Full Sail Partners Blog | Jennifer Renfroe (7)

Full Sail Partners, a Deltek Platinum Partner, is honored to announce that Kevin Hebblethwaite has been promoted to principal consultant. With 20 years of experience in marketing, business development and management for professional services firms, Kevin is a seasoned consultant. He is also a past national president of the Society for Marketing Professional Services (SMPS) and remains very active.

"Full Sail Partners has assembled an incredible team – one I learn from every day,” Kevin said. “I love watching professional services firms turn their traditional marketing and business development functions into catalysts for great client experiences and growth.”

As principal consultant, Kevin will continue to guide clients in strategic marketing and business development implementations of Deltek’s professional services platforms. Kevin also is the key point of contact for Full Sail Partners’ Blackbox Connector integrations between Deltek Vision and third-party marketing applications such as Client Feedback Tool, Constant Contact, and MailChimp.

"It is with great honor to promote Kevin to principal consultant," stated Sarah Gonnella, VP of Marketing & Sales. "Kevin has played a key role in expanding our focus of helping business development and marketing professionals. His strong leadership, mentorship, and client management skills will play a huge role as our firm continues to expand."

For more information, please contact Full Sail Partners’ Marketing and Communications Department.

Full Sail Partners, a Deltek Platinum Partner, is pleased to announce that Ryan Felkel has been promoted to Marketing Manager. Ryan has extensive experience in content creation, web & social media, SEO, event management and Deltek Vision CRM. As a creative and focused marketing leader, he believes strongly in providing clients with the most valuable industry information to ensure they are getting the most out of their Vision systems.

"I truly enjoy being a member of the Full Sail Partners’ team and working with our consultants to identify content that is relevant to our clients,” Ryan said. “It’s extremely satisfying when a client reaches out to tell us how our information has helped them.”

As Marketing Manager, Ryan will continue to cultivate current client relationships while also pursuing new business within the AEC industry and in new market verticals. Additionally, he has assumed responsibility for building awareness of Deltek for Professional Services (DPS), Deltek Talent, Deltek Project Information Management (PIM), and the Blackbox Connector integrations for Deltek Vision.

"Finding the right person to fill your shoes is not always an easy task," stated Sarah Gonnella, VP of Marketing & Sales. "Ryan's demonstrated leadership and ability to quickly learn our business made that decision an easy choice. I am proud to hand the torch to someone that understands the importance of providing educational content to our clients and prospective clients."

For more information, please contact Full Sail Partners’ Marketing and Communications Department.

Although it is easy to accept the status quo, there is always room for improvement. Once improvements are made, it is hard to believe that we operated the way we did before. So there it is, the continuous cycle of breaking the status quo to improve our firm processes which ultimately ensures future success. As Deltek Vision users, we should focus on initiatives which enhance our Vision systems and allow us to remain efficient and effective in business.

Opportunities for Improvement with Deltek Vision 

Here are ten initiatives we recommend for your firm:

1. Learn and Train on iAccess, the Future of Vision: This simple to use interface can be used from any device or browser with an internet connection.
2. Incorporate FASB Changes: Firms need to understand how this measure requirement relates to them and how to configure Deltek Vision appropriately to accommodate it. 

3. Identify KPI & Executive Reports: The Deltek Vision Performance Management (VPM) module provides visibility into your firm’s performance and identifies metrics that help ensure success. 
4. Reevaluate the Organizational Breakdown & Work Breakdown Structure: The way firms operate changes over time, especially since their first implementation of the Vision system, resulting in inefficiencies in operations. 

5. Mergers & Acquisition Strategy: Many factors come into play when considering a merger or acquisition and effective data integration is vital to a favorable outcome.  

6. Connect Best of Breed Solutions: With a simple click of a button, firms can securely use Vision to connect other critical business systems. 

7. Focus on Client Retention: Firms can easily manage their client relationships by connecting the Client Feedback Tool with Deltek Vision. 

9. Manage Resources & Plan: Project-based firms benefit from an easy to use solutions that integrate project management data with the accounting solution. 
10. Improve Talent Acquisition & Employee Performance Process: HR professionals need a way to overcome the challenges of acquiring and maintaining talent.

10. Refine Archival & Document Management Process: Deltek Project Information Management (PIM) integrated with Deltek Vision breaks down data barriers for complete project, financial and information management needs. 

Do More with Deltek Vision

Don’t be satisfied with just the status quo. Use these ten initiatives to get more out of Deltek Vision. Putting them into place will make your firm processes better and allow you to be more effective and efficient in business. Break the cycle and start improving your Deltek Vision system now.

It seems like every time you turn on the news, there appears to be a new emergency. It might be a man-made disaster like the recent I-85 bridge collapse in Atlanta or a natural one like a Snowmageddon event or a devastating wildfire. The concern of lost work time due to an emergency is a reality, especially if employers expect all employee work to be done on site at the office. In order to decrease downtime and loss of productivity due to such emergencies, firms should provide flexible work options for their employees.

Getting virtual is a necessity and it is becoming a common occurrence. According to statistics from Global Workplace Analytics, the telecommuting workforce has increased by about 102% from 2005 to 2014. How your firm gets virtual first requires the employer to evaluate the specific needs of the employees and identify what would be best for the employees and the firm.

Let’s Get Virtual

The ideal situation would allow employees to work from anywhere, anytime which requires virtualization. There are different options available to get virtual depending on your firm’s desires. At a minimum, a plan should be in place for unforeseen circumstances that keep employees from getting to the office.

Let’s take a look at some solutions that would help professional services firms:

Desktop and Application Virtualization

A desktop solution like Desktops2Go is a perfect option. Using any internet connected device, such as a tablet or smartphone, you can access your virtual desktop from home or another location. Work files and resources are housed remotely in the cloud, so there is no need to be physically in the office to get your work done. Whatever your job may be, from accounting professionals to project managers, all company information and software such as Vision or AutoCAD would be accessible in this cloud solution. 

Additionally, this cloud solution has the benefit of allowing you to switch between devices and pick right back up where you left off. In case one device fails or is stolen, you could continue working without missing a beat. Since none of the company information is stored locally, you don’t ever have to worry about losing control of company collateral.

Virtual Private Network

If you don’t want to be completely in the cloud, you could take advantage of Virtual Private Networks (VPN). This solution allows you to connect your company issued laptop directly to the company network and work virtually that way. While you will feel like you are at the office, you can work from any location with internet access. The only downsides of this option are:

• IT department approval and configuration are required
• It may not work from every remote network an end user is connected to, such as a hotel, café or airport
• Additional training and user actions are needed to get connected and can be difficult to troubleshoot 

Remote Control Software

Another good option to get virtual is to use remote control software such as GoToMyPC to access a company workstation from anywhere. This solution does not require a company issued laptop. Instead, any IT department approved device can be used to work remotely with internet access. The drawbacks are:

• It requires additional software and training for remote access which can be expensive
• IT security policies may preclude this option

Web-enabled Products like Deltek Vision, Deltek PIM and Microsoft Office 365

Finally, and specifically for Deltek and Microsoft users, you can take advantage of web-enabled Deltek Vision, Deltek Project Information Management (PIM) and Microsoft Office 365. With these products, you can access Vision and all company information such as company files, emails and Microsoft Office from anywhere. However, remote access to Vision and PIM do require IT involvement and approval to configure for remote access.

Full Sail Partners Can Help You Get Virtual

Full Sail Partners can assist you with any of the solutions you feel will fit your firm’s needs. We look forward to helping you get virtual so you will never have to get stuck again in any emergency. Click here to request more information!