Grow YourBusiness with Confidence

Use this guide and supporting resources to:

Identifythesignsyourbusinessisreadyforanewbusinessmanagementsolution.

Understandthequestionsyoushouldaskduringtheevaluationprocess.

LearnhowabusinesssolutionfromMicrosoftcanhelpyougrowyourbusinesswithconfidence.

KeepYourBusinessGoingandGrowingWhetheryoumakewidgets,sellservices,ormovemerchandise,youdependonyourpeople,andyourpeopledependonthetoolsyougivethemtomanageyourkeybusinessprocesses.Manycompaniesreachatippingpointwheretheverytoolsandsystemsthatsupportedtheirinitialgrowthbegintohindertheirabilitytoactwithagilityandinsight.

Asyourbusinessdiversifiesandgrowsincomplexity,youneedmorethanbasicbookkeeping,inventorymanagement,andbackward-lookingreporting.Youneedacompletebusinessmanagementsolutionthattakesadvantageofthelatestinnovations,fromcloudcomputingtomobilityandsocialconnectivity—deliveredwithoutaburdentoyourpeopleandrisktoyourcashflow. Evaluatingnewbusinessmanagementsolutionsmayseemdaunting.Buttheoptionsandresourcesavailableforsmalltomidsizedbusinesseshaveneverbeenbetter—ormoreaffordable.

FiveSignsYourAccountingSystemMayBeHinderingYourGrowthArethepeopleinyourofficewastingvaluabletimeduplicatingdataentryortryingtoconfigureanunderpoweredoroutdatedsystemtodothingsitwasn’tdesignedtodo?Youcanapplyworkaroundsintheshort-term,butthelongeryouwait,themorebusinessyoulose.

Ifyouidentifywithanyofthesescenarios,it’stimetoreplaceyourexistingsystem.

You can’t scale operations to support business growth. Ifyourbusinessisstifledbythenumberofpeoplewhocanaccessinformation,transactionlimits,orthesizerestrictionsofyourdatabase,it’stimetofindasolutionthatcanscaletosupportyourgrowth.Asyouexpandproductlinesandenternewmarkets,yourbusinessprocessesbecomemorecomplex.Withbasicaccountingsoftware,eventhesimplestprocesses,likeinvoicingandmonth-endclosing,cantakehours—evendays—tocomplete.Youneedbusinessprocessautomationtohandlegrowthwithoutaddingtoyourpayroll. You can’t wrap your arms (or your head) around your business. Thereusedtobeaone-to-onecorrespondencebetweenyouremployeesandthebusinessfunctionstheymanaged.Nowyoudon’thavethecontrolsinplacetoensureadetailedandaccurateaudittrail.Ifmultipleuserscanmakechangestofinancialentrieswithoutpropertracking,it’sdifficulttotracewhohasdonewhat.Protectyourbusinesswithasolutionthatsupportsandenforceswell-definedrolesandprocessesandgivesyoutightercontrolovercriticalfunctions,suchaspayments,purchasing,andinventorymanagement.

You are reactive when you need to be proactive. Sure,yourbasicaccountingsoftwarecangiveyouasnapshotofyoursalesperformanceforthepastquarter,butdoyouknowwhichproductsproducethehighestmarginsandwhichcustomersarelikelytopurchasethehighestvolumeofthoseproducts?Insteadoflookingatreportsofpastperformance,youneedinsightintocurrentactivitiesanddevelopingtrendstomoveyourbusinessforward.Therightbusinessmanagementsolutioncangiveyoufullvisibilityintowhatdrivesyourprofitabilityandtheabilitytoturnthoseprofitsintothecashflowthatwillsupportyourfuturegrowth.

Whycompaniesadoptnewbusinessmanagementsolutions

Source: Nucleus Research: “Microsoft Dynamics Enterprise Applications for SMBs.”

54%Processintegration

50%Resolveorderprocessingissues

50%Hardware&softwareobsolescence

38%Resolvedataduplication/errors

35%Reduceexcessinventory

You can’t support a mobile workforce. Thetraditionalworkplaceisn’tsotraditionalanymore,andbusinessdoesn’tstopbecauseyou’reontheroadorworkingfromhome.Keepyourpeopleconnected,productive,andhappywithsystemsthatsupportthemobilityandflexibilitytheyexpect.

You can’t meet customer expectations. Areyouusingdifferentsystemstomanageyourfinances,administercontracts,trackcustomerinteractions,ormanagedelivery?Ifyoudon’thaveanend-to-endviewofyourbusinesstotrackcustomerinteractions,forecastdemand,andmanageyourfinances,andifthosesystemsdon’ttalktoeachother,youmayfindyourselfunabletomeetcustomerexpectations.Tosucceedinanincreasinglycompetitiveeconomy,youneedawell-tunedsupplychainandtheabilitytomanagecustomerandvendorrequirements.

TheSignsAreClear.NowWhat?Evaluate your optionsAsyoubeginyourresearchprocess,you’llfindtherearemanyEnterpriseResourcePlanning(ERP)orbusinessmanagementsystemstoconsider.Infact,fromafunctionalityperspectiveitmayevenbehardtotellmanyofthemapart.

Mostsolutionsofferfinancialmanagementandreporting;supplychainmanagement;andsomelevelofproject,service,andcustomerrelationshipmanagementcapabilities.Somevendorsalsoofferadvancedanalyticcapabilitiesandfunctionalitytargetedforspecificindustries.

You’llneedtodeterminethebasicfunctionalityyourequire.Butif90percentoffunctionalityisconsistentacrossvendorsystems,youalsoneedtothinkbeyondthebasics.Considerkeydifferentiatorsliketheuserexperience,collaborativecapabilities,deploymentoptions,andthetrustworthinessandstabilityoftheprovider.

QuestionstoAskDuringtheEvaluationProcess

How easy is the system to learn and use? WhenwasthelasttimeyouconsultedatrainingmanualtouseFacebook?Everyapplicationshouldbesointuitive.Whenlearningcurvesgodown,sodotrainingcosts,andtime-to-valuegoesup.Makesureyouselectavendorwhooffersasolutionwith:

• A simple, intuitive user experience.Nothingincreasesuseradoptionandlowerstrainingcostsmorethanarole-specificinterface,personalizedtasksandreports,andclearworkflows.

• Built-in productivity tools.Managingyourbusinessismucheasierwhenyourcalendar,email,andbusinessmanagementsoftwareworktogether—andaredeliveredbyonetrustedsource.Asolutionthatcanconnectandintegratethesystemusedtomanageyourfinances,supplychain,andoperationswiththeproductivitytoolsinMicrosoft® Officewithonesinglesign-onwillsimplifytasksandincreaseefficiency.

Herearefivequestionsyoucanasktopushpastthebasics.

1

2

3

Does the solution support the new ways people want to work?Theconsumerizationoftechnologyhasblurredthelinebetweenpersonalandworkcomputing.Usersexpectthatthesoftwaretheyuse,whetherdesignedforbusinessorforfun,willbeintuitive,accessiblefromanytypeofdevice,andalwaysavailable.

Inventorythedevices—desktops,laptops,tablets,andsmartphones—yourpeopleusetobeproductive,andthenassesshowthesolutionsyouareevaluatingcansupportthosedevicesandthekeyapplicationsusedbyyouremployees.Abest-in-classsolutionwillbeaccessibleonthedevicespeopleusemost,whetherthey’reintheoffice,athome,orworkingfromaremotelocation.

Does the vendor offer deployment options that fit my business? Asyouevaluateanewbusinessmanagementsolution,youmayalsowanttoevaluatetheITmodelneededtosupportit.Ifyou’rerunninganonlineversionofanentry-levelaccountingsolution,doyouplantoinvestintheinfrastructuretomaintainyournewsolutionin-house?Orwouldyouprefertomaintainacloud-basedsolution?Ifyou’reusinganoutdatedlegacysystem,doyouwanttomovetoanoutsourcedoracloud-baseddeployment?

Acloud-basedsolution,forexample,caneliminatelarge,upfronthardwareinvestmentsandreducestaffingneeds,whileanon-premisesdeploymentmaygiveyougreatercontrolofwhereyourdataresidesandfutureupgrades.Thebestsolutionsprovidechoiceforcloud-based,on-premises,andhybriddeploymentstoaccommodatetheuniqueneedsanddemandsofyourbusiness.

Whybusinessesmovetothecloud

Letsusexperimentmoreeasilyandatlowcost

Enablesdeepercollaborationwithbusinesspartners

FreesupITresourcestoworkonmorestrategicthings

Isasourceofcompetitiveadvantageforearlyadopters

Source:“SMBBusinessintheCloud2012.”HowtheCloudLooksfromtheTop:AchievingCompetitiveAdvantageintheAgeofCloudComputing.AHarvardBusinessReviewAnalyticServicesReport.

64%

61%

60%

57%

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5

What is the vendor’s service model after the sale?Mostorganizationsdon’tflysolowhendeployingabusinessmanagementorERPsystem.Toensuretheconsistencyandpredictabilityofyouroperations,youmayrequireimplementationassistance,systemintegration,orongoingsupport.Doesthevendorhaveaserviceandimplementationecosystemwithprovidersinyourlocalarea?

Andwillthevendorprovideinnovativesolutionstohelpyouadapttonewmarketcomplexities?Asabusinessowner,youunderstandtheimportanceofdeliveringvaluetoyourcustomers.Doesthevendordemonstrateanongoingcommitmenttotechnologyadvancement?

Finally,don’tforgetaboutpricingfluctuationsbeyondthefirstyear.Providerscanofferlowmonthlypaymentsthatdramaticallyincreaseafteryourfirstcontractexpires.Iftheyareholdingyourdatahostageinalong-termcontract,theycouldbeputtingyourbusinessatrisk.

Does the vendor understand and focus on the needs of small and midsized businesses?Ideally,whenyoudeployabusinessmanagementsystem,you’llachievebenefitsthatgobeyondmereautomationofmanualprocesses.Newbusinessmanagementsoftwarecanhelpanorganization:• Increasesaleswithfewersalesdiscounts• Improvesales-forceefficacyandaverageordersize• Increaseinventoryturnswhilereducingstock-outs• Reduceproductioncosts Asyouevaluatevendors,considertheirtrackrecordsforhelpingbusinesseslikeyoursachievetheresultsyouwant.Askforcasestudiesthatrepresentcustomersofsimilarsizeandindustryfocusandbesuretoverifyreferences.It’sabigdecision.Doyourhomework.

MicrosoftDynamicsCustomerStories

“By selecting a cloud-based solution, we have a complete, ready-to-run IT environment from day one. This ensures that we are up and running fast, without us having to think about anything related to IT.”

Jesper Lindhardt Law Firm Partner, Effekt

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“We aim to grow the business by 20 percent next year, and Microsoft Dynamics will help us do that. It was the right decision for us.”

Will WebbDirector, PFL

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GrowWithoutGrowingPainswithaBusinessSolutionfromMicrosoftThebestbusinesssolutionsarepowerful,easytouse,andflexible—andthey’realsofromMicrosoft.Ourbusinessmanagementsolutionsareeasytolearnanduseandquicktoimplement,soyoucantranscendthelimitsofyouroverworkedandundersizedaccountingsoftware.WithabusinesssolutionfromMicrosoft,youcan:

Connect people, processes, and systems all from one place Managingyourbusinessismucheasierwhenyourcalendar,email,andbusinessmanagementsystemsworktogether—andaredeliveredfromonetrustedsource.AbusinesssolutionfromMicrosoftbringsthebusinessmanagementcapabilitiesofMicrosoftDynamicstogetherwithOffice365™tobreakdownthewallsbetweendataandhowpeoplegetworkdone.Withoneunifieduserexperienceandasinglesignon,yougetthetoolsyouneedtomanageyourfinances,supplychain,andoperations,andkeepyourpeopleproductive.

Get everything you need to work where you’re needed most Businessdoesn’tstopbecauseyou’reontheroadorworkingfromhome.Monitoryourbusinessandenablepeopletoworkwhereandwhenthey’reneededmost.UsingMicrosoftDynamicsandOffice365,youcanmonitoryourbusiness,collaborateondocuments,andenterandapprovetransactionsfromyourdesktop,tablet,orphone—whereveryoumaybe.

Support your growth ambitions AglobalnetworkofMicrosoftDynamicsCertifiedPartnerswithindustryexpertiseandawiderangeofpackagedandcustomizedsolutionssellandimplementoursolutions.RapidStarttoolsenablefaster,lower-riskimplementationsandmigrationofexistingdata,soyougetupandrunninginhoursordaysinsteadofweeksormonths.Inthecloudoronyourservers,startwithwhatyouneednowandaddcapabilitiesandusersasyourbusinessgrows.

GetStartedwithMicrosoftDynamicsVisit us tospeakwithaMicrosoftrepresentative,viewademo,orlearnmoreaboutoursolutionsforsmallandmidsizedbusinesses.

TestdriveabusinesssolutionfromMicrosoft.

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