The importance of Managed Services for Dynamics 365

At many companies, Microsoft Dynamics 365 is now an important cornerstone of the IT landscape. But Dynamics 365 is not a static package;  Microsoft regularly expands it with new features or updates. Managing 365 is quite a job, especially if you are not very specialist in the IT knowledge.

Managed support for Dynamics 365 is therefore very valuable, even if you have a lot of IT knowledge.  Nevertheless, there is sometimes some skepticism and not every company want support, for several reaseons. For example, organizations are worried about costs, think they have sufficient knowledge in-house or expect that working with an external partner is cumbersome. In this blog you can read those fears are unfounded if you choose Managed Services from Focus Enterprise Solutions.

Why organizations abandon support for Dynamics 365

Organizations have several reasons why they doubt for Managed Support for Dynamics 365. The following arguments are often discussed:

1. We already have an application manager who knows everything about Dynamics 365. We can therefore handle all issues in-house.
2. The costs for support are too high. It remains to be seen whether the costs outweighs the business benefits.
3. Once Dynamics 365 is installed, I don’t have to do anything.
4. We installed Dynamics 365 a while ago and did not purchase any support at that time. We’ve never had any issues with the platform all this time.
5. Working with an external IT partner is cumbersome. You always have to wait and see if you get hold of the right people when there is an urgent problem. You also spend a lot of time on calling and emailing back and forth.

But are these assumptions justified?

The value of Managed Services support

On second thoughts, many of the above assumptions turn out to be incorrect. Read why support is indeed important and what the extra added value of Managed Services is.

1. None knows the whole landscape

No single person can know your entire IT landscape. If that were the case, there were not so many subspecialties within IT. Also, don’t forget that Dynamics 365 is not an island within your IT landscape, but interacts with other systems, platforms and applications. An Application Manager does not need to know everything either. We see a lot of difference in organizations, every situation is different. For example, there are organizations where there is one application manager who needs guidance, but also companies with five application managers who are much more independent, but still receive support. Every situation is different.

Because Focus Enterprise Solutions is a premium partner of Microsoft, you get 24/7 support from Microsoft in the event of downtime through Managed Services.

Support via Managed Services has many advantages, so we can be a supplement for your Application Manager. This way you benefit from our network of experts, with which we can switch to answer your questions and solve problems. In addition, we have good contacts at Microsoft and we continuously gain new knowledge and experience thanks to our work for a varied spectrum of organizations. With an SLA you also have the certainty that your applications are always running.  In addition, we reserve capacity in the agendas so that there is always someone ready for you.  Support via Managed Services certainly has great added value, even if you already employ an Application Manager.

2. The costs for downtime are higher

Opting for support through Managed Services is certainly an investment. But that ultimately far outweighs a (total) standstill of your business in the event of a (major) malfunction. For example, do you run a distribution center where 150 people are hanging around for hours because Dynamics 365 is down? Then you will lose much more money than the costs you incur for support. Because Focus Enterprise Solutions is a premium partner of Microsoft, you get 24/7 support from Microsoft in the event of downtime through Managed Services. This way you solve a problem much faster and the risk of downtime decreases.

Good support also relieves your Application Manager, so that he can spend more time on other value-added activities.

At Managed Services you always have a single point of contact, a Customer Coordinator. This way your support gets a familiar face in the form of a specialist who knows your situation, organization and IT landscape.

3. Microsoft is constantly developing, but so are you

Microsoft is constantly developing Dynamics 365. For example, it releases ten updates per year, three of which you are obliged to implement. In addition, there are of course also developments within your organization. Think of growth of the customer base, a merger, new user wishes or changes in laws and regulations.

If your processes change, you also have to adjust systems. Practice shows that you usually need a consultant or developer for this. Managed Services helps you set up and develop the system in case of changes. While you may be using Dynamics 365 now without support, situations can always change. Do not hesitate to look at the possibilities of support in the current situation.

4. Fixed point of contact

At Managed Services you always have a single point of contact, a Customer Coordinator. This way your support gets a familiar face in the form of a specialist who knows your situation, organization and IT landscape. Will he not come out of it once? Then he can always fall back on a team of qualified colleagues. The lines are also short. The support can be reached by phone, e-mail, Teams and outside office hours also via a self-service portal. Support can also take place on location, although this is usually not necessary in practice. 

In the portal, an authorized contact person can request various forms of service and follow the processing. For example, reporting a malfunction, submitting a change request or requesting extra support. Our employees will then get to work for you. Working with an external IT partner is therefore not at all cumbersome.

We also have regular consultations with customers (status updates) and believe in open and honest communication: thinking together about solutions and issues and having the freedom to say things out loud if something is not right.  This way you can get the best out of your system.

Learn More

Are you already working with Dynamics 365, but don’t have support yet? Or are you planning to use the versatile application suite and do you want a high degree of unburdening? Please feel free to contact us for more information about Managed Services.  We are happy to tell you more about it.