While Microsoft Dynamics 365 is an extremely powerful suite of applications, sometimes organisations have specialised requirements that are not catered for within the ‘out-of-the-box’ solution. That’s where Dynamics 365 partners can tap into Microsoft’s extensive community of ISVs (Independent Software Vendors). These organisations develop and sell software solutions that run on or integrate seamlessly with Microsoft’s technology stack. They do a fantastic job of extending the core capabilities of Dynamics 365.

In this article, Iain Dalgleish, Product Development Director of Seer 365, shares his top tips to help Microsoft Dynamics 365 partners determine the right ISV solutions for their customers’ business needs. He also discusses a solution that can simplify the process of selecting the right ISV – saving valuable time in researching and determining the best option for your customer’s needs.

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Tip #1 – Understand your customer’s specific business needs

The first step in selecting the right Dynamics 365 ISV solution is to clearly identify and outline your customer’s specific business requirements. This will include considering the industry-specific challenges they face, the “must-have” features that will improve their operations, and any future requirements.

When evaluating potential ISV solutions, it’s essential to assess how well they can be customised to fit your customer’s unique workflows and processes. The solution must address their current needs and ideally, have the flexibility and scalability to adapt as their business evolves.

Tip #2 - Research ISV expertise and reputation

Researching the various ISV options on the market can be a daunting and time-consuming task, especially when it’s just a component of a much larger overall project. However, understanding the expertise and reputation of potential ISV vendors is crucial for ensuring you recommend the right solution for your customer.

Resources such as Microsoft AppSource and Capterra are great platforms for exploring the various ISV solutions, reviewing their capabilities, and seeing what other businesses think about them. These platforms provide valuable insights and first-hand reviews, which can help you narrow down the best options.

It’s also key to investigate whether the ISV has experience in your customer’s specific industry. An ISV with a proven track record in the same sector will have a deeper understanding of the challenges your customers are facing, as well as their business needs. This expertise ensures that the solution is not only relevant but optimised for your customer’s business processes.

Keeping up to date with the multitude of ISV solutions on the market, as well as their frequent updates, can be difficult – so, focusing on those with relevant industry experience can help simplify your selection.

Tip #3 - Consider compatibility and integration

Ensuring that the ISV solution is compatible with your customer’s Dynamics 365 environment is critical. Beyond just functionality, you’ll need to check how well the solution integrates with other systems your customer may already be using or wanting to implement in the future. Seamless integration can reduce disruptions and streamline the implementation.

Additionally, evaluate the customisation capabilities of the ISV solution. Your customer’s organisational processes may require specific adaptations, so the ease with which the solution can be tailored to fit these needs is a vital consideration.

It’s also important to ensure that the ISV offers adequate training and support resources. For an ISV solution to be successful, your customer needs to be able to learn the solution quickly and adapt it to their workflows without unnecessary friction.

Tip #4 - Evaluate Cost and ROI

Understanding the full cost of ownership is key to selecting the right ISV solution. ISV pricing structures can vary widely, including upfront implementation fees, ongoing subscription costs, and additional expenses for training, support, or future upgrades. It’s important to compare the costs against your customer’s budget to ensure the investment is financially viable.

To support this analysis, look for evidence of the return on investment (ROI) from other clients using the same solution. Ask the ISV for case studies where key metrics such as increased efficiency, reduced costs, or improved customer satisfaction are demonstrated. A clear picture of the potential ROI will help you justify the choice to your customer and ensure the solution provides them long-term value.

A solution to streamline the ISV selection process

Unfortunately, as you’ve probably worked out from reading my tips, the process of evaluating and selecting ISV solutions can be very time-consuming and is often put off until after the core Dynamics 365 system is deployed, when the full visibility of any additional requirements become clear. So, what if there was a simpler way to identify the best ISV solutions for your customers, right from the start of a project?

Using our GYDE365 Platform, you can easily and quickly identify suitable ISV solutions that will fill the gaps in your customer’s requirements that cannot be met by Dynamics 365. It can instantly match suitable ISV solutions against your customer requirements, which are then shared with you, and your customer when ready, in a document – with all the key information you need to enable your customer to make an informed decision, including solution capabilities and costings.

And if you do not already have a commercial agreement in place with the ISV partners and solutions that are recommended, the Seer 365 partner success team will happily facilitate an introduction to help you forge new ISV partnerships.

Want to see how GYDE365’s ISV recommendation functionality works? Book a demo: www.seer365.com/demo

Iain

Written by Iain Dalgleish

Prior to joining Seer 365, Iain gained a wealth of experience working both as a solution architect and developer within the Dynamics 365 ecosystem. His expertise and knowledge have been vital in advancing the development of the GYDE365 Platform to meet the continually evolving needs of partners and their customers.