Smarter A/E Business Development Starts with the Right Tech Stack

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Introduction

Where to Start

How to Apply

Selecting the Right Applications

References

Ignoring the digital evolution is a costly risk for growing architecture and engineering firms. High-performing firms are already using the latest technologies to improve their operational efficiency, better understand their market impact, and refine their focus on key objectives. You can, too.

In this blog, you'll learn:

Why falling behind in digital innovation can be detrimental for A/E leaders
Where to begin in developing your firm’s optimized tech stack
Four critical areas for architecture and engineering firms to start implementing technology
Key benefits of the tools needed to enhance your business development efforts
Access to a free BD Technology Comparison Guide to help you choose the right tech tools for your firm.

Digital Integration Can Future-Proof Your Architecture or Engineering Firm

Digital transformation is a hot-button topic across industries, and it’s quickly becoming a competitive imperative. Yet many architecture and engineering firms still struggle with outdated tools, siloed data, and inefficient processes that slow down BD. While nearly 40% of firms consider themselves digitally mature, according to Deltek’s 2025 Clarity Report, digital maturity doesn’t always translate into marketing and BD efficiency. The gap between having the tools and knowing how to use them strategically is where most firms fall short, and where opportunity lies.

State of Digital Transformation in Architecture and Engineering

What does that mean for you?

Ignoring your digital integration strategy is no longer an option. To sustain or scale your architecture or engineering firm, you need platforms that will automate, streamline, and focus cyclical tasks like proposal creation, client follow-ups, and pipeline analysis. A comprehensive suite of systems, also known as your tech stack, can expand the capabilities of your teams, streamlining your BD operations and better positioning you to win the right work with much less time and effort.

Tech Stacks for A/E Firms: Where to Start

From platforms to features, integrations to updates, licensing to privacy — technology implementation can be a painstaking process for even the most adept firms. And because it is such a significant investment of time and resources, it can seem like the risk of getting it wrong outweighs the benefits of getting it right. And, that fear could be warranted. Failing to choose the right systems and setup can waste valuable resources and create more inefficiencies or frustrations within your processes. However, with the right strategy and clear evaluation criteria, you can cut through the noise, avoid costly missteps, and build a tech stack that actually supports your firm’s growth.

So, how do you ensure a return on your technology investment? Before diving into new platforms, you need a tactical approach.

Begin by identifying your primary pain points and key business objectives. Are valuable leads slipping through the cracks? Do you lack visibility into your firm’s active pursuits? Are you spending too much time chasing low-probability projects? Gather input from your marketing, business development, and project teams to gain a comprehensive understanding of the inefficiencies inside your current practices.

Next, research the platforms that offer capabilities aligned with your specific needs and evaluate how they address these challenges. We know how time-consuming and overwhelming this part can be — that’s why we’ve done the research for you. Our BD Technology Comparison Guide highlights the leading solutions in the A/E industry, breaking down key features, integrations, and licensing details to help you make smarter, faster decisions. It’s a high-level resource designed to save you hours of preliminary research and point you toward the right-fit tools for your team.

Remember, you don’t have to tackle everything at once. Start small and prioritize the tools that address your most critical business development challenges first. But remember, it’s important to think about your future needs so that you don’t have to switch tools multiple times.

The simple truth is – you need a digital overhaul... Download the BD Tech Guide

How to Apply Your Tech Stack to Improve BD Workflows

When it comes to adopting technology to enhance business processes, your firm likely isn’t starting from scratch, the challenge is often fragmentation or underutilization. While there are many areas technology can make a difference, here are the top four ways to cam improve your BD.

Lead Tracking & Nurturing

Too many firms rely on outdated spreadsheets and clunky email chains that make it difficult to track contacts and client touchpoints across the firm. Manually tracking down client information and re-checking its accuracy slows the entire client-nurturing process. It can lead to missed opportunities to engage with potential clients at key decision-making moments.

Your firm’s contacts are your most valuable asset and should be treated accordingly. A centralized database, like a Customer Relationship Management (CRM) system, can:

Store prospect contact information (email, associated projects, markets, and specialties)
Track how leads were attained (referral, website, conference)
Log interactions over time
Automatically notify team members to send follow-up communications

Pipeline Management

Maintaining a clear view of revenue projections, future workload, and staffing needs can be challenging, especially without a well-managed pipeline. When your pursuit pipeline is scattered across spreadsheets or siloed within studios, it’s nearly impossible to get a holistic understanding of your firm’s past, present, and future opportunities.

But when your pipeline is centralized and actively maintained, it becomes a powerful tool for forecasting and decision-making. A pipeline management tool can help you:

Centralize all pursuits in one place for a real-time snapshot of activity
Align current opportunities with broader business goals
See what stage of the funnel all your opportunities are in
Identify trends in win/loss rates and capture rates
Forecast revenue and resource needs more accurately

This level of visibility is essential for making more informed decisions and staying ahead of market demands. Pipeline management tools offer real-time insights into your pursuit progress, win rates, and capture rates — helping you identify what’s working, what’s not, and where to adjust to grow your pursuits and pipeline.

For a list of the top AE Pipeline Management Tools, check out our BD Technology Comparison Guide.

Need help figuring out how to be more strategic with your pursuits? We teach clients how to leverage their firm objectives and pipeline data to build a more effective Go/No-Go pursuit process. The result? Less time wasted on low-impact pursuits and more effort placed on high-value wins that fuel firm goals.

Explore our Go/No-Go Guide + Template for a step-by-step framework to help you build, integrate, and automate more strategic pursuit decisions.

Pursuit Creation

Are your marketing and business development teams struggling to keep up with the growing demands of new pursuits? Or, is your proposal generation process riddled with inefficiencies, quality issues, and last-minute submissions?

Leveraging technology to streamline the production of pursuits helps your team stay organized, maintain consistency, and remain accountable, ultimately leading to stronger and more effective client deliverables. That’s where project management and digital asset management (DAM) systems prove valuable.

Project management tools act as automatic oversight that can help you allocate team bandwidth and ensure deadlines are met more seamlessly. It should:

Lay out project timelines from start to close
Allow real-time visibility into workloads and resourcing
Ensure that each team member is aware of their responsibilities and how their efforts ladder up to the big picture projects
Serve as a centralized communication channel for the creation of pursuits

DAM programs store and organize your essential marketing and BD assets (high-quality project photos, team headshots, boilerplate content, plug-and-play templates) for quicker, more efficient production of the deliverables that will showcase your value to clients. It helps teams:

Easily and quickly find assets using tagging filters
Leverage the most up-to-date visuals and brand-approved materials
Manage who can view, edit, or download assets across studios or departments
Track usage rights for photos, renders, and third-party content to avoid licensing issues
Speed up proposal production by quickly surfacing relevant project images and firmwide collateral

For a list of the top AE Pursuit Creation Tools, check out our BD Technology Comparison Guide.

Have You Heard?

Today, generative AI is a powerful resource for a growing number of firms; nearly 40%* are using it to generate proposals, and many systems already have integrations for it. OpenAsset, for example, recently launched its new Shred.ai proposal writing tool. The product allows you to search, generate documents, and respond to RFPs with ease. It even takes the guesswork out of selecting projects to include by suggesting assets and boilerplate text that best suit the RFP.

Knowledge Sharing

Can your teams quickly find the information they need to communicate your firm’s value to clients? Details like project facts, awards, team member credentials, speaking engagements, and compelling narratives are essential to pursuit success — but too often, they’re scattered across folders or stored in someone’s memory.

Without centralized access to firm knowledge:

Proposal development becomes slower and more resource-intensive
Key details are lost over time as team members transition or forget
Teams waste hours re-verifying information that should already exist

A standardized, accessible Knowledge Management System (KMS) solves these challenges by becoming your firm’s single source of truth. A well-built KMS can:

Document project typologies, milestones, and key statistics
Store team credentials, licenses, and awards in one centralized location
Provide immediate access to firm data during pursuits and pitches

According to McKinsey Global, a robust KMS can reduce time spent searching for information by up to 35% and increase productivity by 20–25%. That’s a measurable impact on both efficiency and outcomes. Explore how different tools support knowledge sharing in the Knowledge Management section of the BD Technology Comparison Guide.

For a list of the top AE Knowledge Sharing Tools, check out our BD Technology Comparison Guide.

Already Have a KMS?

Make sure it’s optimized to maximize resources with this scorecard.

Selecting The Right Applications For Your A/E Firm

In addition to solving operational challenges like those we discussed above, the platforms you choose must integrate seamlessly with your current systems, offer scalability as your firm grows, and provide data-driven insights that support informed decision-making. With a wide range of business development tools on the market, keep these things in mind:

Widespread recognition doesn’t guarantee a tool is right for your firm.
Focus first on what best aligns with your firm’s unique goals and workflows, not just what’s most well-known.
Even with out-of-the-box functionality, you’ll likely still need to customize each platform based on your team’s infrastructure and processes.
Knowing and understanding the features and capabilities of potential tools is most critical so you're not surprised after you've already begun the implementation process.

Save Time and Easily Compare Tech Tools for your Firm

We know finding the time to compare tools can seem like a daunting task, so we did it for you! Eliminate the stress and uncertainty of finding the right platforms to invest in with our BD Technology Comparison Guide. See the key functions and best-use cases for more than a dozen of the industries’ top BD software all in one place.

Equip your team to work smarter, not harder. Download the BD Tech Guide

Still feeling overwhelmed with your digital integration journey? We’re here to ensure your tech investments are seamlessly integrated and optimized for your firm's needs. Set up a call with us.

References

Deltek. 2025. Clarity: Architecture & Engineering Industry Study

McKinsey Global

Authored by

Katelyn Litalien

Marketing Operations Director

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