Case Scenarios

Khmer Kids is an international NGO started by an Italian nurse named Julia and her Swiss husband, Doctor Herbert Schmidt. Their aim is to take care of children in Cambodia that have no-one else to fend for them. The organization raises funds through foundations, to run a school in Battambang for children of the poorest communities, with a health clinic and an evening school for adults.  When Julia and Herbert started, they used Excel sheets to store information, simply because that is what they have always done at their clinic in Switzerland.  However, with more and more staff pouring in, they have discussed a more efficient way of storing their growing amount of data.  As all the staff work for free and consists of students from various countries, who come to volunteer for 3 or more months, but rarely longer than a year, the Schmidts are getting weary of training new recruits in excel and their particular ways of using it. So, what should they do?

The organization only has a handful of computers, but they’re always busy, so they need an easy solution, preferably without a lot of down time and of course the choice must be one that precludes a lot of training.  After scouring the internet and talking to various friends, they stumble over Microsoft CRM Online 2011.  Since they’re both used to Outlook Express and other Microsoft programs, the user interface of MS CRM Online 2011 seems intuitive and easy to understand.  On top of that most of the student volunteers are also familiar with Microsoft products and CRM Online simply runs in a browser, so that there need not be any down time at all. There is only one problem. More than 3 years data is stored in the old Excel files and they want to use some of this data at the least, but are reluctant to move them all manually. This is where Import Manager comes into the picture, as this can be done almost entirely automatically.

At first they’re reluctant with regards to Import Manager, because they fear they do not possess the necessary skills to use the program.  After all, Julia comments, none of them have ever worked directly with databases and they are not particularly skilled with regards to computers in general, so importing data from one system to the other seems rather daunting.  But, then one of their new volunteers who used to work with Microsoft CRM tells them about Import Manager and how even a person with no SQL skills whatsoever, can still import the data, by simply mapping the fields in a graphical user interface and after downloading the trial version of Import Manager and showing them its strengths, they decide to go invest in Microsoft CRM 2011 Online and Import Manager, a decision that saves them money and time in the long run, without jeopardizing their daily work. They would have gone with Import Manager Light, but as it doesn’t support importing from Excel, in the end the choice is easy and straight forward.

Olsson’s son is a computer science student and works with computers daily, so Olsson has asked him which CRM system he should choose and why.
Since Olsson’s son knows that his father is used to Windows, Microsoft Office and Access, he decides to stick with what his father knows, but in a lighter and cheaper package that doesn’t require regular updates or a fast computer and won’t present other obstacles for his father.  He decides to go with Microsoft Dynamics CRM 2011 Online, so all his father really needs, is an online computer with a browser and since the user interface is reminiscent of the ones in the programs he is already using on a daily basis, he will quickly get used to this system.

To migrate Olsson’s old homemade Access database to Microsoft Dynamics CRM Online, Olsson’s son searches for a tool that will help them out in a timely manner, as he has no intentions of moving the data manually.
He finds Migration Manager, which he quickly realizes is the solution to all his problems, as it is easy to use and will do the job automatically, once he and his father has mapped the various entities and their fields correctly, something he proceeds to do with his father, enjoying some true father-son time, like a digital fishing trip.
With his father at his side, explaining his home made Access database, entity by entity, they get them all mapped in a single day and proceed to test the import job, with the 10 lines per import limitation, and after a few trials, they find that it is quite capable of doing the job without problems.
Mr. Olsson is easily persuaded to purchase Migration Manager for the job.

Prestige Models is an Asian model agency that recently decided to invest in Microsoft CRM 2011 online, as the growth of the company has meant that their traditional methods of keeping track of models and clients have become obsolete and tediously slow.  Apart from migrating their old system data into the new system, they also want to integrate their web page with CRM, so that potential new models that fill in a model application form on their web page with various information and pictures, will automatically be put into their new CRM system.  For this purpose they have chosen Migration Manager, as it is more than sufficient for their needs, cheaper than the full package and easy to use for their IT staff, which consists of one rather low level user.

One could argue that the need for an easy way to import data doesn’t outweigh the price in their scenario, but as they have several hundred models and even more clients and potential clients, not to mention all the new potential models pouring in every day, they’ve come to realize that Migration Manager is the perfect tool for them.  Not only will it take care of the initial data migration, it will also be able to keep their data updated with fresh information from their web page, once integrated, as well as data from just about any other new source they need to synchronize with.  This is particularly important to Prestige Models since they have been taking over smaller model agencies and aim to continue doing so.  With every new conquest of a smaller model agency, comes a whole set of models and clients that must be added to their CRM system and since Import Manager Light can import from virtually any data source, it is perfect for them and will continue to work for them into the future.  However, Prestige Models also wants to integrate their homepage with this new system.

Of main interest in this example, we find the integration between the Prestige Models web page and their CRM system.  On their homepage, a visitor can go to a section aptly named “U can be a model 2”, where they give personal information, from name and contact information, to age, weight, height and other body measurements. Once they click the “Send” button, the information is stored in a database with their web page host.  With Migration Manager, it is an easy task to set up the import of this information and into a new custom entity that’s named “Potential Model”, which can then, provided the model is accepted, be upgraded to another custom entity named “Model”.  Once the import job has been set up, it’s just a matter of using the scheduling tool to run the job every hour and the information will continuously be put into their CRM system automatically. This is but one way to integrate the two, but a very effective way at that.
It is so easy that even their rather low level user, without any SQL knowledge, can set up the job.
The easy way to integrate your web page with CRM.

Klein & Stein Accounting is an old company that was founded just after first world war by two good friends, back when computers didn’t exist and everything was written by hand in thick ledgers. The two friends decided that migrating to the new world, would help them to a fresh start.  Since then a lot has happened to the company, from moving to their first IT system and in the early nineties, migrating to Microsoft Access, which they’ve used ever since.  In 1999, however, Herr Klein’s grand son, Albert Klein, took over the company and decided to modernize by moving from their home made Access database to Navision ERP. This was a huge job, since it was done by hand, and cost the company both money and time, so when the IT manager of the company suggested they update to Microsoft CRM, he was met with skepticism.  This did not deter the IT manager who downloaded Import Manager and gave Herr Klein a demonstration of the ease, with which the whole migration could be done more or less automatically and in no time at all. Migrating from one system to another in previous times was either impossible or simply too much work.

Since Klein & Stein Accounting is primarily an accounting company, Herr Klein was still not convinced that MS CRM was the answer for them, but since Import Manager makes it possible to periodically update the CRM system with data from their ERP system or even a tertiary source, he was finally persuaded to make the decision.

Now Klein & Stein are successfully running Microsoft CRM after a painless data migration using Import Manager and they’re still using it, on a daily basis, to keep MS CRM updated with information from their ERP system, by scheduling import jobs that update their CRM system with the newest data from their ERP system every night, after office hours.  The amount of money and spend time they’ve saved since their first data migration is incredible.