Avitru Acquired by Deltek

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Author Message Ronald L. Geren, FCSI Lifetime Member, AIA, CCS, CCCA, CSC, SCIP Senior Member Username: specman Post Number: 1525 Registered: 03-2003 Posted on Thursday, January 03, 2019 - 07:50 pm:    Just received an email stating that Avitru has been acquired by Deltek, "the leading global provider of software and solutions for project-based businesses," per the email. I just learned how to pronounce "Avitru" properly--all for naught... Ron Geren, FCSI Lifetime Member, AIA, CCS, CCCA, CSC, SCIP David J. Wyatt, CDT Senior Member Username: david_j_wyatt_cdt Post Number: 282 Registered: 03-2011 Posted on Friday, January 04, 2019 - 10:30 am:    This is our world now. Time is compressed dramatically. Generations are not defined by years as much as they are by technological advances. Careers are governed less by relationships than they are by transactions. If you like something, enjoy it as much as you can while you can, because it will certainly change. If you don't like something, be patient. It may change for the better. Guest (Unregistered Guest) Unregistered guest Posted on Friday, January 04, 2019 - 12:53 pm:    Ron - Kudos to you. I was stil "slipping-up" and saying ARCOM. I now try to train myself to say AIA MasterSpec...and hope the "owners" don't decide to re-label the product? J. Peter Jordan Senior Member Username: jpjordan Post Number: 1069 Registered: 05-2004 Posted on Friday, January 04, 2019 - 03:21 pm:    AIA owns MasterSpec and has licensed it to companies for development and distribution. It is my understanding that the AIA is very interested in maintaining the quality of this product and will continue to assist in funding its development. It is highly unlikely that Deltek will be able to do whatever they want with this particular product. J. Peter Jordan, FCSI, AIA, CCS, LEED AP, SCIP Michael Chusid, RA FCSI CCS Senior Member Username: michael_chusid Post Number: 448 Registered: 10-2003 Posted on Friday, January 04, 2019 - 04:33 pm:    I suspect this acquisition is about more than just a financial investment. Instead, it may be about bundling spec information together with their other products in business development (sales) and engineering procurement (buying). If they have a finger in the specs, they are more vertically integrated. The construction industry is notoriously fragmented. While i look for ways to boost the industry's efficiency, I am suspect of efforts to control the flow of information. Will Deltek be transparent about this? If anyone from Deltek is reading this, please weigh-in. Michael Chusid, RA FCSI CCS 1-818-219-4937 www.chusid.com www.buildingproduct.guru Anne Whitacre, FCSI CCS Senior Member Username: awhitacre Post Number: 1441 Registered: 07-2002 Posted on Monday, January 07, 2019 - 12:27 pm:    I don't see Deltek changing the name of Avitru at least in the foreseeable future. When Arcom was sold, it was sold to Alpine (and investment company) who renamed it Avitru. (Arcom was originally "Architectural Computer Systems" if you all remember back that far. ). Avitru is the entity that holds the license from AIA for the development and maintenance of Masterspec. Masterspec does need a cash infusion to migrate to a data base type system, and more programming, and I would suspect that Deltek can provide that. Overall though, the product Masterspec will remain Masterspec. Richard Howard, AIA FCSI CCS LEED-AP Senior Member Username: rick_howard Post Number: 300 Registered: 07-2003 Posted on Monday, January 07, 2019 - 04:00 pm:    Anne, you are spot-on for Avitru's move from Alpine to Deltek as going from an investment company to a permanent home. Most of us at Avitru just found out about this on January 3. AIA had to approve the transition and MasterSpec (and SpecText) subscribers should experience no change in how they interact with Avitru. The Deltek name may show up at a later date, most likely with the Avitru name. Deltek's products are focused on solutions for AECO projects. We are excited to discover how specifications can benefit from the association. In 2019, MasterSpec turns 50, and it's going to be a huge turning point in the improvement of the platform. More information is available in the press release at AVITRU.COM Curt Norton, CSI, CCS Senior Member Username: curtn Post Number: 250 Registered: 06-2002 Posted on Thursday, January 10, 2019 - 07:14 pm:    I think Anne hit it on the head. e-Specs is a good, not great, product. SpecBuilder was worse a year or so ago. The best long term solution for specifications is a database platform that works and is easy to use. Deltek knows software and they have cash. Dan Helphrey Advanced Member Username: dbhelphrey Post Number: 5 Registered: 12-2018 Posted on Wednesday, January 16, 2019 - 11:12 am:    My fear is that Deltek will make e-Specs just like their other products: very powerful if you're an expert user but impenetrable to anyone who hasn't dedicated hundreds of hours to training. Anne Whitacre, FCSI CCS Senior Member Username: awhitacre Post Number: 1447 Registered: 07-2002 Posted on Thursday, April 25, 2019 - 08:47 pm:    Well, there is a creative tension in the Masterspec world -- there are a number of big firms doing really big projects and making Masterspec work for our projects is challenging. But, they are well aware that 85% of their subscribers are moderately sized firms doing more moderately sized work. The large firms are the outliers but in some cases, its just a matter of time -- the issues we're dealing with today will be much more mainstream a decade from now. But yes.. pushing Masterspec into more integration is going to take big cash infusion and big personnel infusion.