Enjoy the Best of Parature within the Microsoft Ecosystem

Apr 10, 2017 by John Seeds

Avtex Streamlines the Migration from Parature to Microsoft Dynamics 365

Since the acquisition of Parature in 2014, Microsoft has invested heavily in understanding the unique challenges associated with Customer Relationship Management platforms. Three years working with Parature’s extensive customer base has given Microsoft the insight needed to tackle the complex customer service marketplace.

The insight gained during the research phase has been instrumental in the development of Microsoft Dynamics 365, the latest and greatest of business platforms from Microsoft. According to Microsoft, Dynamics 365 unifies CRM and ERP capabilities – in short, a unified platform to run your business with the power and scalability of Microsoft’s proven ecosystem.

Making the switch from Parature to Dynamics 365.

Parature has long been a leader in the CRM market, with countless devoted users active on the platform.

Developing on those strengths, Microsoft has many incentives to upgrade to Dynamics 365, including:

New Portal Technology: Portals are the gateway for your customers to access your business with any issues or concerns and can create tremendous value and cost savings for your support organization. With Dynamics 365, Microsoft has reimagined how customers and businesses can use portals for key interactions. The new portal offerings are highly responsive, and even more customizable with inline editor and page builder tools meant for the common business user.
Improved pricing: Microsoft offers steep discounts to organizations that purchase licenses to multiple applications within its core stack, including Office 365, Power BI, Dynamics and more. Many customers are likely to be pleasantly surprised at the costs savings available as Microsoft attempts to encourage the switch to Dynamics 365.
Natural integration: Microsoft’s focus on integrating its applications seamlessly into one another has created a powerful technology ecosystem. Applications within its core offerings possess natural integration – users can seamlessly transfer data and functionality from one application to another to execute even the most complex of business tasks. This new single-object approach to the Microsoft business stack means that your business can use new tools while easily integrating with classic business applications like Outlook and Word. Dynamics 365 incorporates processes from across the business to present the best possible experience for the customer.
Ongoing improvements: Microsoft recently announced that Parature will no longer be developed as a standalone product. Current iterations of Parature will remain available, but will not see significant feature or functionality upgrades going forward. The organization’s focus will shift to development and improvement of Dynamics 365. In fact, Microsoft recently announced the launch of two new Dynamics 365 add-ons – Project Service Automation and Field Service Capability – that extend the platform’s functionality into the field.
Reporting: Many Parature users value the platform’s extensive reporting functionality through SAP Business Objects for its wide range of report types and portal views. In many cases, Microsoft Power BI is a better solution due to its ease of use, ability to create and consume reports, and its integration into the rest of the Microsoft stack.

Avtex Makes the Transition to Microsoft Dynamics Simple

As a Microsoft certified partner, we possess extensive knowledge of both the Parature and Dynamics platforms. This knowledge, combined with our decades of technology deployment experience, gives us unmatched insight into the unique situation facing Parature owners, and ability to accelerate success with a migration to Dynamics 365.

To help you understand whether a migration to Dynamics 365 is right for your business, and to maximize the benefits of such a migration, we offer a wide range of services, including:

Current state assessment: To truly understand whether a migration from Parature to Dynamics 365 is the best strategy for your business, it is first important to conduct a thorough review of your current Parature platform utilization, data gathering processes, reporting needs and more. Our customer engagement experts conduct a comprehensive assessment of your current situation and offer advice on the benefits and drawbacks of a switch. The information gathered during our assessment is also invaluable in planning an optimal deployment and migration strategy, should the transition be the best choice for your organization.
Data migration: The process of moving data across enterprise applications takes time and careful planning. Our internally-developed import/export tool automates much of the data migration process, streamlining the transition of data from Parature to Dynamics 365. Transfer customer data, customized settings and more without the costs or effort of manual migration.
Optimized Customer Portal: The new portals 2.0 from Microsoft Dynamics offer a broad range of flexibility beyond what was available through the Parature configurations. Avtex has UX and Design teams that can help you make the most of your self-service offerings to create a more impactful customer portal.
Custom tracking and reporting: A smooth transition to Dynamics 365 includes the recreation or initial setup of your preferred tracking and reporting strategies. As part of the migration process, we assist in the setup of customized tracking and reporting functionality to ensure your access to key metrics and trend data.

Effective customer knowledge gathering and management is vital to the delivery of quality customer experiences. Dynamics 365 offers a wide range of features that support customer relationships, making it easier to deliver consistent and quality interactions. To learn more about how we can help you compare the pros and cons of migrating from Parature to Microsoft Dynamics 365, contact us today.