Project Overview
The Institute of Materials, Minerals and Mining (IOM3), a major UK engineering institution operating in the not-for-profit sector, had been running on an outdated finance system that was restrictive, costly to maintain and difficult to extract data from. Faced with prohibitive upgrade costs and a requirement for improved functionality, IOM3 acknowledged that a new system was required.
Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central was chosen as the solution, with Transparity as its implementation partner. The full project — including development, reporting, data migration and personalised training — was delivered in just twelve weeks, on time and on budget.
The Challenge
IOM3 sought a trusted Microsoft Solutions partner to assist with updating their existing finance system. Operating from CODA Dream, reporting functionality was both restrictive and cumbersome; data was difficult to extract from the system and manual manipulation was required to format for business use.
Faced with prohibitive upgrade and maintenance costs, IOM3 were looking to protect themselves from recurring expenditure and required a solution that would offer flexibility and future-proof their organisation against any technological changes.
Moving away from an on-premise setup was key. IOM3 were looking to reduce their maintenance costs and minimise their need for expensive hardware and IT resource to manage their existing system. A cloud-based solution was the obvious choice.
The Solution
After conducting a review of their business operations, Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central was chosen as the solution to provide IOM3 with the new financial management system they needed. Transparity created a detailed and comprehensive project plan in partnership with IOM3, to deliver: development, reporting requirements, data migration and training. During the project, regular meetings were conducted to ensure both parties were on track and communication was effective in delivering the desired final outcome. Complete installation was planned and performed in just a twelve-week timeframe.
By utilising Dynamics 365 Business Central, IOM3 were able to benefit from clear and consistent SaaS licensing costs, eradicating all on-premise costs and enabling confident budgeting for future expenditure. Being on the cloud also delivered improved data security and access. With Azure Cloud, IOM3 now have the peace of mind that their data is always safe and easily accessible from any device, anywhere and at any time.
Reporting was a significant area where improvements needed to be made. Previously, IOM3 were confined to building reports within their outdated system. By integrating with Microsoft Office, they were now able to report on their data directly in Excel and make huge efficiency gains. With improved management and statutory reporting, IOM3 are now benefiting from a system that provides easy to use reporting tools to deliver ad-hoc enquiries both efficiently and accurately. And with Outlook integration, documents such as remittance, sales invoices and customer statements can be emailed directly — all of which comes as standard functionality for Dynamics 365 Business Central.
IOM3 also wanted to split their existing company account over four separate entities. After working closely together and mapping out all their requirements, Transparity were able to achieve multi-entity accounting and deliver a more cost-effective accounting platform for IOM3’s operations. Alongside the implementation of cash flow and automatic bank reconciliation functionality, a new finance system was now in place that matched the needs of the organisation and enabled them to run a more efficient finance function.
Data migration is often a challenge in a project of this nature. However, with decades of experience in the field, Transparity were able to deliver the requirement of retaining two years’ worth of historical data. Even with the additional complexity of multi-entity accounting and rebalancing the company ledgers, by working alongside IOM3, Transparity were able to deliver an effective solution, on time.
Once a training needs assessment had been completed for each employee, a rolling programme of training began. Personalised training was then provided to ensure that IOM3 staff were completely confident with the system and could perform independently in the future. Ongoing support was also delivered to provide complete peace of mind for the organisation.
The Outcome
The project was delivered both on time and on budget, achieved by working closely with IOM3. By questioning the nature of their business, Transparity were able to achieve improvements in functionality that would increase productivity, reduce costs and provide a more pleasurable experience for the end user.
IOM3 now have a system in place that will not only provide future value to their organisation, but is adaptable and flexible enough to manage technological change and drive real business growth.
“Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central allowed IOM3 to move away from outdated technology, and should provide more enhanced functionality at a lower price point – all on the Microsoft Cloud. This is exactly what the organisation needed!” — Jeremy Yeates, Financial Controller, IOM3
