If you believe that Microsoft Dynamics 365 is the right choice for your business, you will need to secure buy-in from your business compliance and technology leadership to press ahead with implementation. In this blog, we’ll discuss how to gain wider executive support for your vision for the future, and how our process ensures a successful implementation of Microsoft Dynamics 365 with a clear ROI for businesses in the financial services sector.
Table of contents
1) How to secure buy in from your business leadership
2) How to secure buy in from compliance
3) How to secure buy in from your technology team
1) How to secure buy in from your business leadership
For managing directors, CEOs and board members faced with the decision of implementing a new CRM solution into a financial services organisation, they will be concerned with growing revenues, improving profitability, increasing market share and reducing costs. They will also want to see business benefits immediately.
Business growth
A main concern for your business leadership team is likely to be whether an investment in Microsoft Dynamics 365 CRM is going to translate into improvement of essential KPIs, and if the solution will be able to adapt and grow as the scale and needs of the business changes.
Thanks to its secure data storage and ability to be operated in multiple countries and languages, Microsoft Dynamics 365 CRM is highly scalable and highly flexible, meaning that the system will adapt as your business needs evolve, using a configuration driven approach and without the need for costly and risky customisation.
At Inciper, we have decades of experience delivering successful CRM solutions for a variety of financial services organisations, from SMEs to large enterprises; from CMME (a small business on a rapid trajectory) to HSBC (a well-established global provider looking to deliver across multiple countries). Our RAPID approach to implementation allows us to deploy CRM solutions quickly and efficiently, with lower risk and early business benefits.
Reducing cost
Your leadership is likely to be understandably concerned about how much Microsoft Dynamics 365 implementation costs and will need to be sure that the software is worth the investment.
As a cloud-based system, Microsoft Dynamics CRM doesn’t require the purchase of physical servers or multiple systems. Working with an implementation partner, businesses are able to configure a highly flexible and adaptable solution, which is far more cost-effective than building a bespoke system.
Microsoft Dynamics 365 is also a modular system, meaning that elements can be delivered quickly and efficiently in a series of stages. This allows the system to deliver benefits incrementally rather than in a ‘big bang’, allowing for a faster ROI. This is essential in an environment where economic conditions can change without warning, and Microsoft Dynamics 365 offers a solid foundation, giving businesses flexibility to manage costs effectively.
Want to know more about our iterative approach to Microsoft Dynamics CRM implementation? Download our Ebook: 
2) How to secure buy in from compliance
In order to secure buy-in for Microsoft Dynamics 365 in your financial services organisation, convincing your compliance team is essential. While your compliance manager may not have previously considered a CRM as a potential solution to their problems, Microsoft Dynamics 365 can help them manage compliance processes more easily and efficiently.
Is Microsoft Dynamics 365 CRM a good fit for financial services organisations? Find out more in our blog.
Data compliance and security
For compliance managers in the financial services industry, it can be difficult to get sales teams to follow strict regulations and help them to stay compliant. At Inciper, we have found a way to combat this issue specifically. Using Microsoft Dynamics CRM’s automation and integration of compliance processes, we have built compliance into the sales process, so that the compliance team doesn’t need a separate system to sales. This streamlines both departments’ processes and ensures compliance with all relevant regulations across the board.
When it comes to data security, Microsoft Dynamics CRM segregates duties, which ensures that processes are carried out in a way that protects data and reduces the risk of security breach. If you have an approval process for progressing an opportunity or contract, for example, the team member who raises it will not be responsible for approving it.
Security in the CRM system can be configured to operate on a role-based, need-to-know basis, meaning that even if someone has all the necessary official approvals to access certain information, they cannot do so unless it is absolutely necessary for their job function. The CRM system also gives compliance team members insights and alerts into non-compliance, so the risk of human error is reduced.
Data residency
Microsoft Dynamics 365 has multiple data centres all over the world, so that businesses have assured data security, no matter where they are based. Since certain countries have strict rules about cloud hosted data, the CRM system is set up so that your Head of Compliance can make sure the data aligns with regulatory requirements.
3) How to secure buy in from your technology team
In order to secure buy-in from your Head of Technology or CIO, you will need to ensure that the CRM system you are proposing aligns with the technology architecture strategy of your business.
Microsoft Technology
For organisations with Microsoft technology such as Windows and Office currently in place, Microsoft Dynamics 365 is the obvious choice from your technology team’s perspective, so an internal sell is likely to be much easier.
Investing in software from the same supplier as your core technology platform delivers a host of benefits including ease of integration, simplified licensing and the assurance that the CRM system is offered by a stable and secure provider.
However, for businesses that are less Microsoft-centric and have investments in Google, IBM or open-source technology providers for core platform and user tools, Microsoft Dynamics 365 is a less obvious choice. That being said, these businesses still stand to gain significant benefits from using Microsoft Dynamics 365. These include improved integration, marketing leading capabilities and that Microsoft Dynamics 365 is provided as a cloud solution, which means it can be a standalone investment in this environment.
Cloud vs On Premise
Microsoft Dynamics 365 is cloud-based, meaning that your business will not need to maintain its own infrastructure of servers, backup and disaster recovery systems to support the solution. The software is also very cost-effective; Microsoft Dynamics 365 operates on a subscription basis, which is budget-friendly because it allows your business to only pay for the users you need on a monthly basis, freeing up capital budget.
While the vast majority of Microsoft Dynamics 365 implementations do leverage Microsoft’s cloud capability, it is worth noting that Microsoft Dynamics is also available as an on-premise solution for organisations where cloud is not an option, offering a flexible cloud, on premise or hybrid architecture models that cannot be matched by many other providers.
Data access
Because Microsoft Dynamics 365 is an industry-standard software from Microsoft, you can be assured that the software is future-proofed, robust, scalable and has innovation built in. Microsoft invest heavily in Dynamics CRM to ensure it is market-leading with an impressive software investment roadmap of new innovation.
Microsoft Dynamics 365 provides a secure data centre and has multi-factor authentication, meaning that even if someone has entered the password, an IT team member will still be alerted if an attempted login has taken place. This makes the CRM system much easier for everyone in the IT department to manage. On top of this, data becomes available instantly to those with access on a need-to-know basis, meaning that data visualisation and business insights are in real-time and personalised to your role - even across a global platform.
4) How can Inciper help?
When it comes to securing buy-in from your management team, we understand how difficult it can be.
At Inciper, we have a clear understanding of different stakeholder’s drivers across the business and are able to address each department’s concerns. Most implementation partners take a technology-driven approach to implementation, and while this may be suitable in some business circumstances, in a complicated financial environment with specific sales, compliance and service requirements, this method doesn’t work. Implementation of Microsoft Dynamics 365 is a digital transformation project, and the approach needs to be business-led - not focused solely on IT.
We focus on the specific pain points in each aspect of your business, from the CEO’s concerns to compliance worries. We do this by ensuring executive level engagement throughout the consultation and implementation process, in order to deliver a CRM solution that works for all aspects of your business.
Our financial services expertise means that our team are aware of the regulatory considerations your business will need to take, yet we still work to deliver a solution that will achieve the best results, even in a complex and often unpredictable industry.
