Microsoft application provider Intergen hopes its new Rapid Results packaged services offering will enable organisations to deploy a range of Microsoft products faster. Rapid Results is the Intergen-branded version of Microsoft's Services Ready, a 'white label' offering from its partner programme.
By Chris Bell
Published in Reseller News April 2009
Intergen is one of the first application providers in the world to sign up to Services Ready, which takes the form of delivery collateral, such as scripts, code, sales methologies and documentation.
Intergen's first two released services are Rapid Results for CRM and SharePoint. It says Rapid Results can enable companies of all sizes to implement Microsoft applications faster and at a fixed cost, thus minimising the risk of budget blowout.
The company has 200 people delivering Microsoft-based offerings across New Zealand. It's targeting small to medium firms and not-for-profit organisations that might not be able to afford larger enterprise products. Rapid Results can also provide a platform for an enterprise-wide proof of concept implementation.
Intergen's chief operating officer, Simon Bright, says as times get tougher organisations need to reap optimum value from the latest technologies without the cost and risk associated with traditional implementations. "Rapid Results CRM enables organisations to implement Microsoft Dynamics CRM, allowing them to improve how they sell to, and support, their customers," he says.
Customers can have the applications up and running in a few days, says Bright. Once implemented, the applications can be further customised and evolved to meet the needs of customers. However, to avoid creep and uncertainty, the scope must be clearly defined up front.
"It's trying to get people into a position where, rather than seeing a CRM project go off the rails because of ill-defined or expanding scope, there are some boundaries around it. This is about delivering a set of customisations that allow customers to get to a point where they see value very quickly, without making it so big that it goes for six months and they're struggling to measure that return."
Intergen limits the number of customisations that form part of the package from the outset, but that doesn't prevent clients from expanding and customising the package in the future.
Bright says the company uses its Microsoft implementation experience - especially around Microsoft CRM - to work out the best ways of delivering the application. "It's focused on very quickly defining a scope that can be delivered within 10 days of effort and seeing a quick win from that," says Bright.
In the current economic conditions, he says, organisations are focusing either on fast efficiency gains or cost savings. "This offering grew from trying to get a return quickly, around a defined cost saving or efficiency."
The fact customers are able to quickly see gains for a set cost makes it a low-risk offering, says Bright. "For Microsoft CRM to deliver a Rapid Results solution costs from $15,000, and customers can take some comfort that they'll get a good return from that."
As previously reported on reseller.co.nz, the $15,000 excludes order and invoice modules in Microsoft CRM, extensive data migration (other than that of accounts and contacts) and major process re-engineering.
However, Intergen will work through a more advanced set-up through a "change control" process, it says.
Rather than basing its pricing on user numbers, Intergen looks at the amount of physical implementation work required. This avoids the customisation users often demand once a project is underway, which tends to lead to cost and time overruns.
Intergen has only recently introduced Rapid Results, and it's too early for Bright to be able to tell how successful it has been in reining in customer customisations and expectations. He acknowledges that Intergen will have to closely track this in coming months to maintain profitability. "We need to get some more of these under our belt to understand how challenging that might be," he says.
Intergen does not envisage the need to appoint partners and will deal directly with customers to implement the packages. "That's the only way we can do it really," says Bright, "in terms of limiting the risk and also the commitment that we're making, based on fixed price."
David Downs, Microsoft New Zealand's director of services, says the company has been working with partners to show them the fastest and most productive ways to deploy and use its technology through Services Ready.
"What we've realised over the past few years is that partners potentially need more help and guidance about how exactly to do that," says Downs, "and that's where our team comes in."
Downs says companies such as Intergen are able to add their own marketing flavour to Services Ready and add value before they take it to market.
Microsoft has now signed up other partners and is in discussions with many more.
Intergen, meanwhile, plans to roll out further Microsoft applications packages in coming months.