Customer Case Study
Sebesta Blomberg

Deltek Vision^® Connect helps engineering and design firm build a bridge between Microsoft^® Outlook and CRM

The Challenge

For over 15 years, Sebesta Blomberg has garnered a reputation as a leader in promoting and providing sustainable, full-service engineering and design services. From planning to implementation and optimization, Sebesta Blomberg has excelled in delivering integrated custom solutions to clients from government and education to transportation and health care.

However, while CRM users were happy, Deltek Vision CRM adoption was slower than anticipated among employees, and important data within Vision CRM was not getting updated because many employees were managing key tasks in Microsoft Outlook. For a 200-person firm built on relationships, not having one view into customer activity was an issue for the company. "It was a struggle to keep that CRM data maintained and current," reported JJ Brantingham, Sebesta Blomberg CIO. "Users were willing to update the data, just not across two systems."

Users were very comfortable with Microsoft Outlook, and often chose to update contact, calendar and activity information there, where the rest of the organization couldn't share it. When Vision CRM data was updated, it was a time-consuming process of re-entering data that users had already entered in Outlook, or vice-versa. Management saw an immediate need for a solution that would keep data up-to-date without duplicating entry or complicating day-to-day operations.

The Solution

Long-time Deltek customer Sebesta Blomberg investigated several options, none of which provided seamless, integrated CRM syncing. However, as part of the Deltek Early Adopter Program, Sebesta Blomberg was approached to be one of the first organizations worldwide to implement Deltek's newest Vision module - Vision Connect for Microsoft Outlook. "We were fortunate to be early adopters and get access to Vision Connect. It was exactly the kind of solution we were looking for," Brantingham said.

Developed specifically to leverage the power of Vision and the familiarity of Microsoft Outlook, Vision Connect enables business development and marketing professionals to perform important and common Vision tasks directly in Microsoft Outlook - saving time and increasing user adoption of any organization's CRM system. Initially a pilot program, Sebesta Blomberg is implementing Vision Connect enterprise-wide by the end of 2010.

The Benefit

Sebesta Blomberg management immediately recognized the inherent benefit of users continuing to manage contacts, appointments, activities and opportunities within Outlook, while seamlessly synchronizing updates and changes with Vision CRM. "The fact that our users have all this power, but access it through a familiar environment, made adoption smooth and simple," Brantingham added. "We haven't changed what we do, but overall, we're much more efficient."

With Vision Connect, Sebesta Blomberg can continue to use Outlook as it always has, but will now contribute to a much larger, much more efficient and accurate database of CRM data in Deltek Vision. This reliable, up-to-date data will enable management to easily generate reports, assess relationships, view current opportunity status, and make smarter business decisions.

In order to keep data current, there is no longer a need to bounce back and forth between applications, hand off hard-copy business cards, or forward v-cards or contact information via e-mail. Vision Connect decreases the chance of errors and inaccuracies, and increases overall efficiency since more time can be spent on core tasks.

"Even as early adopters we've seen an impact - and anticipate it growing exponentially as we roll Vision Connect out across all 200 employees," Brantingham concluded.

Sebesta Blomberg At A Glance

Company Name: Sebesta Blomberg
Headquarters: Roseville, MN, USA
Primary Business: Sebesta Blomberg is a leading provider of full-service engineering and design services, supporting mission goals of federal, municipal, health care, transportation, and education clients with custom sustainable solutions.
URL: www.sebesta.com