Deltek, a global leader in ERP software for professional services firms, revolutionizes project management with Dela – an integrated AI-powered business companion.
Industry Challenges: Insights from Deltek Clarity Report
Professional services firms face inflation, rising interest rates, and an aging workforce – 75% worry about recruiting talent in 2024. Project complexity ranks as the top issue (per the 5th Annual Deltek Clarity Report). 67% expect market share loss without significant digital transformation. AI/ML provides a “single source of truth”: a unified view of contracts, budgets, resources, and KPIs, automating routine tasks and empowering teams.
Current AI Adoption in the Sector
38% of firms use AI to automate business processes, 37% to predict project outcomes, and 30% to detect financial anomalies. Benefits include: over 50% of architecture/consulting firms shortening project timelines; engineering/consulting improving operational efficiency; architecture reducing labor costs. 72% agree AI boosts employee satisfaction by enhancing communication and retaining digital natives.
Adoption Barriers and the AI Task Force Strategy
Over 50% cite challenges like lack of AI tool context and workforce awareness. Solution: Form a small AI Task Force (IT, legal, operations) for low-risk pilots. Start by demystifying AI – define use cases with clear benefits (e.g., ERP/CRM summaries). Delegate, educate, minimize disruption, and align with business goals for leadership buy-in.
AI Across the Project Lifecycle: Phase-by-Phase Breakdown
WIN Phase (Winning Business)
- Predictive Estimations: AI processes historical data, factoring in variables, for precise cost/timeline forecasts – ending manual errors.
- Content Generation: NLP reads ERP/CRM data to create proposal content and project summaries (e.g., solution overviews).
- Interactive Document Chat: NLP indexes docs; chatbots answer specific queries like “What did John say about the June survey?”
MANAGE Phase (Project Management)
- Resource Optimization: Predicts skills/availability based on requirements and pipeline.
- Proactive Risk Prediction: Historical analysis alerts on budget overruns or profit target misses.
DEVELOP Phase (Team Development)
- Automated Timesheets: Fills sheets from daily activity – quick review and submit.
- Talent Development: Personalized training, real-time feedback, attrition prediction for retention.
DELIVER Phase (Project Delivery)
- Knowledge Base Creation: Auto-builds project repos with version control, change alerts; gen AI for handover summaries.
- Invoice Assistance: ICR reads invoices, enters vouchers, verifies vendors.
MEASURE Phase (Performance Measurement)
- Anomaly Detection: ML learns baselines, flags irregularities (e.g., expenses).
- Automated KPI Reporting: Tracks metrics, dashboards, forecasting from patterns.
Dela: Seamless ERP Integration
Dela embeds AI into Deltek’s Costpoint, Maconomy, etc. – no costly custom dev needed. Benefits: Concise insights from big data, project success prediction (resources/history), natural language assistance. For 30,000 firms in 80 countries: intelligent growth, maximized revenue/productivity. “Better software means better projects” – Deltek.
AI augments, doesn’t replace – from win to measure. For Polish services firms, it’s a competitiveness edge in the AI era.
