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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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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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Deltek partner of the year Interview with Silversoft MD – Jacques du Buisson

A Journey To Global Success:
How Silversoft became Deltek’s International Partner of the Year for the 5th year running

 

South Africa has produced some of the world’s brightest and most talented people. Political and sports personalities aside, the likes of Elon Musk, Trevor Noah and Black Coffee currently dominate headlines and are impacting the world in ways they could never have once imagined. 

There’s just something about South Africans and their unique combination of strength of character, ambition, and ability to work hard.

There are several notable software technology successes too. The latest of which is a South African business called Silversoft. 

Siversoft is a reseller, partner and developer of enterprise software solutions for people and project-centric organisations. The company works in close partnership with global project management software leader, Deltek and specialises in helping fast-growing professional services firms, including some of the biggest names in Agency, Engineering, Consulting, Legal and Accounting, to deploy and maximise ROI on Deltek’s range of solutions.

Silversoft is also the first Deltek partner to be recognised as International Partner of the Year for five years in a row – which is a huge achievement!

We met with Silversoft’s Managing Director, Jacques du Buisson, who founded the firm and leads their global charge, to find out how they did it, why it matters, and what they’re doing next.

Q: Tell us about this award and why it’s such a coveted prize

Jacques: Every year Deltek announces its global partner award winners in a range of categories – this year there were nine categories. Of course, the International Partner of the Year is a significant achievement on a global scale, as it means that we are the partner that has performed beyond expectations both in the the markets we serve and in the various products and locations in which we collaborate with Deltek.

Being named international partner of the year confirms the great work our firm has been doing to deliver deep, functional and innovative solutions to our clients, while working hand-in-hand with Deltek to tailor our offering to suit our markets. This kind of recognition confirms that we are doing the right thing.

Q: Why do you think Silversoft won the award this year?

Jacques: I believe that it’s a combination of a few things, the most important being that we have remained completely dedicated to our strategy, especially our commitment to – and investment in – a partnership with Deltek. In the last year this has included a significant focus on international growth.

We work very closely with Deltek. We know their excellent solutions inside-out and, after 15 years, we know exactly how to implement, customise and onboard clients across the professional services market, so that our customers maximise their return on investment as fast as possible.

Silversoft’s deep contextual knowledge, ambition and ability to win new customers, and then to successfully implement and support Deltek solutions is what sets us apart. This drives healthy year-on-year growth in our user base, and has enabled us to scale into the UK and beyond.

Q: What does this recognition mean to you and the team?

Jacques: It’s a great validation of our strategy and hard work. We know that we have a good business model and that our firm has a bright future ahead of it.

Also, we’re passionate about Deltek’s solutions. We believe that they’re best on the market, and we’re proud of our role in building the Deltek Project Nation community.

Five years of consecutive recognition for excellence drives home the fact that we are making the right decisions for our people, clients and partners. It’s a big deal and pushes us to maintain such standards.

Q: What sets Silversoft apart from similar service providers?

Jacques: We have well over a decade of experience in addressing the core challenges of project-centric businesses. We apply this experience throughout our client engagements, helping clients create an environment for their people to thrive, maximising utilisation of their team, improving cash flow, and optimising working capital. 

Service-centric firms need to be flexible and agile in order to survive, and our team works very closely with them to ensure that the technology they use helps to protect their profit margins and creates a platform for best practice and growth. We relentlessly focus on ensuring our best-of-breed technology enhances the entire project lifecycle, while minimising time to value. 

This approach illuminates the pathway for decision making and has been working well so far. We’re particularly excited by the many international opportunities opening up to us as we scale.

Q:  What’s your approach to hiring and keeping the best talent in South Africa, and what does this award mean for your team?

Jacques: Our approach is to hire great people who are also experts from the industries we serve. We want people who have managed traffic in a creative agency, or managed complex projects in an engineering firm, because we know that they truly understand the challenges our clients face. The project industry can be complex and intensive, and the more experience we have inside the markets we serve, the better.

Our team lives our values and we consistently punch above our weight, always looking to employ hard-working, ambitious people that reflect our culture and values.  So we know that winning this award from a global leader like Deltek is a reflection of the talent of our people. They have an excellent standard of service delivery and now they’re seen as the benchmark in the industry. 

Not only can they rest assured that Silversoft is a safe and stable employer, but also that their future careers will be bolstered by the fact that they have worked at one of the top international firms in this industry.

Q: How do you find space to innovate and add value when Silversoft is a reseller? 

Jacques: Innovation is one of Silversoft’s core values, but you’re right, it’s very difficult to innovate when you’re not in control of product development. Deltek have really proven their leadership in the project space and we partner closely with them to deliver on that.

That being said, we consistently strive to think creatively and find new ways to add further value for our clients. For us it’s all about improving the project lifecycle and reducing the time to value. Project-centric firms need the tools to deliver amazing services. That’s what they rely on us for, and that’s what we’re very good at.

We are also always looking at how to improve and speed up the way we implement and support Deltek products for our customers. In a demanding industry, time to value is key in all we deliver.

This is where we apply our creativity and development capability. More recently we used our experience in the industry to develop a product that fulfills a very specific requirement in our market, that will soon be available on the Deltek Marketplace. The product is called ‘Boost’ and it’s a great little plug-in that completely removes the effort of completing traditional timesheets. We know that incomplete and inaccurate timesheets cause a lot of pain for our clients, and we’re thrilled that we have found a way to automate this tedious and often contentious task. Imagine if you could just focus on your work, while the software learns how to track your time automatically!

To find out more about how silversoft can assit your professional services firm, visit our site www.silversoft.co.za for more information

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4 Keys to Agency Growth

Running an agency is all about change and growth. No matter what, the one thing you can never afford to do is to stop growing. It’s the nature of a professional services business. You need a constant flow of new clients, new employees, new processes and new technology.

In this article, we have rounded up some interesting and clever marketing agency growth tips. Give them a try and let us know which ones had the biggest impact on your business.

Ensure your pitches capture your true value

Marketers are usually great at identifying the unique selling points of their clients, but when it comes to selling their own services, they easily undersell their value.

This is partly because it’s tricky to dedicate time to your proposals and pitches when most of your people are busy with billable client work. And then there’s the fact that things move at such a fast pace in the agency world.

When last did you update your proposal documents? If you haven’t refreshed them in the last six months, then chances are that you’re missing the opportunity to include some excellent projects and new clients.

To ensure that your proposals capture your true value:

  • Show that you understand your prospective clients’ business challenges
  • Show how your agency is the best one to help overcome these specific challenges
  • Include relevant example projects and customer testimonials
  • Explain your processes and what they can expect when they start working with you
  • Keep your pricing clear and simple

Need to update your proposal template? We’ve created one for you.

Get your proposal template here

Nurture existing client relationships

Networking and referrals are probably your biggest source of new business, but don’t forget that your existing customer base is a great source of new business. Think about how you can expand your services within key accounts, for example by adding new services such as video editing, podcast creation, etc.

Monthly or quarterly newsletters are a great way to share new client, service and project highlights with your existing customers.

Take your own advice 

Agencies often suffer from a case of “the cobbler’s shoes”, talking to clients on a daily basis about the importance of building a compelling website, and investing in digital marketing, advertising, SEO and social media, without taking their own advice.

If team capacity is a problem, consider creating a “moonlight marketplace” where you can post “jobs” that employees can bid on and complete in their own time for extra income.

Ensure your processes are scalable

Prepare your agency for growth by setting up processes that can scale with the agency. Poor process and unfit technology are a common challenge for marketing agencies that suddenly experience fast growth.

To learn more about the processes that are central to agency growth, and how Silversoft can help you set them up, please visit: https://silversoft.co.za/industries/advertising-marcoms/

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Silversoft Podcast Series | Growing Up – Where are you in your Agency journey?

Silversoft is proud to release its first Podcast. ( we aim to improve as this was our first attempt at this)

Our podcasts will be structured to be an open forum to discuss key trends in the Agency sector.

At Silversoft we have had the privilege of working with many of the leading agencies in the UK and surrounds and we have observed some very specific thinking in how agencies are framing their businesses for success.

Our First podcast will be a series of 3 titled “this is Growing Up”. This first episode is titled “Platform for scale and growth” and discusses the journey an agency goes on and why an agency should look at what solution and platform they put down to ensure that they lay the right foundation to assist them to scale and grow during their journey.

We hope you enjoy it.

https://youtu.be/y3kHVV-OlLk

 

 

 

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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 wins Deltek International Partner of the Year for the 5th year running.

Deltek Announces Its Global Partner Award Winners for 2021

Deltek recognizes innovation and achievements of partners, including Baker Tilly, CrunchTech, ConstructConnect, Infotek Consulting, insightsoftware, Full Sail Partners, Silversoft, Smartsoftware and Stambaugh Ness

Herndon, VA – April 12, 2022 – Deltek, the leading global provider of software and solutions for project-based businesses, announced the winners of its annual Global Partner Awards during its virtual Partner Kickoff event held earlier today. This year, nine partners were recognized for their outstanding accomplishments in 2021.

The Deltek Partner Network amplifies enterprise software offerings for project-based businesses and expands the Deltek customer base around the world. Through Deltek partners, more companies can experience better project intelligence enabling them to make better decisions about their business and manage their unique projects in a collaborative and end-to-end platform.

This year, Deltek recognized the significant accomplishments of nine partners which represent the program’s systems integrators, value-added resellers, independent software vendors, accounting firms, and consulting firms:

 

“Deltek is proud to collaborate with our partner network, which enables thousands of customers to continue to strengthen their businesses,” said Natasha Engan, Senior Vice President, Deltek Global Sales. “It is an honor to recognize the outstanding achievements and innovation of these partners. We look forward to a fantastic year ahead with the Deltek Project Nation community as we continue to expand our program globally.”

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

 

About Deltek
Better software means better projects. Deltek is the leading global provider of enterprise software and information solutions for project-based businesses. More than 30,000 organizations and millions of users in over 80 countries around the world rely on Deltek for superior levels of project intelligence, management, and collaboration. Our industry-focused expertise powers project success by helping firms achieve performance that maximizes productivity and revenue. www.deltek.com

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