Modernizing for Growth: How Bowman Scaled Its Success with Deltek Vantagepoint

Bowman, a publicly traded (NASDAQ:BWMN) multi-disciplinary engineering consulting firm, modernized its core project and financial systems by upgrading from Deltek Vision to Deltek Vantagepoint and migrating to the Deltek Cloud. The initiative was designed to support rapid organic and acquisition growth, strengthen financial controls, reduce employee friction, and give project and finance teams real-time visibility into performance.

From large commercial developments and data centers to local transportation projects and utility infrastructure, Bowman is known for delivering outstanding results, building lasting relationships, and adapting to clients' evolving needs. With 2,400 employees across more than 100 offices, the firm's organic and acquisition growth has created a need for technology that can scale just as efficiently. After relying on Deltek Vision since 2003, Bowman decided to modernize and upgrade to Deltek Vantagepoint; enabling the foundation for future growth.

Upgrading from Vision to Vantagepoint

According to Matthew Mullenix, CIO, Vision had served Bowman well for many years, but modernization became essential as the firm rapidly expanded. "We ran Vision on-premises for a long time, and it worked well, but we knew it was time to make the upgrade," Matthew explained. “Vantagepoint's web interface, improved analytics tools, and enhanced features made it the logical next step." Moving to Vantagepoint in the Deltek Cloud simplified the firm's system operations, improved accessibility, and removed the need for a VPN just to connect.

Stephanie Adams, Senior Vice President of Accounting, Finance and Business Information Systems, echoed that sentiment, noting that the firm's rapid expansion required a more dynamic and user-friendly platform. "As the firm grew, we needed a better tool with stronger reporting and visibility. We were impressed by what we saw at the Deltek ProjectCon user conference and felt it was the right time to upgrade from Vision to Vantagepoint."

The firm's implementation moved quickly, supported by Deltek partners Aktion Associates, which handled the technical aspects, and Lemon Consulting, which provided business consulting and dashboard design expertise.

Unlocking Efficiency and Visibility

With Vantagepoint in place, Bowman quickly began realizing tangible benefits. Many home-grown applications the firm once relied on were eliminated, streamlining operations and reducing redundancy. "During the planning process, we determined we could eliminate more than half of our custom tools by moving analytics, dashboards, and workflows, like bulk timesheet approvals, directly into Vantagepoint," Matthew explained.

From an accounting standpoint, the change has been equally transformative. "We're now leveraging the online billing tool to markup invoices directly in the system, which has been a big win for SOX compliance," said Leslie Nichols, Director of Business Administration. Stephanie added that the system's interactive dashboards have replaced many static reports the firm used to distribute. "Vantagepoint offers a better way of seeing information. We replaced many of our scheduled reports with interactive dashboards, and we've started to see real traction in how our operations teams are engaging with the data, asking questions, and making decisions based on current insights."

The improvements extend beyond project management to accounting visibility as well. "From the accounting side, one of the biggest benefits is the general ledger review," Stephanie explained. "You can now view account information instantly without running a report, which has been incredibly helpful for our GL team."

She added that the system's visibility and configurable dashboards are game-changing: "What really stands out about Vantagepoint is the real-time visibility. The information is always up to date and easy to access, and the dashboards are flexible, so you can view the data exactly how you want. I'm excited to see the company continue adopting it."

Supporting Bowman’s M&A Growth Strategy

Bowman's growth strategy centers on expanding into new markets and service lines through targeted acquisitions—such as its recent moves into data centers and the power and utilities sector. While Vantagepoint doesn't change the firm's acquisition approach, it has become integral to how Bowman integrates newly acquired companies.

"Our philosophy is to move acquired firms into Vantagepoint as quickly as possible," Stephanie said. "The sooner they're operating in our environment, the easier it is to manage internal controls, accounting, project management, and operations."

Moving to the Deltek Cloud has been critical in supporting that strategy. "Our database is growing rapidly through acquisitions and organic growth, so moving to the Deltek Cloud lets us scale faster and with confidence," explained Leslie. "As a publicly traded company, having a strong infrastructure and a modern platform like Vantagepoint supporting that growth is reassuring."

Adams added that new firms will immediately recognize the platform's value once onboarded. "Vantagepoint represents a major leap forward from Vision—it's a modern, intuitive system that makes it easy for anyone to access the insights they need without a steep learning curve."

Training and Change Management

Bowman's leadership recognized early on that successful adoption required a thoughtful training strategy. The firm created a Vantagepoint Information Center on the company's intranet, giving employees access to everything they need in one place. The center includes QR codes linking directly to Deltek content for learning, resources, best practices, and guidance on dashboard use.

Leslie emphasized that clear roles and accountability helped keep the implementation on track. "We made sure everyone knew their specific responsibilities, so nothing slipped through the cracks," she said. Adams agreed, noting that leadership alignment was equally important. "Getting the right expertise on the team and buy-in at the top level made all the difference─ it kept everyone focused and ensured a smooth transition."

Looking Ahead

As Bowman expands, the firm plans to deepen its use of Vantagepoint's analytics, dashboards, and resource-planning capabilities. The system is already proving essential to how teams manage projects, financials, and operations, and its scalability ensures it can grow alongside the business.

"Vantagepoint represents a major leap forward with its modern and intuitive platform. It gives everyone access to the insights they need," Stephanie said. "I'm excited to see how it continues to empower our teams as we grow."