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Business Central

Dynamics Property ApS

Quality and Expertise: How Companial Successfully Solved Capacity Challenges, upgrading to Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central Online twice as fast as the partner had planned from 3 months to delivered in a month and a half.

2023

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About Dynamics Property ApS

Dynamics Property ApS is a Microsoft Dynamics Partner based in Denmark, with a specialization in creating property management solution software for Dynamics 365 Business Central. Their Dynamics Property solution stands out as the only Danish-certified app available on Microsoft AppSource. Beyond their role as an independent software vendor (ISV) with a strong emphasis on Cloud, Dynamics Property ApS also provides consulting services to Business Central customers, guiding them through a secure transition to an online solution.

Per Damsgaard Nielsen

Dynamics Property ApS

Navigating Risk and Growth

Dynamics Property ApS is a major Danish company that has been supporting their significant customer base for decades. Lately, a customer reached out to Dynamics Property ApS, seeking assistance in upgrading their solution to Business Central online, version 20. Due to Dynamics Property ApS’ size, it would have been difficult to undertake this upgrade without tying up their resources for a year and preventing them from serving other customers during this period.

“We can do a technical upgrade ourselves, but for us, it’s a matter of capacity. There are only two of us working in the company”, says Per Damsgaard Nielsen, the owner of Dynamics Property ApS

Upgrade Journey with the Trusted Partner

Dynamics Property ApS opted for an upgrade facilitated by Companial and solidified the decision by entering into an agreement built on trust and reputation. Per, the owner of Dynamics Property ApS, has previous experience collaborating with 1ClickFactory (now Companial’s technical branch) during his tenure as a product manager in other Dynamics Partner companies.

“When talking about upgrade projects, sometimes it is hard to find qualified developers for these tasks because there’s lots of routine in it. They’d rather develop fun stuff. Also, there are a lot of specialties when you do upgrade projects. And the description from Microsoft’s side is not entirely clear, so you need to know exactly how to proceed. And, when you work with Companial, who have done it many times before, it is more efficient”, says Per Damsgaard Nielsen.

Dynamics Property ApS chose to address their capacity and talent challenges by engaging with Companial, who they had a positive experience collaborating with in the past.

A Consistent, Well-Defined, Easy-to-Test Upgrade Process

Firstly, Dynamics Property ApS initiated the process by analyzing the customer’s business processes to understand existing configurations and identify critical elements. Subsequently, a scoping meeting was held with the customer. During this phase, Dynamics Property ApS cleaned up the solution code, eliminating any non-essential functionality to streamline the migration and reduce upgrade costs.

“It all starts with the consultant there to understand the customer’s business. It is a good approach for any Partner to do because then you have consistency with your customer. And when you have well-defined business processes, it is much easier to test later, rather than having to understand it afterward. Once the coding was corrected, we went for the upgrade process, and Companial took care of that, so we just did the project management work”, says Per Damsgaard Nielsen.

With Companial, the customer’s solution underwent an upgrade from Business Central version 14 to version 20. The upgrade to Business Central Online occurred in a single step on time, on budget, with perfect quality, and with a warranty.

The project contained several key components:

  • Companial Scoping Workshop. In-depth discussions were conducted to determine the upgrade scope. Dynamics Property ApS and Companial specialists collaborated to identify customizations for upgrade, removal, or restructuring. Prerequisites for the upgrade were reviewed, allowing adjustments to scope, timeline, and cost.
  • Code Upgrade to Extension. Solution objects were migrated to the new Business Central version using automated conversion tools. Manual resolution of conflicts was undertaken during the conversion process.
  • Test Data Migration. The test database was migrated to Business Central online, and technical data migration issues were addressed successfully completing the process over a weekend.
  • Live Data Migration. The customer's production database was migrated to the new Business Central version and data was synchronized to the customer's Business Central online tenant.
  • 3 Months Free Warranty. Any reported defects were promptly addressed and resolved by Companial.

This comprehensive approach ensured a seamless and effective upgrade, addressing both technical and operational aspects of the transition.

“We see a lot of customers stuck in the past and using on-premises software. To be honest, the customer specifically requested to go to Business Central online. We didn’t know much about it, but we engaged in it, and we learned. Also, Companial has done it many times before and helped us to create security for it”, says Per Damsgaard Nielsen.

Exceeding Expectations in the Areas of Security, Time-Saving and Exceptional Quality of Delivered Code

The upgrade surpassed the Partner’s expectations, receiving positive feedback.

“We are pretty qualified to evaluate your work in the Business Central upgrade service, and it’s very good. Based on that, we have polished our own process with property management solutions. And, the people in Companial are very flexible which I appreciate. When we had some minor things, for example, some assignments in the upgrade process that didn’t need to be carried out, or some surprises that the customer wanted a new report, we equaled that out. Because the flexibility was there, the customer had a good experience”, says Per Damsgaard Nielsen.

Companial’s responsive actions during the warranty period instilled a sense of security for Dynamics Property ApS.

“We delivered on time, and on schedule. After we went live, a few issues arose, but they got fixed within 2-3 hours. I feel very secure working with Companial to conduct an upgrade, there are no surprises”, says Per Damsgaard Nielsen.

Leveraging Companial’s experience of working on 850+ upgrade projects yielded time-savings for Dynamics Property ApS.

“Companial is twice as fast in an upgrade project than when we were doing it for the first time. We need Companial experience to help us troubleshoot issues that arise. For example, the company name might have a space at the end of it and this would cause an error in the upgrade process without indicating what the issue is. So, if a new developer is conducting the upgrade, they will be working three times slower than Companial normally would be due to their extensive experience in this realm. You need to do at least two to three upgrade projects to know the pitfalls. But it is hard to get experienced people willing to do an upgrade because there’s a lot of routine work in it and it is very time-sensitive, you need to work over the weekend and nights when doing data migration”, says Per Damsgaard Nielsen.

Additionally, Companial delivered code of exceptional quality.

“Companial is very good at technical upgrade services, they have a clear path with the scoping meeting, every person is so engaged in it. I’ve been around, I’ve also been working in India, and when I look at the code, I can see some difference in quality. I know when the code is good and when it is bad. And, the quality is much better at Companial than I have seen in many other places”, says Per Damsgaard Nielsen.

Results

100%

flexible project management

100%

security with a free warranty

100%

quality code

50%

saved time

Successfully Staying on Business Central Online with Companial's Extension Maintenance

Following the shift to Business Central online, Dynamics Property ApS faced the ongoing task of aligning the customer’s solution with mandatory monthly updates from Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central. With each new version that comes out, there is a risk of disrupting a customer’s solution; it is always necessary to proactively test for potential problems, allowing for a seamless project. To mitigate risks and facilitate a smooth transition, Dynamics Property ApS opted for a complimentary 6-month trial of Companial’s Extension Maintenance service. This service ensured ongoing compatibility with the upcoming Dynamics 365 Business Central online versions. Following the trial period, the Partner opted for the monthly subscription payment option.

“We developed automated tests and ordered an Extension Maintenance service, so Companial team is conducting those tests. And I see a lot of flexibility in Companial's service because you have those testing pipelines and very proactive maintenance management. I don’t think many Partners are experts in DevOps or GitHub. Those times we had some issues, I’ve been contacted and it was a good experience. We are two people and even though we know many things, we don’t know everything, especially not Microsoft stuff. I am happy when I can write a message to Companial and they can escalate it to Microsoft and together make a midnight patch. We would never be able to do that as a company of two people. So, we really appreciate the collaboration we have with Companial because it gives us some possibilities that we wouldn’t otherwise have”

Per Damsgaard Nielsen Dynamics Property

Based on the positive experience with Companial, Per Damsgaard Nielsen, the owner of Dynamics Property ApS, recommends Companial to all Microsoft Dynamics Partners.

“If you went to an average Danish Business Central Partner and asked for a developer, they would just pick someone who has the time but not necessarily the experience. Instead if there was an option to choose Companial – I’d go for Companial anytime. And I would recommend Companial to other Partners”, says Per Damsgaard Nielsen.

High-Quality Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central Upgrades with Companial

Companial has 13+ years of expertise in helping Microsoft Dynamics Partners successfully upgrade any Dynamics NAV/365 Business Central solution, no matter how complex. This experience allows us to solve any challenges that crop up on time and risk-free, while still providing upgrades at a lower cost. Using automation tools to optimize performance (such as the Upgrade Analyzer and C/AL to Extension Analyzer), Companial saves 70% of the time that’s typically utilized during the upgrade process. We provide a free upgrade project assessment, a fixed price proposal, and a free upgrade project warranty for up to 3 months, helping Microsoft Dynamics Partners deliver the best possible service to their customers.

Request an upgrade service today for a FREE upgrade analysis or contact us at service@companial.com if you have any questions.

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