Deltek’s Costpoint in the Cloud helps Small Business Overcome Cybersecurity Challenges

Electronic Warfare Associates, Inc. (EWA) was founded in 1977 and has grown to a 250-person, broad-based technology business. This small business provides engineering products and services in cyber defense, intelligence, and security, to name a few, and their biggest area of expertise is radar and threat simulation systems. EWA has subsidiaries across the United States and Germany and frequently works with multiple executive departments of the federal government, such as the Department of Defense (DoD) (Army, Navy, and Air Force), as well as the Department of Homeland Security and the Department of Justice.

Vice President, Jamey Rexrode, spoke to us about the growth of EWA and their choice to move from self-hosting to Deltek Costpoint in the cloud in 2020. Deltek Costpoint in the Cloud is the only SaaS ERP solution purpose-built for government contractors. With its industry-leading accounting and financial capabilities and tools for sustainable growth, Costpoint is already the industry standard for businesses that work with the federal government and require compliant accounting practices. When delivered in Deltek’s Cloud, Costpoint also delivers cybersecurity compliance benefits that help businesses with FAR and DFARS contractual requirements. 

EWA has been a customer since the ‘90s and has seen Deltek grow and evolve in more ways than one. Jamey expressed that he has seen Deltek constantly evolve and move forward — keeping its focus on the horizon and looking ahead to what's next. Giving EWA additional confidence that moving to the cloud was the right choice to support their teams, business growth and projects because, “Deltek always has their eye on the future….and they are always looking for ways to enhance their product solutions to make your systems better,” said Jamey.

Why Costpoint in the Cloud?

EWA had two primary motivators that pushed them towards a cloud environment. First, they couldn’t receive software updates at the speed they needed while on-premises, especially in a rapidly evolving industry.  However, since moving to the cloud, they now receive immediate access to new product upgrades and features.

With increased access to new releases and communication from the experts at Deltek, Jamey can now fully leverage the potential of Costpoint Cloud and stay up to date with enhancements. “Information is frequently provided to me from Deltek, which enables me to be proactive with our systems and also allows me to utilize Deltek’s services to the utmost,” he shared.

Second, with a cloud environment, EWA has been able to strengthen its security posture and better support compliance requirements. Deltek’s Costpoint in the Cloud equips teams to manage cybersecurity and compliance internally to meet evolving standards which can otherwise be a massive undertaking. 

A growing number of government contractors, such as EWA are turning to the cloud to assist in overcoming cybersecurity and compliance challenges. The small business can rest assured knowing that their security concerns are continuously addressed— reducing the risk and responsibility on their end. Jamey explains, “We get better and stronger security through our cloud service than we did with our on-premises servers.”

Getting Started and a Continued Partnership

EWA knew that moving to the cloud was a big decision with many factors to consider, one of them being cost. They had to ask themselves, “Do we continue to put money into in-house servers, or do we consider Deltek’s cloud service to improve what we're already doing?” For EWA, they knew it would be more cost-advantageous to move to the cloud than to continue investing to run on-premises.

To get started, the team worked with trusted-Deltek-partner, Infotek Consulting, for implementation. They chose Infotek because of how quickly they could complete their cloud implementation.  Jamey describes how much he appreciates the level of correspondence between the two companies, “InfoTek and Deltek had such amazing communication and camaraderie through this whole thing. It just goes to show the level at which Deltek can work with its affiliates and make things happen for us to get us where we need to be.”

Jamey can’t imagine that many people would find it more cost-advantageous to continue to self-host. It’s important to factor in the potential hidden infrastructure costs of hosting on-premises—like server and application maintenance, performance tuning, and security monitoring. When assessing a cloud strategy, it’s critical to consider how automation, like software updates, can help drive business operating costs down. 

Jamey also describes the continued level of support and service EWA gets from Deltek, “I have received great service from Deltek regarding any problems or changes to our system that may arise. In fact, I always recommend Deltek to companies that are looking for a better software solution based on the service and support I have received from Deltek.” Our EWA team knows no matter if it's in-person at an event like Deltek ProjectCon, or if it is calling to discuss a matter, they will be listened to. Jamey describes “the relationship that I have with the Deltek team is important to me because they know me, they understand my book of business, what I'm doing and some of the complexities that I'm seeing−and that means a lot. That relationship is key to being productive.”

Eyes on the Future

The advice Jamey has for a company in a similar position would be to, “Absolutely move to the Deltek Cloud. I think you're going to find that the time you save through the service and through the connectivity outweighs staying on-premises. Not only are you investing in your servers and any other hardware, but you're also investing in a team of people that are going to maintain these systems.” By partnering with Deltek to deliver Costpoint in the Cloud, EWA is investing in themselves by being able to better support teams and more efficiently leverage the latest tools and technologies.