The Client

A long time nonprofit broadcasting organization that specializes in radio, television and live-streaming communications, this Christian-based organization provides content geared toward families and other Christian-affiliated groups and missions. They also help to organize and contribute to charitable causes domestically and internationally and maintain a website and web store that allows people to make donations with their debit or credit card.

The Challenge

Prior to consulting The TM Group about their enterprise resource planning needs, they had implemented Microsoft Dynamics Great Plains (GP) with another partner a number of years ago; we’d performed several updates of their solution as newer versions of the software became available. As their organization changed, so did their ERP requirements.

While Microsoft Dynamics GP served its purpose, it was preventing our client from reaching the next level, in part due to the fact that Microsoft Dynamics GP is an on-premise solution. This fact required them to maintain physical servers, which minimizes flexibility and requires expensive hardware.

Another issue had to do with their web store. In order for people to shop and make donations, they have to be able to pay via credit card or debit. But the store wasn’t functioning as it should due to it being poorly integrated with Microsoft Dynamics GP. A web store and the checkout process needs to work seamlessly, or people will wind up abandoning their purchase or donation if they run into errors. Plus, a poorly performing checkout can compromise security during the transaction process.

In addition to wanting to address these issues, what our client really wanted was to migrate to the cloud, which would enable them to get rid of their servers, achieve a smoother integration and be able to leverage all of the other benefits (e.g. improved security, reduced IT costs, scalability, etc.) that the cloud has to offer. With that in mind, our recommendation was Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central.

The Solution
Part of the Microsoft Dynamics family of products, Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central is geared for small- and medium-sized businesses. As a solution that resides in the cloud, Business Central helps to centralize data and allows for greater visibility across all sections of a business. From supply chain optimization to financial management and reporting, Business Central is an all-in-one solution that delivers results and increases flexibility and agility.

While Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central served as the nucleus of our recommended solution, this client’s needs required some reinforcements. These included:

• Nomad eCommerce
• Insight Works Dynamic Ship
• Century Business Solutions EbizCharge for integrated credit card processing
• Solver CPM Suite for reporting

While The TM Group didn’t implement all of these add-on solutions on our own, we did manage the impelmentation process with our partner solution providers as part of our project management services to ensure that this client had a comprehensive, turnkey solution that would address all their needs.

As for one of the specific elements the client needed to replace was Management Reporter which was GP’s financial report tool.  We recommended and implemented Solver, a financial reporting and budget management tool that increases analysis efficiency. At the same time, though, Solver also eliminates the need for some workaround applications, such as Microsoft Excel or other spreadsheets software programs, for doing manual data analysis.

Results
Since our completion of the implementation, the client has been very pleased with the project and the way that Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central integrates with other solutions including the web store, both in terms of functionality and security.

One of the more frequent cyberattacks of today involves ransomware, which blocks businesses from accessing their network, data or computer systems. The only way to regain control and the data stolen is to pay the ransom, which can be hundreds of thousands, if not millions, of dollars. Plus, those affected by ransomware typically experience over three weeks of downtime, according to Coveware.

The Microsoft cloud is far more secure than on-premise, especially since Microsoft spends over $1 billion each year on cybersecurity, as reported by CNBC.

For our client, peace of mind was just another reason to transition to the cloud. They’re also benefiting from the convenience of no longer having to worry about GP upgrades. The company had several done with Microsoft Dynamics GP, which take a lot of time to perform. Now that they’re fully in the cloud, updates are done automatically and they are always on the current version.

For security, flexibility and visibility across your business, Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central is the preferred solution. Let The TM Group help you with the integration. Contact us today to get started.