Over the past 10 days there have been numerous announcements from Microsoft about their new Dynamics 365 offering. As we already knew, it’s based on the old Microsoft Dynamics AX ERP system that construction companies all over the world already use. So, what’s the big deal?
The big deal is how the solution is now deployed, and how the pricing becomes much more advantageous for any seasonal industry with an elastic workforce. So let’s have a look:
Deployment Finally, construction companies around the world have access to a global cloud network, Microsoft Azure, that’s available 24/7/365 with uptime that rivals any other offering on the planet. It’s so dependable that even Microsoft’s rivals use it for day-to-day operations. The Oracle Cloud and Apple’s iStore already depend on Microsoft Azure for global availability and support.
Interestingly, access to this ‘cloud’ is included in the price. That’s right, it’s not a separate charge based on unreadable tables around database hits and usage, it’s simply included in the monthly user costs. And some of those costs, for users who are simply entering time and expenses, can be as little as $4.00 to $10.00 per month. You read that correctly, access to their cloud AND this enterprise application for those low costs.
Deployment to cell phones, tablets and mobile devices and equipment is now built in to the product. No more extra layers of technology (along with costs and complexity) to deploy this to the field. Any device that uses a browser, anywhere in the world, can access this solution. Those of you with millennials in your work force know how important it is to give them the tools at work that measure up to what they already use every day on their phones – now you can, at a reasonable cost.
Construction companies know that IT is NOT a core competency, and the ability to stop paying for and maintaining server farms and IT infrastructure is finally available, without sacrificing security or availability. Why dig a ditch twice?
Pricing For the first time, construction companies with elastic workforces can finally view IT as an on-demand service. Not only can you size up as you need, but you can size down as well. Your monthly service costs (based on user counts) can expand AND contract as you need them to, month by month, without licensing negotiations.
The vision of paying only for what you need, when you need it, is finally realized in the application itself. Microsoft eliminates the requirement to deploy an entire, monolithic ERP system that inevitable ties your employees to home base. The way they offer separate on-demand applications within the solution allows companies to pick and choose purpose-built applications to use when they need them, no more – no less.
Microsoft’s realization of their ‘Common Data Model’ finally allows companies to stop having the ‘integration conversation’. This data model is exposed across the solution sets so that Marketing, Sales, Engineering, Operations, Field Teams, Accounting & Executive Management all have specific tools for their needs that can easily talk to one another. Stop having conversations with IT that can make a grown man weep and drains your budget. It’s already built-in.
Disruption Microsoft fully understands how disruptive this model is. They understand that many CEOs want to be able to deploy such a solution but inevitably drown in the IT details, become frustrated and just give up. It’s time to look at on-demand solutions in a whole new way.
The construction industry capabilities in this offering are already tried and true for companies around the world. It’s time we all consider the radical change inherent in Microsoft Dynamics 365.
Check out our other blogs in the Construction series, including:
4 Technology Trends Construction Firms Should Embrace Are You Ready for Trump’s Construction Economy?
Want to learn more about Dynamics 365 for Construction Industries? Contact us today!
