Last week, I delivered a Transformation Masterclass to a group of Dynamics NAV customers of the successful German Microsoft Dynamics 365 partner B.i.Team.

While the transition to Microsoft's D365 cloud solutions is certainly a popular move these days, there are always reasons why organizations are not taking that step yet. Think about uncertainty regarding the implementation, fear of change, lack of clarity about how to deal with the current customization and other major business priorities.

B.i Team identified a group of 9 organizations from its customer base that had completely rejected the possibility of a BC migration. Some had even explicitly requested to no longer receive messages about migration!

B.i.Team had growing concerns about whether it could continue to adequately support this group's NAV systems. Their older NAV specialists have already retired or will do so shortly. And others are fully active with BC implementations and support. That’s why they decided to offer these customers practical help. In the form of a Transformation Masterclass. Specifically for their executives.

So, a session without software demonstrations. And no function and feature discussions. But instead, the impact on business strategy. Clarifying the consequences of choices. Learning how to avoid implementation mess. And plenty of discussion and answers specific to the HOW questions. Because this group of customers also generally understands the WHY question of a migration very well!

The company issued a strong invitation stating that this valuable Masterclass was specifically intended for top management. They decided not to charge an entrance fee. Instead, they stated that a seat was worth €500, which could be funded through Microsoft sponsorship.

The topics

In this 1-day Masterclass, we discussed a number of management-oriented topics, like: 

1. What is the right business strategy for you?
2. And how can technology help?
3. What is ERP and how to best implement ERP?
4. What do you want to achieve?
5. Just modernise technology or also the organisation?
6. What is the best project scope?
7. What is the impact on company culture?
8. And what are the conditions for success?

We had valuable discussions about the need for customisation and why organisations are so complex these days. We did exercises around the cost of internal silo’s and the need for customer centricity. And we had intensive exchange about change management and the exemplary role for the customer's management. Luckily there was also room for some fun!

What did B.i.Team say?

This is what head of Sales & Marketing Titus Krauss said about this transformation Masterclass:

“We have invited Guus to help our existing on-premise based customers prepare for their digital transformation in general, but especially for their ERP environment. Many companies find transforming their organization to be a difficult and risky project. But with his charming style and his extensive experience as a neutral observer, Guus succeeded in engaging and convincing our customers.

This Masterclass was a complete success, as the first customers said immediately after the session: “yes, we are taking the step into our digital transformation with B.i.Team.”

I want to thank B.i.Team for having me and I wish the team and these customers all the best with the follow-up.

UPDATE: Within 9 months of this session, 5 (!) of these 9 companies had signed a BC migration agreement with B.i.Team. And all 5 are now using BC operationally. The remaining 4 clients have prioritized other interests for the time being.

Why does this work?

This approach is effective due to a combination of factors. My independent position is definitely one of them. Since I have no interest at all in selling BC upgrades. Based on my many years of working with Microsoft, I can confidently predict what the company will do with support and pricing levels.

My extensive experience certainly helps, as does the fact that I speak plain and sometimes provocative management language. So no tech talk. Ultimately, it also helps that your clients take a full day of their busy schedules to think things through and carefully consider their options.

So what can you do?

What do you do to help your Dynamics NAV customers prepare for a successful cloud migration?

Consider organizing a Transformation Masterclass with me for your own Dynamics NAV customers. The Masterclass will give them lots of arguments, motivation and inspiration to migrate. And that has proven to be more effective than the well-known Microsoft messages around discounts and declining Dynamics NAV support. Check here for the agenda. 

So let’s set up a call to discuss what your Masterclass edition will look like.

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