BACKGROUND
“Whenever a customer has a cross-border payment to make, that’s us.” Says Darren Hutchinson, Global Head of Enterprise Solutions, Xe.
Xe has been a leading currency services provider for more than 30 years, working with technology suppliers to bring the power of currency exchange and money transfer data into their customers’ solutions.
A few years ago, they met with Microsoft to understand how to make it easy for companies to track foreign currency exchange data and integrate that within Microsoft’s Dynamics 365 ERP offerings. This led to the release of an Xe app that embeds currency data and payment technology directly into Dynamics 365, which is now available on Microsoft’s Commercial Marketplace. This means that, for companies using Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central or Finance & Supply Chain, every time a customer uses Xe’s embedded solution to make a domestic or international payment, they can manage, execute, and report on it from within their ERP system.
THE CHALLENGES
Although Xe has thousands of partners, these are entirely different from organisations that provide Dynamics 365 ERP professional services to customers. Xe’s traditional partners are a diverse mix of affiliates, digital content providers, such as Forbes Magazine, The Times Online, etc., realtors (“estate agents”), relocation companies and referral partners.
With their integration to Dynamics 365, they were looking for a different type of channel partner, those that could be self-sufficient in selling and deploying the Xe solution. Building a new partner channel that can both configure and deploy their solutions, has been a steep learning curve for Xe. They first needed to identify who the right partners were and how to quickly onboard and upskill them, which is where Seer 365 came in. Microsoft made the initial introduction to the Seer 365 team and the rest, as they say, is history.
THE SOLUTIONS
Seer 365 has assisted Xe in two key areas. Firstly, by embedding content for Xe’s solution within their GYDE365 Platform, to increase awareness of it among Dynamics 365 partners and their customers. Secondly, by going way beyond the ‘technology match’ using their GYDE365 Platform, by providing introductions and guidance that has accelerated Xe’s ability to optimise their Microsoft partner community and quickly build a successful partner channel. The Microsoft partner ecosystem is closely knit, so knowing who to talk to, is key.
THE RESULTS
Darren admits; “We were very novice and vulnerable when we started out and knew we needed help. Not with moving money around the world, we are experts at that, but with working with Microsoft and building new channel partners. The team at Seer 365 have gone above and beyond to help us. Commercials obviously play a role, but it has never been about the numbers.
We needed to change our mindset when building our new channel of partners and Seer introduced us to the right people and guided us on how to support those partners; giving them the tools and freedom to sell and deploy our solution.”
“The team at Seer 365 have gone above and beyond to help us. They introduced us to the right people and
guided us on how to support those partners; giving them the tools and freedom to sell and deploy our solution.”
With Xe’s content embedded within GYDE365, whenever a need is identified for their solution, useful information about it is automatically surfaced to Dynamics 365 partners and their customers, via the GYDE365-Discover Output Report. This awareness greatly increases the likelihood of the Xe solution being adopted as part of a customer’s desired Dynamics 365 ERP solution. It also highlights a need for a currency solution with Dynamics 365 partners that may not yet have a relationship with Xe.
Darren commented, “A recent example of how Seer 365 has helped Xe is by introducing us to DXC Australia, who now configures and deploys the Xe solution into every one of their Business Central customer projects that has a need for cross-border and foreign exchange trading.”
“A recent example of how Seer 365 has helped Xe is by introducing us to DXC Australia, who now configures and deploys the Xe solution into every one of their Business Central customer projects that has a need
for cross border and foreign exchange trading.”
The GYDE365 Platform is all about digging into a customer’s ERP needs in a systematic and automated way. GYDE365-Discover from Seer 365 captures and automatically documents requirements, producing structured plans that Dynamics 365 implementation and ISV partners can then transform into reality.
Darren continues telling what it’s like to work with Seer 365, “The Seer 365 team are Microsoft professionals; they know people who know people. They have advised us which events are important, and we have already attended several around the world, helping us grow our partner network and strengthen relationships with Microsoft executives. It is that kind of added value and guidance which has been invaluable.
The Dynamics community is a close-knit one. Entering the market as a new vendor or ISV, you need to quickly learn the landscape, the players, and the spheres of influence. You need support and experts by your side. Seer 365 have been instrumental in terms of our progress, which is literally night and day from two years ago, prior to our partnership.”
“The Seer 365 team have advised us which events are important, and we have already attended several around the world, helping us grow our partner network and strengthen relationships with Microsoft executives. It is that kind of added value and guidance which has been invaluable.”
So, what’s next?
With help from Seer 365 and embedding their content within GYDE365-Discover, Xe now has the visibility it needs within the Microsoft Partner Channel and their ISV solution is recognised as a ‘firm-fit’ within the solution profile requirements of Dynamics 365 ERP customers for money transfers.
The next step on Xe’s journey with Seer 365, is to embed their solution content within both GYDE365-Design and GYDE365-Build, two of Seer’s additional Dynamics 365 productivity applications. Once a customer has used GYDE365-Discover to help select Dynamics 365 and is moving forwards with the implementation, both GYDE365-Design and GYDE365-Build can significantly accelerate their deployment journey. This is achieved by automatically generating the Solution Design, Configuration Settings and Solution Build files required to configure the customer’s desired Dynamics 365 solution, reducing the time to value and go-live.
“Once a customer has used GYDE365 Discover to help select Dynamics 365 and is moving forwards with the implementation, GYDE365-Design and GYDE365-Build can significantly accelerate their deployment journey.”
Both Seer 365 and Xe have a common objective; to help partners and their customers be more successful, by not just providing solutions that fill gaps and solve real problems, but by also supporting their wider business objectives.
The two companies regularly collaborate at events and workshops to ensure there is a clear understanding of the value both organisations bring to the Microsoft ecosystem.