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.

Magdalena Szyba

Business Development, Todis Consulting

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