Working with a Microsoft Partner: What to Expect Before, During, and After
Implementing a new business system or making changes to your current one is among the most significant investments your organization will make.
Whether you are evaluating Microsoft Dynamics 365 ERP and CRM solutions, replacing an outdated platform, or looking to gain more value from the cloud-based technology you already own, choosing the right partner will have as much impact on the outcomes as the software itself.
Implementations aren’t just “set it and forget it” technology projects. They transform your business, bringing together people, processes, change management, budgeting, strategy, long-term planning, and more.
Yet many organizations enter the process with questions:
- What should I expect from the first conversations with a Microsoft partner?
- Why do partners ask so many questions before showing a demo?
- How do they determine which solution is the right fit?
- What separates successful projects from the ones that struggle?
With over a decade of experience in this field, Stoneridge Software has seen a clear pattern emerge: Organizations that get the most value from their investments approach processes in ways unique to their organizations. They also work with partners like Stoneridge that focus on developing a deep understanding of the business in addition to technological excellence and expertise.
In this blog and video, we will go over what you can expect when you work with an effective and knowledgeable Microsoft implementation partner like Stoneridge Software.
What to Expect in the Early Conversations
It’s natural for many organizations to assume their initial conversations with a Microsoft partner are sales discussions. After all, you are buying software or looking at new solutions that might affect your budget.
While that may be partially true, with a good partner, your initial meetings will function more like a diagnostic session. A good partner won’t try to rush you towards a sale. They will try to understand your business, your challenges, your goals, your workflows, your team, and your readiness for change. It’s like visiting the doctor. They won’t prescribe you a treatment without understanding the symptoms, assessing underlying causes, and identifying desired outcomes. The Stoneridge process works the same way.
During these initial conversations, expect discussions around:
- Current business and system challenges, limitations, and operational inefficiencies
- What are your pain points and bottlenecks? Knowing this can help identify solutions to address them.
- Growth plans
- Knowing what kind of growth you can expect can help you make investments strategically.
- User adoption concerns
- Your team members power your technology solutions, and therefore your business. Getting their input on any changes is paramount.
- Reporting requirements
- What legal and operational disclosures do you have to make in your industry? Try to find solutions that have those capabilities built-in.
- Integration needs
- What customizations are needed to fill the gaps within your workflows that the base-level technology solutions can’t do?
- Budget expectations
- Whether you have limitations or a lot of money to spend, you want to ensure you’re spending your money wisely. Even though some organizations hesitate to discuss this aspect, it’s vital in developing an implementation roadmap.
- Project timelines
- A clearly defined timeline helps everything else run smoother.
A good partner will sit with you and your team and talk about all these topics so that they can gain a holistic and transparent project roadmap. If a partner doesn’t understand even one of these things, they may spend time demonstrating solutions or approaches that don’t align with your expectations or needs, which can be very frustrating.
A skilled Microsoft partner will explain what's realistically achievable within a given budget and help you prioritize functionality that delivers the greatest business value.
What These Conversations Don't Cover
These initial conversations won’t produce a finalized implementation plan or pinpoint every solution to the problems within your current systems. A big misconception we’ve seen is that organizations sometimes believe they need to document every existing screen, field, report, and process all of those before evaluating new software.
While your business requirements matter, focusing too heavily on replicating existing processes can limit your options and stunt future improvements. The goal is to build a better system, not build the same system on a new platform.
Dynamics 365 Demos: Supporting Decisions Instead of Complicating Them
Demos can be very exciting when it comes to working with a Microsoft partner. It’s easy to get excited about the prospect of seeing your new solution in action, but it can also complicate the process if not approached correctly. A common mistake we see is when organizations approach them as a checklist exercise, complete with highly detailed scripts on how to replicate every click, field, and workflow within their current system.
While that desire is understandable, a well-executed demo with a knowledgeable partner will focus more on how the software can help you achieve better outcomes. For example, a company might request functionality that prints multiple paper copies of an order because that’s how the current process works. However, during discovery, it might be clearer that features like barcode scanning, mobile device enablement, and automated workflows could eliminate paper copies entirely.
The requirement isn’t really printing multiple copies; it’s about implementing features and workflows that ensure relevant information reaches the right people at the right time. That’s where you separate.
Discovery Makes Better Demos Possible
Before scheduling a demo, a good Microsoft partner will schedule discovery sessions with you. These sessions allow the partner to:
- Meet subject matter experts and users
- Understand business processes
- Clarify requirements
- Validate assumptions
- Identify opportunities for improvement
Hearing from the people who do the work within your system every day will help give partner organizations like Stoneridge a better understanding of the current challenges they face or areas where they feel there could be improvement. That, in turn, helps to identify solutions to either improve on existing workflows or even identify features that can eliminate manual work that ties your team in knots when they could be focusing on their core tasks.
This is why experienced Microsoft partners focus on process conversations rather than feature conversations. We look beyond what the current system does and toward the outcomes that will help your business achieve success now and in the future.
The Best Demos Focus on Business Outcomes
The most effective demonstrations are tailored to an organization's specific priorities.
For example, instead of showcasing every feature available in Dynamics 365, Stoneridge Software experts will focus on:
- Your biggest operational challenges
- Key workflows
- User experience improvements
- Reporting and visibility
- Automation opportunities
- Scalability requirements
This will help you make an informed decision.
How Solution Options Are Evaluated When Priorities Vary
No two organizations have the same priorities. A manufacturer may want production visibility and inventory management. A distributor may focus on warehouse operations and fulfillment. And professional services organizations will care more about resource planning and financial reporting. Whatever your areas of interest are, the Microsoft partner model allows you to work with specialists who understand specific industries and business processes.
Stoneridge Software has worked with many businesses in several key industries to help them evaluate the best solutions that are unique to their organizational needs.
Not Every Requirement Carries Equal Weight
Unfortunately, no implementation project is going to give you everything you want all at once. You must distinguish between:
- Must-have requirements: Think about it this way – If your system were to switch tomorrow, what are the vital workflows that keep your business afloat? Prioritize replicating or improving on those first.
- Nice-to-have features: While they may not be immediately “necessary”, these features can come along in the second phase when their value is clearer.
- Existing habits: You and your team likely have tools that you are familiar with and have used for a long time.
- Legacy workarounds: These are temporary solutions or custom integrations that help you bypass technical issues and avoid costly workflow disruptions.
Experienced partners will help organizations prioritize based on business outcomes and the initial conversations rather than historical preferences. This perspective often reveals ways you can simplify operations, reduce manual effort, and improve user experiences.
Right Sizing the Solution Matters
Another common challenge occurs when organizations compare solutions designed for different market segments. Within the Microsoft ecosystem alone, different solutions serve vastly different business needs.
When it comes to ERP, SMBs will find tremendous value in Dynamics 365 (D365) Business Central, whereas larger enterprise clients will want to explore D365 Finance and Supply Chain Management. Neither solution is inherently better, but the choice you make will depend on your organization’s size, complexity, growth strategy, and operational requirements.
Similarly, other solutions like the Power Platform, Microsoft 365, or D365 CRM solutions like Sales, Field Service, Customer Service, or Customer Insights could also have impacts on your business, but it depends on your needs.
The same principle applies to implementation scope. Projects can range from straightforward deployments that largely use standard functionality to highly customized enterprise implementations involving integrations, automation, advanced reporting, and global operations.
The best partners will help you find the right fit instead of just selling you a solution.
Common Successes and Lessons Learned from Real Projects
After years of helping clients in a wide array of industries achieve success, Stoneridge experts have noticed certain patterns that lead to successful implementations or system changes. Interestingly, most of those have little to do with the software features, and instead focus on people, effective communication, and organizational readiness.
Let’s look at these success patterns, which will give you an idea of how you can approach your next implementation project or major system overhaul.
Success Pattern #1: Transparency
Organizations that openly discuss challenges, budgets, goals, and concerns generally experience smoother selection and implementation processes. Being upfront about these things allows partners to assess your current system, provide realistic and effective guidance, and identify potential risks early.
Transparency leads to better planning, which helps you avoid surprises later in the project.
Success Pattern #2: Strong User Involvement
One of the biggest predictors of implementation success is getting your team involved. When employees feel heard and get involved, technology adoption rates improve dramatically. Without their input, they are more likely to resist change, which can significantly hinder technological transformation.
Successful organizations will engage with:
- Department leaders
- Subject matter experts
- Process owners
- End users
Getting your team involved early fosters a sense of ownership in their roles during the rollout of the new system and builds confidence in the new solution and in their ability to use it.
Success Pattern #3: Openness to Change
Organizations achieve the greatest return on investment when they are willing to rethink how work gets done and have a growth mindset.
A new ERP system will give you a rare opportunity to modernize processes, remove inefficiencies, eliminate manual work, and standardize options. If you are stuck on keeping workflows the same as before, it will be harder for you to see the full benefits of digital transformation.
A new ERP system creates a rare opportunity to modernize processes, remove inefficiencies, and standardize operations. Instead of wondering how to recreate workflows, ask yourself and your team if there is a better way to get tasks done.
Success Pattern #4: Investing the Necessary Time
ERP selection and implementation are not going to happen overnight. This is a process that requires meaningful participation from the organization and significant time. Discovery sessions, demos, workshops, testing, training, and change management all demand time and attention. A great partner organization will help you slow down and assess the benefits of a new system and develop a smart path forward rather than trying to quickly sell you software and leaving you to figure it out.
Organizations that acknowledge this reality from the beginning tend to experience better outcomes than those attempting to rush the process.
Lessons Learned: Lowest Cost Doesn't Always Mean Lowest Risk – Expect Errors
One reality of the software industry is that project estimates can vary dramatically. Some project estimates may be based on assumptions, omitted scope, or future change orders. Some also want things done quickly, which just isn’t the reality when it comes to software.
A realistic plan supported by an experienced partner will create significantly more value than an unrealistically low or high estimate.
It’s important to evaluate more than price and consider:
- Implementation methodology
- Industry experience
- Team expertise
- References
- Change management approach
- Long-term support capabilities
The goal isn't simply to buy software; it’s to achieve a successful outcome while keeping your team happy and leaving your environment.
The Right Partner Makes All the Difference
Technology projects succeed when software, processes, and people align. Choosing the right Microsoft partner can help you answer difficult questions, challenge assumptions, and identify opportunities for improvement.
At Stoneridge, we work alongside your team every step of the way and provide proactive and engaged support after your new system is up and running.
Choose Stoneridge for Your Implementation Project
At Stoneridge Software, we've helped organizations across industries navigate ERP selection, implementation, optimization, and digital transformation initiatives for more than a decade.
Whether you're evaluating Microsoft Dynamics 365 for the first time, planning a migration from a legacy platform, or looking to unlock more value from your existing Microsoft investment, our team brings the industry expertise, implementation experience, and long-term partnership mindset needed to help you succeed.
If you're considering your next Microsoft technology initiative, connect with the Stoneridge Software team. We'd welcome the opportunity to learn about your business, understand your goals, and help you build a roadmap that delivers lasting value.
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