O.R. Colan Associates Improves Operational Efficiency with Deltek Vantagepoint

O. R. Colan Associates (ORC) specializes in complex right-of-way challenges in real estate acquisition, relocation and management of infrastructure projects. ORC represents utility companies including electrical transmission and distribution, pipeline, renewable, telecommunication and water & sewer. Additionally, they represent public agencies including airports, highways, rail, disaster recovery, redevelopment and local public agencies. ORC prioritizes transparent communications and stakeholder relations contributing to the development of infrastructure projects. With offices in 30 states and a team of 410 employees, they manage thousands of projects annually.

The Journey to Vantagepoint in the Cloud

The firm has used Deltek Vision since 2004 and upgraded to Vantagepoint in 2019, recognizing it as the future platform with new enhancements and features. Staying current with technology was a priority for the firm. Moving to Vantagepoint in the Cloud reduced infrastructure management, freeing up staff to drive innovation.

Due to its extensive data management needs, the firm is a power user of Vantagepoint. The configurable reports and user-defined hubs provide the flexibility necessary to tailor the system to the firm's specific requirements and the workflow engine enhances functionality, enabling seamless integration with webhooks, custom middleware, execution of stored procedures and effortless column updates, according to Christopher Castellano, CIO.

User-Defined Hubs Streamline Data Management and Decision-Making

A key benefit of Vantagepoint that ORC utilizes is its configurable, user-defined hubs for tracking and managing data. The firm has created operating review hubs (ORH) that help perform complex calculations and roll up data, improving sales tracking and decision-making. The ORH is a one stop view for directors to see overall performance against budget and houses key metrics against budget in one location. The firm looks at metrics such as effective multiplier, staff utilization, sales, AR over 60 days, unbilled, backlog and proposals written for both monthly and year to date.

A powerful example is the MSA hub, which the firm uses to track master service agreements and the parent/child relationship of all task orders and commitments towards the MSA. This allows them to have project lists, MSA start/end dates, contract spent and remaining at a glance. Other hubs have been created to track certificates of insurance, manage information for insurance renewals, and handle related compliance needs, all within a centralized system for easier management. Additionally, the firm utilizes hubs to track healthcare costs, integrate HR information and monitor company expenses, ensuring all critical data is efficiently organized in one place.

“Our goal has been to eliminate as many spreadsheets as possible, and with Vantagepoint, we are tracking toward that goal,” said Carmen Johnson, Chief Financial and Administrative Officer. She added, "The Vantagepoint dashboard analytics provides great information at a glance."

CRM Powers Sales Success and Strategic Insights

The firm leverages Vantagepoint CRM for pipeline forecasting, tracking project pursuits, monitoring win rates and managing sales activities. With an expanding sales team this year, the firm is making a strong push to maximize CRM capabilities. They rely on Vantagepoint to streamline the process and are excited about its customization, which will make accessing customer data more efficient and insightful.

Christopher remarked, "We looked at other solutions, but the flexibility of reporting for our data needs from Vantagepoint CRM convinced us to stay with Deltek for that solution."

Deltek Talent Management Enhances Compliance, Efficiency and Integration

The firm also utilizes Deltek Talent Management to streamline the entire employee lifecycle, from applications to onboarding and compliance tracking. The system ensures EEOC compliance and supports government contractor recruitment requirements.

Carmen shared, "Deltek Talent Management helps us ensure EEOC compliance and has the data necessary to ensure that we are recruiting in the ways required for a government contractor, and this helps us track all of our compliance needs."

Another key advantage of the solution is its configurability. The firm efficiently integrates Vantagepoint and Talent Management, significantly improving workflow. HR processes are now more efficient, reducing redundant data entry. For example, employee information such as healthcare, life insurance and disability details are now centralized, saving time and enhancing data management.

Advice for Firms Thinking of Moving to Vantagepoint

Carmen remarked, "When choosing a software provider, Deltek offers the flexibility to adapt to your specific needs. With user-defined fields and hubs, and a wide range of available features, you can tailor the system to track your unique metrics, making data management seamless and effective."

She emphasized, "With industry standards, we can track key metrics like our effective multiplier and revenue—critical data points we easily access through Vantagepoint. The platform allows us to build exactly what we need, which is essential for new users evaluating software options.”

Christopher also values the flexibility that Deltek offers. "Vantagepoint is incredibly versatile. I appreciate the user-defined fields, hubs and workflows that enable seamless integration without requiring additional programming in many cases." This flexibility helps prevent application sprawl, reducing the need for multiple software solutions. He added, "Without Vantagepoint, we would likely need at least five other software products by now. With the addition of user-defined hubs and other features, Vantagepoint offers nearly limitless configuration."

Carmen appreciates the support the firm receives from Deltek. "One thing about Deltek, and specifically with Vantagepoint, is that they have strong support resources, with many available consultants both within Deltek and the marketplace in their partner network, which is not something all small software companies offer.”

ORC Looks Towards the Future

The firm is expanding its use of AI to enhance automation and reduce manual workloads. They currently utilize Deltek Dela’s AI-powered Project Smart Summaries™ and Client Smart Summaries™ in their monthly review cycles. Carmen highlights the convenience of AI tools in Vantagepoint, noting that “Ask Dela”, an AI-powered digital assistant, saved time by generating a collection letter without manually retrieving data from the accounts receivable system. The firm is also looking to automate tasks like report downloads, timesheet validation, reminders and expense policy enforcement.