BACKGROUND
Braintree is a trusted Microsoft implementation partner headquartered in South Africa. With over 100 employees and more than 220 customers across international markets, Braintree delivers the full Microsoft stack: Dynamics 365, Azure, Microsoft 365, and Surface devices.
Their certified consultants help enterprises move to, and make the most of, the Microsoft ecosystem.
THE CHALLENGES
Getting from a sales conversation to a clear, costed project scope is one of the hardest problems in enterprise software delivery. For Braintree’s teams, it was a persistent pain point.
Operating across sales, marketing, and operations, Braintree depends on close collaboration, especially between sales and delivery, where projects get scoped and priced. The problem: each salesperson had developed their own way of capturing requirements.
Grant van der Westhuizen, VP of Sales at Braintree, describes their challenge:
“Our team were using spreadsheets, and each had formulated their own way of working, which was labour-intensive and not repeatable. We were seeking a modern, consistent solution to streamline processes, improve the customer experience, and increase efficiency across the business.”
The risk was real. Incomplete discovery meant incomplete scopes, incomplete scopes meant inaccurate estimates, and inaccurate estimates meant costly rework for both Braintree and its customers.
THE SOLUTIONS
Braintree adopted Seer 365’s GYDE365 Platform to fix the problem at its source.
They started with GYDE365-Qualify and GYDE365-Discover, then added GYDE365-Design to strengthen analysis and design operations. The phased rollout started with their Business Central practice, then extended to Finance & Operations, and finally to Customer Engagement.
GYDE365 automates and accelerates lead generation, discovery, analysis, and design for Dynamics 365 engagements, work that traditionally required lengthy, expensive workshops.
Craig Fidler, Lead Business Consultant at Braintree, explains how they are using GYDE365-Qualify: “Enterprises want to be as sure as possible that the application is right for them from the outset. GYDE365-Qualify has enabled our team to generate qualified leads via customisable online questionnaires that generate a high-level suitability report for Dynamics 365, complete with project timeframe and cost estimates, whilst reducing lead pass-back.”
GYDE365-Discover accelerates fit/gap analysis, cost estimation, and licensing calculations. Customers can make informed system decisions faster.
“With GYDE365, the platform guides our teams to ask the right questions from the outset, elevating the quality of customer engagement.”
GYDE365-Design brings structure to workshops. Clear objectives are set up front. Change requests drop. Craig notes: “The deployment stage can be overwhelmed with pre- and post-go-live change requests, which lead to resource pressures and missed deadlines. By incorporating GYDE365-Design into our approach, we no longer have these issues.”
Implementation of GYDE365 began with face-to-face sessions with Seer 365 in South Africa, covering training and a thorough assessment of Braintree’s existing methodologies.
Grant reflects: “Adding the GYDE365 Platform has delivered significant benefits in terms of risk mitigation, improved user adoption, and continuous improvement.”
A key factor in sustaining results has been Seer 365’s ongoing support.
Craig stated; “We’ve been impressed with the regular fortnightly check-ins by the Seer 365 team. Identifying issues early and maintaining momentum has played an important role in the overall success of GYDE365 within our organisation.”
“The result is a stronger human connection, building trust and rapport whilst shortening the sales cycle.”
THE RESULTS
Three years on, the results speak for themselves.
Grant summarises: “GYDE365 has enabled us to deliver higher-quality customer engagement and adopt a more scientific approach to identifying a customer’s actual requirements. That clearly differentiates us in the market.”
Craig points to a fundamental shift in how Braintree engages customers: “If the customer completes a survey alone, the result is often a long shopping list with little context. When our sales team engages using GYDE365, we gain clear visibility into exactly what the customer needs. The result is a stronger human connection, building trust and rapport whilst shortening the sales cycle. GYDE365 allows us to produce a Rough Order of Magnitude (ROM) that aligns precisely with what the customer wants. That level of insight has significantly enhanced customer engagement.”
GYDE365 has also sharpened Braintree’s prospect qualification.
Craig adds: “We’ve learnt that if a prospective customer is unwilling to spend a few hours completing the GYDE365-Discover survey, they’re probably not ready to begin a transformation journey.”
The platform output has become a core sales tool. It helps Braintree’s team identify scope gaps, pinpoint the right Microsoft ISV Partner solutions, and enter every engagement with confidence.
“When our sales team engages using GYDE365, we gain clear visibility into exactly what the customer needs. The result is a stronger human connection, building trust and rapport whilst shortening the sales cycle.”
READY TO FIND OUT MORE?
Book a short demo to discover how GYDE365 can transform your Microsoft Dynamics 365 business – enhancing efficiency, increasing win rates and mitigating project risks.