Primavera Systems: Project Products
IT
Written by John Zorabedian   
Tuesday, 01 April 2008
Primavera Systems: Project Products - American Executive - RedCoat Publishing
CEO Joel Koppelman describes a business strategy that combines international growth with driving repeat customers.
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Delivering a project of any size takes time and money, two things companies in today’s market can’t afford to waste. The need to prioritize which projects and investments to execute, control costs, mitigate risks, and coordinate resources across multiple departments and time zones has propelled the growth of Primavera Systems, Inc., a leader in project and portfolio management software.  

Joel Koppelman, CEO - Primavera Systems: Project Products - American Executive - RedCoat Publishing
Joel Koppelman, CEO
Primavera, which serves companies in energy, construction, government, aerospace and defense, discrete manufacturing, IT, and financial services, will celebrate its 25th year in May. Joel Koppelman, a co-founder and CEO, said the company’s software capabilities are mainly determined by what clients need to manage growth in a controlled and effective way. “We have a strong focus on customers and what it takes to make them successful in managing their projects, programs, and portfolios of projects,” he said.

Primavera brought in more than $170 million in 2007 and grew by 40% over the previous year.  The company’s growth strategy relies on continued expansion internationally; in fact, one-third of its revenues come from abroad, a percentage Koppelman wants to boost to 50% in the near future. However, Primavera can also attribute its success to excelling in service to existing customers, through an inhouse sales team as well as consulting and implementation assistance, he said. Third-party distributors compliment the company’s internal sales team to help sell to a broader base of clients.

“We deliver our products to the market in three ways,” Koppelman said. “We sell direct to large companies that want to implement a complete solution for their organization. We also have more than 100 geographically dispersed value-added resellers that make it easier and more convenient for our customers in those areas to work with Primavera solutions. And we maintain software licenses year-over-year for existing customers.”

This year, Primavera partnered with Digital China to expand its presence in the Chinese mainland, adding a network of 20,000 sub-dealers to both sell software and train and educate customers in how to use the programs. “In China, the use of project management software is relatively new, so companies that recognize the need to improve project management greatly benefit from the qualified resources that are locally available,” Koppelman added.  

Primavera software products are used in 85 countries throughout the world and are available in up to 13 languages. “There are some interesting cultural differences about how people think about planning, how they do it, and how they visualize it,” Koppelman said. “We can build those into the product and configure the software to give our users exactly what they need.”

The company has also enhanced its product offering. Over its 25 years, Primavera has had 12 strategic acquisitions. The most recent were in 2006, when it purchased portfolio management software company ProSight and a former technology partner, Pertmaster, whose risk mitigation software was designed to work in conjunction with Primavera’s software.

“The integrations of the acquired companies have gone smoothly for Primavera, and we’ve seen the benefits—Pertmaster sales alone tripled in 2007,” Koppelman said. “The formula works—whenever possible, companies like to deal with fewer vendors. It’s easier and more convenient for customers to work directly with us.”

Regardless of the type of project or the industry its clients are in, Primavera’s solutions can reduce exposure to project delays and lost profits.

“You rely on a lot of people, parts, equipment, material, and labor for a project. We help people identify what could go wrong, what’s the likely possibility that those things will go wrong, and most importantly, how to get around the problem,” Koppelman said.

For example, in the high-temperature, high-pressure environment of an oil refinery, equipment, from distillation columns and heat exchangers to valves and gauges, needs regularly scheduled maintenance or even replacement. Marathon Petroleum Company decided to standardize on Primavera software at multiple oil refineries, saving the company a significant amount of time and making its planning more efficient.

Additionally, when the world’s busiest airport, Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International, began planning a fifth runaway, the first major milestone in a 15-year, $6.2 billion capital improvement plan, the team implemented Primavera. The software helped Atlanta collaborate with more than 200 contractors, subcontractors, and representatives from all levels of city government. Using Primavera’s integrated solution, the project team effectively managed costs, contracts, resources, and schedules. Atlanta’s fifth runway was able to open 11 days ahead of schedule and came in $103 million under budget.

“Marathon Petroleum and Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta Airport are two great examples, but the truth is that companies around the world are realizing the benefits of using technology like ours for effective project management,” Koppel-man said. “It is our mission to continue working toward helping them succeed and end project failure for good.”
 
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