles such as this in B2B –

84% of companies that outsource talent see content creation as the most useful marketing tool. So long as the data and processes outlined above can work for freelancers or outsourced workers.

Recruitment can either take place internally or through partnering with third-party hiring agencies; whatever is the most flexible and scalable solution to attract the right people for your business.

  1. Integrate helpful tools

We get it, marketing or sales stacks can consist of many useful technologies to benefit your operations. But these internal tools can be siloed. Instead, it is best to limit the number of platforms you use and integrate them so that data is cross-referenced.

There are useful CRMs such as HubSpot or Salesforce to serve as databases for client and employee information, as well as handling and tracking marketing distribution and activity with great integrations available.

Communication is key not just for your third-party vendors, clients and outsourced workers, but also internally. Messaging platforms including Slack can integrate with other web services with ease so that everyone is on the same page.

  1. Document everything

Multiple platforms, new employees, and growing leads add up to a lot of moving parts. But when scaling, you should not forget what your company stands for.

Defining your purpose and internal company culture is incredibly important. Be transparent about your core values and expectations – the easiest way is through simple documentation that can be stored as a resource for current employees and new hires. All communication can also be handled through project management tools to bring everyone under one umbrella or via a complete agency management tool.

Employees will appreciate a company that is not only ambitious in scale, but one that values all those that work hard to get them to loftier heights.

Start scaling today

Scaling a business can be tricky, but help is at hand. For practical insights on how to grow, fill out your details onthe form below.

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How could new technology improve your AEC firm’s daily processes?

This document is designed to help AEC firms think about how they can use emerging technology to transform their processes. You’ll see that each section has a list of questions and prompts to help you brainstorm, as well space to note ideas and doodle.

Fill out your details below to download the prompter

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[Infographic] Deltek Clarity Architecture and Engineering Industry Study 2022

For the last 43 years, Deltek has conducted an annual survey of firms in the Architecture & Engineering industry to identify key performance indicators, market conditions and industry trends. The Study is developed in collaboration with industry organizations.

More than 540 firms participated in the Study, representing a broad cross-section of businesses within the Architecture and Engineering industry in North America.

The online survey was developed in partnership with CMG Consulting and conducted between February and March 2022, with financial metrics captured covering 2021 financial performance. The 43rd Annual Deltek Clarity Architecture & Engineering Study includes data from a variety of firms from all sizes and geographies across the United States and Canada

Fill out the form below to download the Report

If you would like to find out how Silversoft could assist your firm to improve on any of your internal systems and processes to be in line with industry standards, please click this link to schedule a call.

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Silversoft International welcomes Agency industry & Martech expert, René Praestholm as Chief Growth Officer to scale global Agency Solution Offering

Silversoft, a leading international enterprise software firm, is thrilled to announce the appointment of René Praestholm as its new international Chief Growth Officer. In this newly appointed group role, René will lead the Agency Solutions division, driving growth and scale internationally and ensuring that the firm continues to deliver leading innovative solutions to agencies worldwide.

 

René is an accomplished Martech industry leader with decades of experience in the agency space. He was one of the founding members of WorkBook, a leading agency management software platform that went on to successfully scale globally before selling to Deltek in 2017. His extensive expertise and passion for the industry make him the ideal candidate to help take Silversoft’s Agency Solutions offering to the next level.

 

“We are thrilled to welcome René to the team,” said Jacques du Buisson, CEO. “His track record of success and deep contextual knowledge of the agency space make him the perfect fit to help drive growth and deliver the best possible solution suite to our agency clients around the world. We are excited to see what he will achieve in his new role and look forward to working together with René to reimagine our offering to our agency clients, and future prospects looking to partner with our firm.

 

René will be based in Copenhagen and will be driving international growth from London, focusing on three primary pillars: Marketing, Customer Acquisition & Product. His appointment is a significant milestone in Silversoft’s ongoing efforts to expand its reach and provide innovative solutions to service-based firms worldwide.

 

“I am honoured and excited to be joining such an exciting company, on an amazing growth trajectory, and taking the lead in the Agency Solutions division,” said Praestholm. “I believe the company’s unwavering focus on delivering cutting-edge purpose-built solutions to agencies is second to none, and I am eager to help them achieve even greater success. I look forward to working with the talented Silversoft team, both in the growth of the Deltek WorkBook & Magnetic portfolios, but also in ensuring we continue to develop innovate solutions that make a real difference in the agency space.”

 

Silversoft, recently named Deltek’s international partner of the year (ROW) for the sixth consecutive year, continues to deliver leading enterprise software that provides innovative solutions to service-based firms. With a focus on agency solutions, the company helps organizations improve their operational efficiency and increase profitability

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Agency Management Tools: Is It Time For An Upgrade?

 

Here’s a question: how has the pandemic shaped the way your employees prefer to work today?

I bet they’ve all embraced remote working, and the better work-life balance it gives them.

Here’s another question: how has the pandemic changed the way your agency manages its work?

You’ve probably adopted a messaging platform like Slack or Teams, maybe got more rigorous with scheduling and project management. Not to mention document sharing and version control upgrades.

And here’s my last question: how many new pieces of technology have you introduced, and are they all siloed, or have you managed to integrate them?

We’ve been posting a series of articles for agency leaders, and this month we’re looking at the technology that enables greater efficiency and visibility across the agency.

Investigating the best agency management tools

Change is never easy – and people generally don’t like changing up their tech – but taking the time to think holistically about the technology your agency uses can make a huge difference.

Here are some of the technology most agencies have in place:

  • Sales, marketing and pipeline management
  • Resource management
  • Project management
  • Collaboration and teamwork
  • Document and file sharing
  • Proofing and approvals processes
  • Finance and accounting

Assuming your agency has all of these tools, you’re managing (and paying for) at least eight different pieces of software. That’s a lot of technology to keep track of!

Considering end-to-end agency management tools

Keeping everything together and creating process workflows that run from the very start of a relationship with a new client and throughout their lifecycle could be a game changer for your agency. In fact, many agencies “upgrade” their technology when they get serious about growth.

Did you know there’s a category of software especially designed to help agency owners and managers run their companies more efficiently? They include modules for everything from proposal-stage, to project management and time-tracking, and all the way to reporting and invoicing. They connect everything, ensure nothing falls through the cracks, and provide total visibility into every sale, project and process.

Not sure which agency management tools are best for you?

If you’re ready to conduct an audit of your agency’s technology and want to introduce the best tech, then you might find our buyer’s guide useful.

It’ll help you work out what your agency needs and how to compare vendors.

 

 

Fill out the form below to view the infographic

Learn more about Silversoft’s agency management software

Our agency management software is trusted by growing agencies around the world. You can learn more about them here: https://silversoft.co.uk/solutions/

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Silversoft Named “Partner of the Year for Rest of World” for the 6th Consecutive Year

Deltek Announces the Winners of Its Global Partner of the Year Awards

Herndon, VA – February 8, 2023 – Deltek, the leading global provider of software and solutions for project-based businesses, today announced the winners of its annual Global Partner of the Year Awards. This year’s awards recognize the significant accomplishments of outstanding companies in the Deltek Partner Network. They represent the best of the vibrant global ecosystem of systems integrators (SIs), value-added resellers (VARs), independent software vendors (ISVs), accounting firms and consulting firms.

Deltek’s partner programs provide flexibility for companies to resell, co-sell, refer, implement and consult – all supported by Deltek’s commitment to make each partnership a success. Partners amplify enterprise software offerings for project-based businesses and expand the Deltek customer base around the world.

This year, newly created award categories were added to recognize partners that are successful in focusing on new industries and new customers – the Net-New Customers Award – as well as those partners that exhibit excellent potential – with the Rising Star Awards. Deltek recognized a total of 11 partners in the following categories:

“Congratulations to all our award-winning partners on a successful year! It is an honor to recognize the outstanding achievements and innovation of these partners,” said Mike Hines, Vice President of the Global Partner Alliance at Deltek. “It’s an exciting time to be part of the Deltek ecosystem – we have a lot in store for partners in 2023, including new programs and new routes to market. Thanks to the Deltek Project Nation community and the ever-growing expansion of our partner community, 2023 promises to be a successful year for all.”

To learn more about Deltek’s global partner ecosystem and the benefits of the program, visit https://www.deltek.com/en/partners.

 

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5 Sustainable engineering projects to inspire your firm to go green

Engineering firms should, by their very nature, be interested in sustainability. After all, their objective is to solve problems and make things function in a better way, and right now our world is in dire need of solutions for global climate change, dealing with plastic waste and finding new sources of sustainable energy.

If this is interesting to your firm but you’re not sure how you could contribute or what kind of projects you should look out for, maybe this article will help you. We have rounded up some of the most interesting sustainable engineering projects from around the world.

Dell Technologies harvests & recycles plastics from oceans

Dell has created a new supply chain that recovers ocean-bound plastics, putting them back into its packaging instead of letting them wash out to sea. The company says it works with suppliers to collect, process and mix plastics with other recycled material to create molded trays used for packaging select products. The trays are made from 50% ocean-bound plastic and 50% recycled HDPE plastic, using no virgin materials.

Learn more about Dell’s sustainability projects here.

Anne Wrobetz is an adjunct instructor in CU Boulder’s Engineering Management Program, and shared her insights on this project in a recent article, saying, “It’s positive for Dell. They’ve had to make this initial upfront investment but over the long run they are saving a lot of money and they are becoming recognised as an industry leader in the field of sustainable business. They are making all of this information available to other companies in an effort to get them to also start thinking about where their plastics come from and how they can change their supply chain and really leverage these new ideas. It sets them apart from their competitors and gives them a competitive advantage.”

Newlight creates AirCarbon sustainable plastic

AirCarbon was developed by Newlight Technologies. They use natural ocean microorganisms to make PHB from air and greenhouse gas. Unlike synthetic materials, the AirCarbon molecule is a molecule made throughout nature, and can be re-consumed by natural microorganisms like leaves or twigs, enabling life to restore itself.

Recently featured on CNN, AirCarbon has won many awards for its innovative sustainability. It’s a verified carbon-negative material, meaning every step of its production and use is fully green and sustainable. Because it is not made from oil like other plastics, it is also a cost-effective alternative to other synthetic materials.

Learn more about AirCarbon here.

EONEF brings electricity to disaster zones

Developed by French start-up EONEF, Zéphyr is a photovoltaic balloon and eco-friendly generator . The autonomous aerial platform takes the form of a helium balloon.

It was created to help emergency services deploy telecommunications networks in under an hour when dealing with crises and emergencies, providing field teams with live data using a fixed-point camera.

It’s also used for scientific missions including measuring air quality and observing wildlife, and for extended protection of sensitive sites.

Learn more about Zéphyr here.

The Svart Hotel: the world’s first energy-positive hotel

The Svart Hotel in northern Norway will be the first energy positive hotel in the world.

Set to open in 2022, Svart is “Inspired by local coastal building traditions and nature, dissolving the boundary between land and water. We aim to transform how we look at hotels and introduce hotels’ future through a sustainable, innovative approach to design, technology, construction, operation and guest journey.”

Designed by architects Snøhetta and engineering consultants Asplan Vaak, this hotel aims to create more energy than it uses. With an annual energy consumption that is expected to be 85% lower than other hotels, it will harvest enough solar power to cover all on-site energy needs, including the energy required for construction.

Learn more about the Svart hotel here.

Pavegen Systems uses steps to generate energy

Pavegen’s award-winning smart street pathway converts the kinetic energy of people’s footsteps into electrical energy and data. One footstep produces enough energy to light an LED light bulb for approximately 20 seconds.

The company aims to build awareness and help create highly engaging consumer experiences, while educating and inspiring stakeholders in the hope that, eventually, footsteps could power whole cities.

Learn more about Pavegen here.

Baby steps towards sustainability

As inspiring as these sustainable engineering projects are, they require big budgets and ambitious clients. Sometimes the best way to become more sustainable is through a series of smaller changes to the way we run our offices and source materials.

To help you think about how your firm can “go green” we’ve created a handy summary for you to download.

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[Infographic] Deltek Clarity: Architecture and Engineering Industry Study 2022

For the last 43 years, Deltek has conducted an annual survey of firms in the Architecture & Engineering industry to identify key performance indicators, market conditions and industry trends. The Study is developed in collaboration with industry organizations.

More than 540 firms participated in the Study, representing a broad cross-section of businesses within the Architecture and Engineering industry in North America.

The online survey was developed in partnership with CMG Consulting and conducted between February and March 2022, with financial metrics captured covering 2021 financial performance. The 43rd Annual Deltek Clarity Architecture & Engineering Study includes data from a variety of firms from all sizes and geographies across the United States and Canada

Fill out the form below to download the Report

If you would like to find out how Silversoft could assist your firm to improve on any of your internal systems and processes to be in line with industry standards, please click this link to schedule a call.

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