<img height="1" width="1" style="display:none;" alt="" src="https://px.ads.linkedin.com/collect/?pid=9864188&amp;fmt=gif">
Skip to content
Build better, together
WATCH A DEMO
Adobe Headquarters
Case Study  |  Commercial Construction  |  Private Sector

How Adobe standardized delivery across $1 billion in capital projects

How a five-person team used VPO to manage 25 active projects across five global locations
with one consistent, centralized process. 

Schedule a Demo
The Background

A global software company with
a billion-dollar property portfolio 

Adobe is a global software company whose products shape how the world creates and delivers digital experiences.
Its physical footprint has grown alongside the business, including owned and leased space across North America, Europe, and Asia.

A five-person project management office (PMO) oversees a $1 billion portfolio with 25 active projects in the pipeline. Projects range from a $45 million workplace refresh in Seattle to a $90 million building in Lehi, Utah, and an 18-story, $700 million tower at Adobe’s San Jose headquarters.

The scale extends beyond the project sites themselves. The San Jose headquarters project alone involved more than 100 consultants. Adobe turned to VPO in February 2018 to build a consistent, centralized delivery process that seamlessly integrated with its existing SAP ERP.

$1B
Capital project portfolio managed in VPO 

25 
Active projects in the pipeline 

100+
Consultants on the headquarters project alone 

VPO-inset-app-purchase-order-min
The Challenge

A decentralized process with
no portfolio-wide visibility 

Adobe-Corporate-headquaters

Adobe used SharePoint for document management, but each project manager built and organized their own project site. Projects lacked a consistent structure and a central portfolio view.

The PMO had already tried an integrated workplace management system. After two years, the team abandoned it because it was extremely expensive and difficult to use. Project managers went back to Microsoft Project and Excel for scheduling and tracking.

Then came the question of cost data. Adobe runs on SAP ERP, and the PMO needed project-level spend information to understand costs by material category. Getting that information reliably from the ERP into individual project sites proved difficult.

Adobe needed a system that could give the PMO a single, consistent way to manage projects, provide a portfolio-wide view, and connect project activity to financial data—all without asking a team of five to adopt an unfamiliar system.

"We are not a construction firm. We are a steel-making company that is growing rapidly, with several large construction projects going on at the same time."

Pam McBroome 
Construction and Finance Supervisor, Nucor
The Solution

One consistent way to manage every project 

Adobe chose VPO because it could build on the Microsoft tools the PMO already used while giving the team a standardized way to manage projects across the portfolio.

VPO-inset-app-ms-integration-min

One project template

VPO created a tile-based project template, so every project site follows the same structure. Project managers and stakeholders can find the information they need without using a different system for every project.

Automated reporting for leadership

Project information rolls into PDF status reports covering milestones, personnel, action items, and issues. The system automatically sends reports to VPs and senior directors.

Daily SAP Integration

VPO brings SAP project data into each project site and refreshes it daily. The team can see costs by material category along with the purchase orders and invoices associated with each project.

One place for project documents.

Drawings and documents live in VPO, giving consultants a current source of information no matter where they work.

A clearer view of project performance. 

A customized budget management tool lets the team compare forecasts, approvals, change orders, and actual results. That gives the PMO a consistent way to identify variances and track project performance.

Built on Microsoft 365.

VPO runs through SharePoint and Microsoft 365, so the PMO can manage projects in the environment its team already knows.

“VPO can integrate with any open-platform ERP, like SAP. VPO defines the system in which data is entered, determines the frequency with which it’s exchanged with other systems, and develops the mapping of data between systems. This ensures that information is pulled, updated, and displayed dynamically between VPO’s platform and the existing SAP system. All users across an organization can stay informed and up to date - all within the platforms they are comfortable using.”

Laura M. Nee 
President and CEO, VPO
The Result

100% spend visibility across a
standardized global portfolio  

VPO gave Adobe’s PMO a complete view of project spend across its $1 billion portfolio. The team can now compare projects against one another at the program level, giving leadership a clearer picture of performance across the portfolio.

The standardized process also extends to Adobe’s external partners. All professional services partners work in VPO, including architects, engineers, general contractors, and leasing agents. When a general contractor manages RFIs and submittals in another tool, the finalized records transfer into VPO at closeout, so Adobe retains the document of record in one place.

“VPO becomes the primary source of truth for all of our consultants. It’s the site of record for any drawing and document, for any project, for real-time reference anywhere, anytime.”

Justina Hyland
Former Director, Project Management Office, Adobe 
VPO-inset-woman-tablet-hardhat-desk-laptop-min

The VPO Difference:

100% visibility into spend

The PMO can see costs by material category and benchmark projects across the portfolio.

Less time spent reporting

Automated status reports give senior leadership a portfolio-level view without requiring them to open individual project sites.

Consistent delivery across projects: 

Every project manager follows the same process, even when projects share consultants, contractors, and internal teams across regions.

Audit-ready project information:

The customized solution earned an A+ from Adobe’s internal auditors.

One global environment:: 

Teams in San Jose, Seattle, Lehi, Singapore, and Milan work within the same system.

VPO-inset-tablet-yellow-hardhat-manager-min

Standardize delivery across your entire portfolio 

Schedule a demo, and we’ll walk through your portfolio, ERP, and reporting requirements, then show how VPO would be configured for your program.

Schedule A Demo

Related Customer Stories

VPO-post-supervisor-manager

How Morgan Engineering manages industrial installations in VPO

Read the Case Study
VPO-post-worker-carrying-beam

How Nucor standardized construction management on a $1.7B steel mill 

Read the Case Study
VPO-post-park-city-1

How three people delivered Park City’s $160 million water program 

Read the Case Study