Implementing Microsoft Dynamics and Running Your Business Apps with Confidence: Why a Pandemic Shouldn’t Get in the Way

When the COVID-19 pandemic hit, business nearly came to a halt. Companies scrambled to figure out how to cope: making it possible for employees to work from home, doing business with suppliers and customers virtually, adjusting to delays with the supply chain, and often, making adjustments to budgets, often to simply stay afloat. Spending was put on hold, or money was reallocated for more pressing needs.

While these actions were necessary, when does cutting back or putting things on hold start to become part of the problem, rather than the solution? Even during “normal” times, CIOs and IT managers are constantly juggling resources to keep everyone happy and operations running. If systems aren’t working optimally, there’s going to be trouble…and in today’s climate, nobody can afford that.

If you’re cutting back or putting on hold projects or activities that support business applications that play a key role in supporting your business to save money now, you might be doing just the opposite, because these projects and activities are what help you cut costs, reduce risk, and increase productivity.

This might surprise you, but now is actually the right time to keep things moving forward. Why? Because ERP, CRM, and similar systems are fertile ground for streamlining, automating, and consolidating to get those immediate cost- and time saving results you were looking for back before 2020 went off the rails—tackling the challenges you were already facing before and that will be waiting for you when this is all over, but worse because they’ll be hampering your ability to get back up to speed.

With the right partner, you can operate with certainty

If, when the pandemic hit, you put a hold on your Dynamics 365 implementation or upgrade–or had to put IT initiatives and ongoing support on the back burner because of a smaller IT staff or dealing with employees working from home, it’s time to get them back on track.   The key is choosing the right partner—one that has experience in doing implementations (and other technical projects) virtually.

HSO (which recently acquired AKA) has continued since March 2020 to successfully implement hundreds of Dynamics ERP and CRM systems and provide expert application support for clients around the world. In fact, companies have been mostly remote for years, so the concept is far from new. In the U.S., for example, nearly 90 percent of the employees work from home.

More importantly, HSO’s Global Managed Services team provides expert service and 24/7 support, offering a wide range of application management services, from tracking patches to fully outsourced management of Microsoft Dynamics solutions. Our team of experienced professionals have the expertise, experience, and reliability that gives businesses confidence of mind that your IT needs are being handled and you can focus your time on your business.

Case in point: A company with big goals keeps an ERP implementation moving

One of the largest insurance companies in the U.S. had a very aggressive growth-through-acquisition strategy. In just a few years, acquisitions have gone up from roughly six per year to 25, at one to two companies per month. That goal and growth rate required the ability to handle complex accounting. They decided on Microsoft Dynamics 365 Finance and selected HSO due to our reputation in the financial services industry.

The company was in the midst of the implementation when COVID-19 happened. But instead of putting on the brakes, the project moved forward. Why? The CIO’s answer was, “Why wouldn’t we?” Regardless of the pandemic, their needs still needed to be addressed to support rapid growth and strategic goals.

The teams worked together to determine how to communicate and work, using Teams and other tools. Since HSO has years of experience working remotely, there was confidence in this process, so we were also confident that the process would work.

Fast forward, and the project has gone well. “We have been able to communicate as well remotely as we would have in person,” the CIO said. “At this point, if I had to do it again this way, I would not hesitate.”

Run your Dynamics applications with confidence

Start getting value from the investment you’ve made in your Microsoft Dynamics solution with expert support from HSO Global Managed Services.

We can help you with your implementation, upgrade, or application support needs virtually or in person, and we can also help you with proactive, solution-focused support and more—24/7 and across borders. We’ll provide the level of support you need to relive the burden on your IT staff so you can focus their efforts elsewhere, and you can always depend on our experience and expertise.

Let us show you how we can help, with a FREE, 1-Day Dynamics Assessment. 

• An HSO Managed Services expert will meet with your team (digitally or on site) to evaluate your Microsoft Dynamics environment, make recommendations, and develop a support proposal.
• The Assessment is free of charge if you assume HSO travel expenses (where applicable, limited to $1,000).

Contact us to learn more about our free, 1-Day Dynamics Assessment to get that system implemented and delivering value.