How Migrating to Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central Made a Big Difference
Successfully Reduced Reliance on On-premises Servers
By migrating to the Cloud with Business Central, IRMI has reduced on-premises server requirements and freed up their IT staff, so they can pursue more value-add projects. Upgrades now happen automatically and without business disruption, so IRMI has the latest technology and capabilities without the hassle of upgrading manually
Dramatically Improved Reporting Processes
Thanks to Business Central and Solver BI, reporting is much more efficient and timely. IRMI can now run budget to actual reports that used to require a lot of manual work with just the click of a button. Having timely data at their fingertips empowers IRMI to keep a consistent pulse on their business and make more informed decisions
Enabled Seamless Remote Work and Mobility
Connectivity is greatly improved with Business Central. Employees don’t need to remote desktop into the servers, they can simply and securely access the system from anywhere. This is critical for IRMI, where they are only in the office one day a week. Business Central also allows users to access the system from their phones, giving them the flexibility to get things done no matter where they are
“ We had a relationship with our main consultant and Italked to her probably every day, multiple times a dayduring the migration. Enavate is very good atsupporting you, understanding what you need andbuilding relationships.”
Ron Allen
Chief Financial Officer
The Implementation Process
IRMI leadership aimed for a migration window of August 2020 to November 2020. Though implementation was delayed by one month and the launch occurred in December 2020, it was well worth the additional training they conducted to ensure the company could launch smoothly. The IRMI team worked with a project manager and several other experts at Enavate to migrate.
Data Migration
At the time of the migration, a new Microsoft automated migration tool allowed IRMI to automatically migrate their data as opposed to manually downloading files from Dynamics GP to upload into Business Central. Enavate consultants who were familiar with the tool worked with IRMI’s project manager to manage the data migration, troubleshoot and resolve any errors. The IRMI team was responsible for cleaning up older data in GP and determining how much they would bring across to Business Central.
Project Management
Throughout the migration process, there were many meetings and trainings happening at once, covering all the components involved in the implementation. “There were daily Teams meetings that involved different people at different times,” Allen said. “It was a big project for us. They kept us on track.” There were meetings to discuss and manage data migration, weekly project management calls, meetings scheduled to address specific components, training and configurations.
The Implementation Process
Training & Change Management The IRMI team had to manage a learning curve going from Dynamics GP to Business Central. It was a mindset which they discovered had more similarities to Microsoft NAV than their existing system. It was a mindset shift, as they’d have to learn a new way to do their work.
“When we realized our processes were going to change even more than we thought, we had to determine if we were ready to learn all new processes and systems,” Allen said. “We decided we were. Everybody had to learn new processes, but we’ve improved through that. It’s been good for us.”
Enavate training helped significantly with change management. The training program was tailored to the IRMI team and business requirements, and IRMI recorded the training sessions for future reference.
An unexpected benefit is that they created a lot of documentation with their implementation consultant for their processes, which has made it easier to transition their teams in recent months to different roles and responsibilities. “Those helped us a lot recently when we had those staffing changes and people learning new things,” Allen said. “They went to those documents and it helped a ton. It took a lot of work, but it pays dividends later.”
A Partnership Built on Trust
The team at IRMI appreciated the availability and trustworthiness of their project manager and others from Enavate. This made the migration journey more manageable for them. Today, working in Business Central is like second nature for the employees, thanks to thorough training and documentation. They’re even able to manage restructuring roles with more confidence.
Allen says it all comes back to the solid relationship with Enavate:
We built a relationship with our Enavate consultant in those months weworked with her and she pushed us. The relationship side from Enavateis excellent.”
