SCN: How long have you been with this company, and what are your responsibilities?
Tim Bigoness: I have been with D-Tools since 2005, minus a short stint in another industry for nine months about 15 years ago. Currently, I wear multiple hats at D-Tools, serving as VP of sales and chief marketing officer, where I focus on driving sales across all our software products while shaping the vision and direction of our marketing efforts.
SCN: Why should an integrator be using project management software?
TB: Process and efficiency are vital for any integration company. Project management software enables integrators to streamline what are often manual tasks, provide a deeper level of organization, and ultimately boost productivity and improve customer communication. Field management software empowers mobile, office, and field technicians to efficiently deliver on projects from the initial signed contract. When combined with a full-featured estimation and design solution, the combination can help companies deliver seamless installations and ongoing service. The end results are more profit, higher customer satisfaction, and greater employee engagement.
SCN: How long has D-Tools System Integrator (SI) software been in the market, and what’s the secret to your success?
TB: D-Tools System Integrator has been in the market for 26 years. It is a robust software solution that streamlines critical end-to-end business processes for larger projects, from estimation to system design, documentation, installation, and field service management. We just released SI v22, which reflects our ongoing commitment to helping integrators run better businesses. We recognize that software is dynamic, not static. Our dedicated software development team funnels all the feedback we receive directly from the industry into constant improvement and new features. The software continues to evolve in lockstep with the changing systems integration market.
SCN: What seems to be more popular with your customers, the design tools or the proposal tools?
TB: SI is the only solution that combines the design with the proposal for a truly integrated workflow. Our SI software offers comprehensive design and documentation of projects, with detailed engineering drawings that allow for precise designs, utilizing Visio and AutoCAD to actually link the project bill of materials to the engineering drawings. Integrators can upload floorplans and drop product icons to simultaneously generate a bill of materials, as well as use single-line system drawings, floor plan layouts, rack elevations, and wiring diagrams to ensure clear communication with the installation team, client, and other project stakeholders.
AI will become a foundational element of our software—with the emphasis on having capabilities that work with our users, rather than for them.
However, the proposal-creation aspect of the software leads the industry. Integrators can quickly and effortlessly create detailed proposals with a high level of accuracy, including labor calculations, accessories, packages, and much more. Proposals are built using the D-Tools Integrated Product Library with more than 1 million products and packages, with dealer-level pricing compiled from more than 25 years of direct relationships with top manufacturers and distributors.
SCN: What inspired the introduction of D-Tools Cloud, your web-based project management solution?
TB: We introduced D-Tools Cloud in 2018 as an affordable, multi-OS, web-accessible alternative to our flagship on-premises solution System Integrator (SI), which provides sophisticated design and engineering tools such as Visio and AutoCAD to help companies successfully manage larger, more complex projects. D-Tools Cloud is a Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) solution that does not require a large upfront investment. While its original focus was primarily on the pre-sales design and quoting process, it has evolved to also provide an end-to-end solution that includes project and field service management, procurement, inventory management, and embedded payments. It is a scalable, web-based solution that enables a connected workflow and collaborative work environment for internal and external stakeholders.
[Editorial: The 'Old Days' Really Weren't That Long Ago]
SCN: You’ve got on-prem (SI) and SaaS (D-Tools Cloud) solutions—how do you help clients determine which one is right for their company?
TB: It really depends on the types of projects they are targeting. As mentioned, SI is ideal for larger more complex projects that typically span from weeks to months, as well as for integration companies that require more sophisticated engineering documentation, detailed reporting, and a customized workflow. D-Tools Cloud is more prescriptive, and best suited for companies that are focused on sales, design, and project management.
SCN: In late 2023, D-Tools began offering the D-Tools Cloud Solo plan for free. What was the rationale behind that decision, and how is it working out for the company?
TB: D-Tools' mission is to empower integration companies to run more efficient and successful businesses. We realized that getting our software into the hands of the thousands of integrators who still rely on Microsoft Word documents and Excel spreadsheets to create their proposals could have a positive industry-wide impact by elevating their level of professionalism, expediting their ability to create proposal, and enhancing their sales close rates. The response has surpassed our wildest expectations. In just nine months, we have gone from 1,200 integration companies on D-Tools Cloud to more than 3,300 companies, with hundreds still signing up every month.
SCN: We tend to think of D-Tools as a Pro AV tool, but what other markets use your solutions?
TB: D-Tools is not only used by Pro AV and residential smart home integrators, but also by other trades in the commercial security, HVAC, and IT/MSP industries. Moreover, we have customers in the higher ed and government sectors that use the software to design their facilities prior to creating bid specifications. In all, more than 8,000 entities use the software in more than 90 countries around the world.
[9 New Enhancements to D-Tools System Integrator]
SCN: Last summer, you announced a strategic partnership with Simpro. How does this benefit your Pro AV customers?
TB: There are many trade contractors in the HVAC, electrical, and integration spaces that use Simpro as their business management software solution, while using D-Tools SI to create their upfront system design and proposals, due to the vastness of the D-Tools Integrated Product Library. This collaboration allows those integrators to seamlessly migrate their project proposals and designs from D-Tools to Simpro for job management, job costing, and invoicing.
SCN: How is AI impacting D-Tools products?
TB: At D-Tools, our mission has always been to develop solutions that meet the unique needs of electronic system contractors. As we look to the future, AI and machine learning are integral to this mission. AI will become a foundational element of our software—with the emphasis on having capabilities that work with our users, rather than for them. To support a full and integral deployment of AI, D-Tools is investing in the requisite infrastructure, talent, and innovative tools that will drive our next-generation capabilities.
[Executive Q&A: Time for Transformation]
SCN: What’s next for D-Tools?
TB: In 2025, D-Tools will continue to pursue its mission to help integrators run better businesses with several new innovations. The company’s 2025 product roadmap includes new modules for inventory management and job costing, along with deeper design integrations for D-Tools Cloud. These developments build on the momentum from 2024, which saw the release of System Integrator (SI) v22 and the launch of the groundbreaking D-Tools Payments solution.
