Is Deltek Vision Really Going Away? What's Happening with Vision and Vantagepoint and What Does it Mean for You?

Recently, I have received lots of questions about the future of Vision and witnessed confusion from many customers around the Vantagepoint product. Let me help to clarify a few things for you because I want to make sure everyone understands what is happening in this exciting time here at Deltek. 

Has Deltek announced we will no longer be developing and supporting Vision?

Absolutely not! Vision 7.6 will remain in an active support mode (including regulatory updates) at least until the end of 2022.  The reason I say “at least” is because we will adjust this timeline out, if needed, as we see the pace of customers upgrading to Vantagepoint.

Is Deltek releasing another version of Vision?

Deltek Vantagepoint (formerly named Deltek for Professional Services) is the next release of Deltek Vision. Same great product with all of the power of Vision that you are accustomed to, along with a fresh, modern interface and an impressive collection of new features and functionality. 

What is Vantagepoint?

Deltek Vantagepoint is the newly branded, freshly reimagined next version of Deltek Vision built specifically for professional services organizations. Think of Vantagepoint as Vision taken to a whole new level - a streamlined browser-based interface, reengineered workflows and expanded functionality. With Vantagepoint, current Vision customers will get everything you've always loved about Vision and much, much more all in a slick new interface that will be accessible to anyone, anytime from anywhere.

Our investment in Vantagepoint has been, from day one, intended to give Vision customers a fully compatible upgrade path and give both existing customers and new customers a modern solution that’s built for professional service organizations and puts managing projects at the center of their business. Deltek is delivering on that intent.  Vantagepoint is the next version of Vision, but it’s also a lot more than that.  I like to use the moniker, “the next generation of Vision” because we’ve taken the Vision product and accelerated the move to the browser interface while adding great new features and powerful enhancements based on years of feedback from our customers.  It really is about taking Vision to a completely new level. 

If you are a Vision customer, are your efforts made in configuring user defined content in Vision (user defined fields, user defined info centers, workflows, screen designs) going away when you upgrade to Vantagepoint?

Vantagepoint has been built with Vision as the foundation. While Deltek has marketed it as a new product, the starting point for Vantagepoint was Vision 7.6 and this initiative, at its core, has really been about accelerating the product to a pure browser-based interface, which started with iAccess several years ago.   

User defined content and configurations within Vision come along into Vantagepoint as a part of the upgrade.  As a result of functional improvements that come with Vantagepoint, some areas will need to be reviewed to ensure things continue to work and look the way you would like.  However, this type of configured content is not lost during the upgrade; this is very similar to a typical Vision upgrade. 

If you are a Vision customer, are your investments made in Vision custom reports, integrations or custom developed applications lost when you upgrade to Vantagepoint?

The reporting platform in Vantagepoint is SQL Server Reporting Services; the same platform used in Vision.  Custom developed reports and/or invoice templates will continue to function in Vantagepoint. If a custom report references a portion of the database schema that changed within Vantagepoint, that custom report will need to be reviewed and updated appropriately, just like it would have in the past with Vision upgrades.

It is important to understand that the architecture and database structure of Vantagepoint is the same as Vision. After all, Vision 7.6 was the starting point for Vantagepoint. Therefore, any integrations or custom applications will, in most cases, continue to function as is but may require some minor updates to accommodate any database schema changes.

Are customers being forced to upgrade to Vantagepoint?

Because we are in a transitional phase between Vision and Vantagepoint right now, we are leaving the upgrade timing completely up to our customers.  Some customers are in a good position to upgrade today while others will want to wait for a future release.  The upgrade timing depends on what functionality you are using in Vision today and if your organization is ready.

The next version of Vantagepoint is targeted for Q1 of 2019 with another release targeted for Q4 of 2019. With each of these releases, we will publish a lot of information, for organizations like yours to consume, so that you can determine which release is right for your company.  This determination is largely dependent on what modules you use and how you use various parts of the product.

When I upgrade to Vantagepoint is it a full new implementation? Is there a data conversion required?

No, it’s not a full new implementation - not even close. The upgrade does not require a data conversion. The Vision data (all) is upgraded to Vantagepoint. There are some new features and some changes in functionality in Vantagepoint that customers will need to learn and understand, but by no means is the upgrade a new implementation. The only exceptions in regards to data relates to accommodating functional changes (just like we’ve done with every upgrade since Vision was released).

Is Vantagepoint an unproven solution?

Vantagepoint is not unproven. Deltek has more than 200 customers using the product in production today. And, it is Vision so it has 16 years of proven usage. 

If I am an existing Vision customer and I want to get more information or upgrade to Vantagepoint, what do I do?

We have created an existing customer portal (https://dsm.deltek.com/Vantagepoint) for all Vision customers to help educate them about Vantagepoint and prepare them for the upgrade. This portal is going through a massive update in preparation for the Q1 2019 release.  All Vision using organizations are encouraged to consume all of the content in this portal to ensure a smooth upgrade. In addition, customers can send any questions they have about Vantagepoint to vantagepoint@deltek.com. We want to hear the questions that are on our customers’ minds and we will respond with answers.