CASE STUDY | LABOUR AND EMPLOYMENT SERVICES | MODERN WORKPLACE
Decision Inc. Migrates LWO On-Premise CRM Solution to Dynamics 365 for Sales and Customer Service Cloud
Solution overview
Industry
Labour and Employment Services
Solution
Dynamics 365 for Sales and Customer Services Cloud
Location
South Africa
Client
LWO was initially established within the agricultural sector, it has since expanded its services to cater to employers across all industry sectors nationwide, specialising in labour management.
Requirement
With a foundation now established for scalable business applications, LWO is poised to enhance their member services significantly. Managing labour and employment services across various sectors, LWO required a robust and flexible solution to streamline operations and improve service delivery. By migrating to a cloud-based CRM system, LWO can now fully leverage their data and processes to drive growth and efficiency.
The Client
Established in 1990, LWO has a proud history in the agricultural sector, assisting farmers and employers in managing their businesses sustainably and productively amidst challenging circumstances. Over the years, the LWO has expanded its services to cater to employers across all industry sectors nationwide, specialising in the field of labour law.
The Requirement
LWO needed to migrate their Microsoft CRM on-premise system to the cloud. This migration involved transferring all their current processes and data to several key platforms: Dataverse, Dynamics 365 for Sales, Dynamics 365 for Customer Service, and SharePoint. Additionally, it was essential to modernise their integration with Sage Evolution.
It was fantastic working with LWO to migrate their solution to the cloud. Our comprehensive approach, from in-depth analysis to seamless data migration, ensured a smooth transition and positioned them for future growth and technological advancement.
– Estiaan van der Merwe, Principal Consultant & Tech Lead: Modern Workplace, Decision Inc.
The Solution
In-Depth Analysis
Before initiating the migration, we conducted a comprehensive analysis of various aspects of LWO’s current solution:
- Existing Processes: Evaluated all operational workflows and procedures.
- Data: Assessed data structure, integrity, and volume.
- Custom Development Areas: Identified custom plugins and extensions.
- Integrations: Reviewed existing integrations with other systems.
- ISVs (Independent Software Vendors): Analysed third-party applications in use.
- Reporting: Evaluated current reporting mechanisms and requirements.
Using the Microsoft Partner Assessment Tool, we performed a detailed assessment of LWO’s current environment. This tool helped us accurately gauge:
- Areas that will migrate smoothly.
- Potential risk areas.
- Functionality that needs to be rebuilt using new technology.
- Migration Process.
The Migration Process was Divided into Three Main Phases
1. Migration of Current Functionality
Solution Tables, Columns, Views and Custom Attributes
- Migrated all solution tables.
- Transferred columns, views, and custom attributes to the cloud environment.
Custom Developed Items
- Migrated all custom-developed items such as plugins.
Business Process Flows and Reports
- Transferred business process flows, workflow logic, reports, dashboards, email, and document templates.
2. Rebuilding Custom Plugins
- Rebuilt all custom plugins using Power Automate to leverage the new technology stack and improve efficiency.
3. Integration Modernisation
- Rebuilt the integration with Sage Evolution using Power Automate, enabling interaction with Sage APIs for seamless data exchange.
4. Data Migration
- The Final step was to migrate all data from the on-premise environment to the new cloud solution, ensuring data integrity and continuity throughout the transition.
We had such a smooth transition and although we anticipated a few roadblocks, the Decision Inc. team was ready with a bulldozer every time.
– Sure Faul, Head: Legal Administration and Co-Ordinating, LWO
The Benefits
The solution enables the following benefits:
LWO’s migration to the cloud resulted in enhanced operational efficiency and scalability. The modernised integrations improved data synchronisation, and the streamlined processes and workflows leveraged the latest technology.
The solution caters for both a view for the executives and the operational business users.
- We love the auto tracking of e-mails. It saves a lot of time by not having to set-regard every e-mail.
- Creating phone call records are much easier.
- Having all your attachments in one place is amazing.
- Generating documents in Word of PDF is super easy.
ENHANCED OPERATIONAL EFFICIENCY
The migration to the cloud enabled LWO to optimise their business processes and workflows. By leveraging the latest technology, they experienced faster performance, reduced downtime, and improved resource management, leading to more efficient operations.
IMPROVED DATA INTEGRATION
Modernising the integration with Sage Evolution and other systems ensured seamless data exchange and real-time synchronisation. This improved data accuracy and consistency across all platforms, enhancing decision-making and operational effectiveness.
SCALABILITY & FLEXIBILITY
With the cloud-based solution, LWO can easily scale their operations to meet growing business demands. The flexibility of cloud infrastructure allows them to adapt quickly to market changes and integrate new functionalities as needed.
STREAMLINED PROCESSES AND WORKFLOWS
Rebuilding custom plugins and workflows using Power Automate streamlined LWO’s processes. This automation reduced manual effort, minimised errors, and ensured consistent execution of business logic.
FUTURE – PROOF TECHNOLOGY
Migrating to the cloud positioned LWO for future growth and technological advancement. They now have access to the latest updates and innovations in cloud computing, ensuring they stay ahead in their industry.
Decision Inc. has an Amazing Team and I would recommend them to anyone.
– Sure Faul, Head: Legal Administration and Co-Ordinating, LWO
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About Decision Inc.
Decision Inc. is a global leader in information-driven transformation with a core focus on data, digital and performance intelligence.
Our expertise in technology and industry specialisations have enabled us to help companies around the world make better decisions faster.
Our emphasis on local excellence and global scale enables us to bring clients best of breed technology solutions that enable significant improvement whilst leveraging our Global Research and Innovation teams to accelerate the time to insight. Our local consulting teams are experts in the implementation, support, and execution of these solutions and work with our clients to deliver real results and improvement.