WIG moves from legacy on-premise system to Microsoft Dynamics 365
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Pragmatiq worked with the Whitehall Industry Group (WIG) to move them a legacy, on-premise Dynamics system, to a cloud-based Dynamics 365 and Power Platform solution that they could rely on.
Background & Challenges
Background
WIG (the Whitehall Industry Group) is a well-established, independent membership organisation with over 40 years of experience. It brings together professionals from across different sectors to encourage knowledge sharing, skill development, and collaboration for the greater good. WIG’s goal is to help leaders work together to find long-term solutions to common challenges.
The organisation is made up of three main areas: Membership, Talent, and Leadership. As WIG looked to improve its systems, moving to Dynamics 365 became necessary to streamline operations and ensure the organisation had a reliable platform that could support all these areas effectively.
Challenges
- Outdated technology: WIG was using an on-premise version of Dynamics, which had served them well initially but could no longer keep up with their evolving needs. The system lacked flexibility, couldn’t accommodate all departmental requirements, and was missing key capabilities such as automation and bi-annual Microsoft wave updates. To future-proof the organisation, a move to the cloud was essential.
- Custom development: The legacy system had been heavily customised over time, leading to an over-reliance on development work for even minor changes, making enhancements costly and time-consuming.
- Data Silos and Disconnected Systems: System limitations forced WIG to rely on spreadsheets and disconnected tools to fill functionality gaps. This resulted in manual processes, inefficiencies, and fragmented reporting, making it difficult to gain a unified view of operations.
The Solution & Implementation
Discovery and Planning
Pragmatiq conducted a comprehensive analysis of WIG’s business units and operational processes to ensure the new cloud-based Dynamics 365 and Power Platform solution aligned with their goals and the way they truly work.
Execution
- Bespoke Dynamics 365 Solution – Designed and implemented a fully integrated system for Membership Management, Event Management, Marketing Automation, and Talent Management, seamlessly connecting with WIG’s Umbraco website and portal across all business units, eliminating the need for workarounds.
- Sales Pipeline Management – Dynamics 365 Sales was customised to support pipeline tracking across WIG’s three distinct business units, ensuring flexibility and alignment with their unique processes.
- Enhanced Event Management – Implemented Dynamics 365 Customer Insights to centralise event operations, including registration data, programme management, and mass communications. Integrated seamlessly with WIG’s website to capture event sign-ups directly into Dynamics 365.
- Leadership Programme Tracking – Developed functionality within the events module to map leadership programmes, enabling teams to track participation and communications effortlessly.
- Reporting with Power BI – Implemented Power BI dashboards, providing real-time insights into key metrics such as member engagement, programme participation, talent placements, and event attendance.
- Custom Talent Management Module – Developed a bespoke system to manage the entire recruitment lifecycle, covering general recruitment, mentorship placements, charity secondments, vacancies, and more.
- Bespoke Membership Module – Designed a tailored membership management system to track subscriptions, renewals, and engagement, ensuring WIG could efficiently manage its member base and produce reports for their members around engagement
- Seamless Microsoft 365 Integration – Integrated SharePoint, Teams, Outlook, and other Microsoft 365 tools to enhance cross-department collaboration. A key feature was the Teams Webinar integration within the events module, streamlining the setup and management of online events directly from Dynamics 365.
- Comprehensive Data Migration – Successfully migrated hundreds of thousands of records from the legacy on-premise system to the new cloud-based solution, ensuring data integrity and continuity.
The Outcomes
- A reliable, cloud-based solution: The new solution is fully aligned with WIG’s operations, transforming Dynamics 365 into a reliable, efficient tool that eliminates outdated functionality and disconnected systems.
- Operational Efficiency – A simple, intuitive system now drives collaboration across departments, improving productivity and streamlining time-consuming administrative processes.
- Real-Time Visibility – Organisation-wide real-time insights enable better decision-making without the need for manual reporting or navigating between disconnected systems.
- Scalable & Future-Ready – The cloud-based platform provides flexibility to grow, adapting to future business needs without requiring heavy custom development.
