Upgrade Your Legacy System Without Disrupting Your Project-based Organization

Project-based organizations that are still utilizing legacy systems today have a host of potential system failure, compliance, and integration concerns. There are a number of reasons why organizations hold off on a digital transformation. One of the biggest is a fear that a “big bang” implementation will disrupt business.

Although it might appear as though you’re saving costs when you don’t spend money updating your digital product, it might cost you much more over the long haul. According to the United States Government Accountability Office, ten of the government’s legacy systems cost approximately $337 million annually to operate and maintain. For all industries, an average of 60-80% of IT budgets are allocated to keeping legacy systems running.

What are Legacy Systems?

Legacy systems are outdated computer systems, software applications, and technologies designed to perform specific tasks in a specific way. These systems use obsolete programming languages and hardware components that are often difficult to maintain and scale, as the underlying technology can be difficult to update. Many project-based organizations avoid upgrading because of the time and cost involved, but it likely costs more to maintain based on the reasons below.

Consider a Phased Approach

If a “big bang” implementation is not for you, you may consider a phased approach to systems modernization. Some of our clients have started with CRM implementation, for example, and then moved on to back-office ERP and Project Management and Accounting. Or started with ERP and then added Project Management in Phase 2, and CRM in Phase 3. There are many options based on your organization and its needs.

Ensure Strong Governance

Regardless of which upgrade approach an organization follows, they should adhere to certain governance principles, and should be managed as a company-wide initiative. Business leaders and senior management must be committed to and engaged in the change process, outlining the conditions for success, and gaining agreement with the IT organization about how the transformation will be managed.

One of Velosio’s clients, a management consulting firm, replaced an aging Microsoft Dynamics SL back-end ERP and NetSuite for CRM with Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central with Customer Engagement, Marketing, and Progressus Project Management. To ensure the project stayed on track with strong governance, the client put together a change management team. “During implementation, we really tried to treat the solution as not just another tool—it’s bigger than that,” says a partner at the firm. “Dynamics 365 is an opportunity to transform the way in which you operate. We put together a continuous improvement and change management team in tandem with the implementation which keeps the training fresh, keeps features and functions present, and ensures user adoption and evolution of the system.”

It’s also important to have a clear long-term vision and plan for your new solution. The target IT architecture must be capable of supporting the organization’s long-term strategy. Management must commit to articulating its strategy with IT, and IT leaders must ensure that the resulting architecture can meet the evolving needs of the business. Top-performing organizations predict as much as possible while maintaining some level of flexibility to adjust.

Dedicate the Best internal Resources to the Transformation Project

Some organizations fall into the trap of staffing transformation projects with people who may be available but who may not have the required business, IT, or project-management skills. Project teams must be staffed with experienced IT professionals with the relevant skill sets, and they must be allowed to clear time on their schedules to devote their effort to the transformation.

It’s important to select a partner that sees your account as a high-priority contract. The provider’s commitment to your project and understanding of your goals (and relevant experience in meeting them) can be a make-or-break issue. While price will be an important consideration, having trust in a vendor is just as critical when making the decision.

Large incumbent organizations must address the barriers to digitization imposed by their legacy IT environments. With less hardware and software baggage and a more modern IT architecture, established companies can simplify their processes and IT environment and sharply improve their performance.

Upgrade to Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central with Progressus

Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central is a comprehensive, cloud-based ERP solution for small to mid-sized businesses, connecting sales, service, finance, and operations to work smarter, adapt faster, and perform better. It has the best ROI in the business – a recent Forrester study shows that organizations typically experience 162% ROI with Dynamics 365 Business Central over a three-year period.

But Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central alone doesn’t have all the functionality that project-based organizations need. Progressus is purpose-built on top of Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central to provide project-based businesses with the tools they need to ensure every project is profitable.

Many clients across the Proserv industry count on Progressus to assist with Project Accounting, Project Management, Project Resource Management, and Project Reporting. Progressus was built by professional service industry experts who understand the intricate and complex requirements of a business like yours. It supports remote work environments and is available 24/7 via the cloud.

Progressus allows for efficient task tracking and completion to determine which team members are the most productive. Progressus is the premier solution for Microsoft Dynamics Business Central for project-centric companies.  Features like project accounting, resource management, time and expense tracking, subscription management, Jira and Microsoft Azure DevOps integration, scheduling, and Microsoft 365 Outlook and Excel integration have made it a must-have for companies that rely on billable resources and complex projects. Progressus also includes Microsoft Power BI reports and Power Automate features right out of the box.

The integration of Microsoft Copilot to Business Central allows Progressus to utilize AI and natural language processing to enable business users to create content faster. Along with other Microsoft productivity tools, users can complete routine and time-consuming work tasks with minimal effort, eliminate many manual processes, and streamline business processes like never before.

Conclusion

It may seem daunting to upgrade legacy systems that you and your users are so accustomed to. With more than 33 years of implementation experience, we get your software up and running—effectively and efficiently—as quickly as possible. Our teams of application consultants and project managers, who are among the best in their field, are ready to help your business keep its commitments while investing in the latest technological advances. We guide your technology roadmap on a schedule that meets the demands of today’s fast-moving marketplace.

Velosio has helped over 4,000 clients with systems modernization projects and is the top Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central partner and 2023 Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central US and Worldwide partner of the year. Velosio developed Progressus for project-based organizations to succeed. We can evaluate your current systems and develop a roadmap to upgrade any lingering legacy systems.

To learn more about Progressus, visit the Progressus site here.