I have just encountered a problem with Argus support(a friend actually), in that it doesn't exist anymore at least for DCF. I wanted to ascertain the validity of the following statement ARGUS will not support DCF until 12/31/17.
How many of everyone's firms are in the process of switching to AE or have already switched, and how was the transition?
Yes, Argus support for DCF is going away. We don't use Argus as frequently as we used to so we have transitioned to Argus On Demand (Enterprise) instead. Its been great from a cost and accessibility standpoint but it can be a lot slower depending on broadband capacity since it's cloud-based. The feedback I've gotten from my team is that Enterprise is more complicated but our DCF files can be imported in Enterprise.
Our consultants are trying to force us to switch to AE, but I heard it sucks bawls. Some files don't accurately transfer from DCF to AE and I believe there is a disclaimer saying that as well. Yes, they are discontinuing support too.
Our asset mgmt switched AE a while ago which was a good call considering how poorly Argus is handling this.
With that said. In acquisitions and development; it is still standard procedure to market OMs with Argus DCF cash flows. They are just more convenient files
Would love to see any consensus opinions on when the crowd expects transaction-oriented groups to make the switch. I'm once again being hounded that I "have to switch over to AE," but as mentioned, all the models I get are still in DCF.
AE is miserable. My experience has been that most people still model in DCF and then convert it to AE if needed.
That was my limited experience as well. My old firm (much larger than the new one) purchased the software and we still continued to only use DCF until I left. I think I opened AE a handful of times over 6+ months, and only out of curiosity...
I'm mostly interested to hear when people think the switch will really start to happen. For example, have any sales brokers here at the HFFs or Eastdils of the world started to transition? I have zero interest in being a first mover here - 90% of my work is transaction-oriented, so the enterprise/valuation/Asset Management features they're touting don't exactly excite me.
I know the Eastdil guys in LA use AE at least a little bit. I received some Argus runs from them where it was noted that they were transferred from AE to DCF formats for the clients.
Let's be honest, most of the complaining and backlash surrounding AE stems from people fundamentally hating change. As someone that has made the transition already (still using both out of necessity), here's the lowdown.
Did Argus totally drop the ball with the whole transition process? Yes. Was switching and learning the new system more or less miserable? Absolutely. Fuck Argus in general? Definitely.
With all that said, the new system is definitely more complicated - there are more menus, more options, more everything. Took quite a bit of hours and experimenting to find the inputs/settings we're all used to and even more time to understand all the new features and useless fluff that they bloated the system with. The new interface is pretty noisy in general, which is also annoying.
On to the good which there is plenty of. It's faster. You can save and run multiple scenarios. You can see the effect of changing any setting or input immediately. It's much easier to audit the cash flows and assumptions. They have new supporting schedules that are very useful, especially if you get creative with your models and like to automate your grunt work.
TL:DR - Switching is a monumental pain in the ass, but everyone just needs to quit eating those 'member berries, accept the new reality, and just get it over with so we can all move on cuz DCF is a goner.
1) I've been forced to use AE 100% of the time now and also train others on it (I get yelled at if I use DCF). It's really not that bad once you are force fed it. The only thing that sucks is that it's slow as fuck at times. I have no idea how the poster above me gets his to run faster, so please let me know your secret.
2) If you have access to the ARGUS hotline number, call them with your transition problems and have their employees help you with figure out why your DCF files aren't importing properly. They will help you out, and if you're nice enough they will literally fix your models for you (your mileage may vary though)
I'm starting to realize that we just gave good machines here at our shop. For some reason the DCF took forever to calc for me though. In AE, I make changes and see the results in about a second or two. Could be due to how our DCF licenses were set up (had to be connected to the internet). The AE I can use offline now which I couldn't do with DCF.
how long did it take you to calculate in DCF?
They need to create a cloud version of DCF..
Also, how many if you are able to use AE keyboard only? It's hard af for me
That was actually the most annoying thing for me on the switch. Had the DCF hot keys down pretty well and they either changed or eliminated all of them in AE. Makes things a little more difficult.
What!!!??!!
Why would they do that.
Thanks everyone for jumping in with your experiences!
I really appreciate it! I gave SB's all around.
Here's a new one. My company is on AE 10.5 - got a file from AE 11.0 which I can not open. Anyone know if there is a way to convert this file to a version that I can open? (preferably using AE 10.5 or DCF)
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