Microsoft Dynamics Partner

Selecting your Microsoft Dynamics Partner is a significant decision that will greatly impact the success or failure of your project.

The definition of “partner” is “one associated with another with common goals”. This is very important to remember in your Microsoft Dynamics Partner selection. The typical Dynamics 365 partner engagement model is time and materials. The Dynamics Partner estimates your project based on billable hours. Estimate is the key word here… There are a lot of problems with this engagement model. First, the risk is ALL on the client. Second, you cannot accurately budget for the partners services as it is merely estimated. Third, you and the partner are misaligned out of the gate, their goal (at some level) is to burn hours and sell you more, your goal is to have a solution and not to buy more billable hours.

Focus Matters

The Dynamics 365 platform is very broad encompassing marketing, sales, customer service, field service, project service, accounting, ERP and more. Pay attention to the Dynamics partner focus, do they focus on Dynamics 365 CRM? Do they also offer accounting and ERP services? What about Office 365 and other IT services? We are 100% focused on the Microsoft Dynamics 365 platform and only on the CRM areas. Our entire team has based their careers on this platform. Even with 100% focus it id challenging to keep up with all the innovation Microsoft has placed in this platform. I honestly do not believe any company that is not focused on Dynamics 365 and only on one discipline (CRM vs accounting/ERP) can truly be an expert. Focus matters.

Deployment Models

Many may think that most businesses who adopt Microsoft Dynamics 365 are using the cloud deployment model, this is not accurate. While we do see above 80% of our new implementations are cloud-based, the largest number of end-users we support are using the on-premise deployment model. Why? Because the larger implementations of Dynamics 365 CRM (a few hundred to a few thousand users) originally adopted the on-premise model and/or because the economics of cloud-based, subscription licensing do not work for large numbers of users. There are many reasons that the on-premise or a hybrid deployment model may be a better fit.

Did you know that Microsoft did not have a cloud model for Dynamics CRM until 2013? The largest number of Microsoft Dynamics CRM partners were not added to the partner program until after 2013 so most do not have experience with the on-premise deployment model. A very important factor in Microsoft Dynamics partner selection.

My team has been 100% focused on Microsoft Dynamics CRM since version 1 in 2003 and have deep experience with the on-premise model and migrating on-premise deployments to the cloud.

Platform Coverage

Many Microsoft Dynamics CRM partners tend to stay focused on what they know and are slow to adopt new areas of functionality in the platform. Ask the partners you are considering how much experience they have with the Dynamis Marketing module. The Microsoft Dynamics Marketing module has been in-market for 3+ years, it’s not new. Any top Dynamics 365 partner should be experienced with this important and powerful module. Ask the partners you are considering for a demo of the marketing module. Other areas that you should inquire about level of experience include Sales Insights, Relationship Sales, Field Service, and Project Service. These are areas you want to evaluate (depending on your business).

Strava – Top Microsoft Dynamics Partner that Checks All the Boxes

My team has over 17 years of experience helping businesses plan, implement and support Microsoft Dynamics 365 CRM solutions. In many cases, our engagement model is based on fixed cost transferring all the risk to us. The risk we assume is not just financial, it includes assuring we deliver the expected solutions within the budget we set for the project. Not all projects can be fixed cost based but about 70% of the work we do is fixed cost-based.

We are 100% focused on the Dynamics 365 platform and specifically the CRM or Customer Engagement modules. We are experts on Dynamics 365 Marketing, ClickDimensions, Sales, Customer Service, Field Service, and Project Service (Project Operations).

We are experts in both on-premise and cloud deployment models.

Learn More about why we would likely be the best partner for your Dynamics 365 CRM project. 

About the Author: David Buggy is a veteran of the CRM industry with 18 years of experience helping businesses transform by leveraging Customer Relationship Management technology. He has over 16 years of experience with Microsoft Dynamics CRM/365 and has helped hundreds of businesses plan, implement and support CRM initiatives. To reach David or call 844.8.STRAVA (844.878.7282) To learn more about Strava Technology Group visit www.stravatechgroup.com