Microsoft Implementation
D365 Implementation
Who supported the organization through the Dynamics implementation?
Of those organizations that used in-house employees to implement Dynamics 365, 67% (up from 57% in our last study) also enlisted the help of a Microsoft Partner. Fewer organizations chose to use independent contractors, with 19% seeking help from free agents to support their internal staff; a decline from 39% last year. This indicates a trend of organizations opting to work with trusted, resource-rich CSPs on their Microsoft projects.
Do you need a contractor to help get your project over the line? Find out what makes a freelancer accept an offer.
What challenges might you expect when working with a partner on a Dynamics project?
Curious about insights from Microsoft Azure adopters?
According to partners, what challenges do end users face when migrating to Dynamics?
We asked those who work for a partner what challenges their clients commonly face during a migration to Dynamics—difficulties mentioned this year include:
| Issues with data mapping and migration from legacy system(s) | 38% |
| Lack of technical knowledge in-house to manage and execute the project | 37% |
| Lack of change management processes on the client's end | 35% |
| Underestimating the amount of time required to replace their legacy system | 32% |
| User adoption, engagement, and training challenges | 31% |
| Poor data integrity | 26% |
| Issues sticking to the project timeline | 26% |
| Lack of clear project scope, including precise requirements for platform functionality | 25% |
| Difficulties aligning business processes with product features | 20% |
| Communication difficulties | 17% |
| Incorrect budgeting of the costs involved | 17% |
| Confusion regarding Microsoft's product offerings, capabilities, and limitations | 16% |
| Not sure | 17% |
| Other | 2% |
| Issues with data mapping and migration from legacy system(s) | 38% |
| Lack of technical knowledge in-house to manage and execute the project | 37% |
| Lack of change management processes on the client's end | 35% |
| Underestimating the amount of time required to replace their legacy system | 32% |
| User adoption, engagement, and training challenges | 31% |
| Poor data integrity | 26% |
| Issues sticking to the project timeline | 26% |
| Lack of clear project scope, including precise requirements for platform functionality | 25% |
| Difficulties aligning business processes with product features | 20% |
| Communication difficulties | 17% |
| Incorrect budgeting of the costs involved | 17% |
| Confusion regarding Microsoft's product offerings, capabilities, and limitations | 16% |
| Not sure | 17% |
| Other | 2% |
We also have insights into the challenges partners face when working with end-user clients, allowing you to address these issues proactively and ensure your Microsoft project runs smoothly.
Why are organizations choosing to implement Dynamics?
65%
The functionality of the product/ services
40%
Trusted products/services
33%
33%
| Desire to move to the cloud | 28% |
| Need to increase business responsiveness | 28% |
| Ease of user adoption/user-friendliness | 26% |
| Ability to integrate with third-party vendors | 21% |
| Variety of products/services | 21% |
| Desire to reduce costs | 16% |
| Lack of confidence in previous vendor | 7% |
| Post-implementation support offered | 7% |
| Not sure | 14% |
| Other | 2% |
| Desire to move to the cloud | 28% |
| Need to increase business responsiveness | 28% |
| Ease of user adoption/user-friendliness | 26% |
| Ability to integrate with third-party vendors | 21% |
| Variety of products/services | 21% |
| Desire to reduce costs | 16% |
| Lack of confidence in previous vendor | 7% |
| Post-implementation support offered | 7% |
| Not sure | 14% |
| Other | 2% |
Top challenges that organizations faced during Dynamics implementation
43%
Lack of appropriate skills internally
43%
User adoption challenges
40%
38%
| Difficulties migrating data from legacy systems | 31% |
| Lack of appropriate skills available in the market | 29% |
| Rescoping of the project/changing needs of the project during implementation | 26% |
| Integrating Microsoft Dynamics with another system(s) | 24% |
| Lack of stakeholder buy-in | 24% |
| Poor project management | 24% |
| Difficulties migrating data from legacy systems | 31% |
| Lack of appropriate skills available in the market | 29% |
| Rescoping of the project/changing needs of the project during implementation | 26% |
| Integrating Microsoft Dynamics with another system(s) | 24% |
| Lack of stakeholder buy-in | 24% |
| Poor project management | 24% |
Are you struggling to solve your Microsoft skills gaps? Is a lack of knowledge impacting your projects?
Our Revolent team can help you build in-house capabilities or find net-new talent across Microsoft Azure, Business Applications, and Microsoft Dynamics 365 with minimal disruption to any ongoing projects.
Revolent is a Tenth Revolution Group company.
How long do Dynamics migrations take?
Our respondents tell us their migration took, on average, 1 year and 1 month to complete.
Let’s see that broken down further:
While the majority of Dynamics 365 implementations span 0-6 months, migrations can take significantly longer for larger enterprises with more complex processes. Whether you’re in need of a short-term injection of skills into your team or longer-term assistance to get your project over the line, it’s essential to engage with an experienced Microsoft professional who can help you gauge a realistic timeline based on your organization’s unique requirements.
View our database of professionals that could help you migrate to Dynamics 365.
Dynamics go-live delays
Under three-fifths (57%) of organizations experienced a delay to their scheduled Dynamics 365 go-live.
How long were these delays?
What factors caused the delay?
55%
41%
36%
| Staff shortage | 27% |
| Issues with testing | 27% |
| Lack of skills in-house to manage/work on the project | 18% |
| Issues dealing with partner/consultancy | 18% |
| Poor planning prior to implementation | 14% |
| Delay in training staff | 14% |
| Poor project management | 14% |
| Budget shortage | 9% |
| Staff shortage | 27% |
| Issues with testing | 27% |
| Lack of skills in-house to manage/work on the project | 18% |
| Issues dealing with partner/consultancy | 18% |
| Poor planning prior to implementation | 14% |
| Delay in training staff | 14% |
| Poor project management | 14% |
| Budget shortage | 9% |
Interested in learning from Dynamics 365 adopters?
Azure Implementation
Who supported the organization through the Azure implementation?
Of those organizations that used in-house employees to implement Azure, 25% (down from 40% in our last survey) also enlisted the help of a Microsoft Partner. In contrast, a further 25% (up from 21% in our previous findings) sought help from an independent contractor to support their internal staff.
Do you need a contractor to help get your project over the line? Find out what makes freelancers accept an offer.
What challenges might you expect when working with a partner on an Azure project?
According to partners, what challenges do end users face when migrating to Azure?
| Lack of technical knowledge in-house to manage and execute the project | 31% |
| Underestimating the amount of time required to replace their legacy system | 25% |
| User adoption, engagement, and training challenges | 21% |
| Confusion regarding Microsoft's product offerings, capabilities, and limitations | 21% |
| Lack of clear project scope, including precise requirements for platform functionality | 21% |
| Lack of change management processes on the client's end | 18% |
| Issues with data mapping and migration from legacy system(s) | 17% |
| Communication difficulties | 13% |
| Difficulties aligning business processes with product features | 13% |
| Issues sticking to the project timeline | 12% |
| Incorrect budgeting of the costs involved | 12% |
| Poor data integrity | 11% |
| Not sure | 26% |
| Other | 2% |
| Lack of technical knowledge in-house to manage and execute the project | 31% |
| Underestimating the amount of time required to replace their legacy system | 25% |
| User adoption, engagement, and training challenges | 21% |
| Confusion regarding Microsoft's product offerings, capabilities, and limitations | 21% |
| Lack of clear project scope, including precise requirements for platform functionality | 21% |
| Lack of change management processes on the client's end | 18% |
| Issues with data mapping and migration from legacy system(s) | 17% |
| Communication difficulties | 13% |
| Difficulties aligning business processes with product features | 13% |
| Issues sticking to the project timeline | 12% |
| Incorrect budgeting of the costs involved | 12% |
| Poor data integrity | 11% |
| Not sure | 26% |
| Other | 2% |
Why are organizations choosing to implement Azure?
54%
The functionality of the product/services
51%
46%
42%
| Ease of implementation | 39% |
| Ease of user adoption/user-friendliness | 37% |
| Need for global capabilities | 37% |
| Variety of products/services | 31% |
| Ability to integrate with third-party vendors | 29% |
| Need to increase business responsiveness | 24% |
| Post-implementation support offered | 12% |
| Lack of confidence in previous vendor | 8% |
| Not sure | 7% |
| Other | 2% |
| Ease of implementation | 39% |
| Ease of user adoption/user-friendliness | 37% |
| Need for global capabilities | 37% |
| Variety of products/services | 31% |
| Ability to integrate with third-party vendors | 29% |
| Need to increase business responsiveness | 24% |
| Post-implementation support offered | 12% |
| Lack of confidence in previous vendor | 8% |
| Not sure | 7% |
| Other | 2% |
Top challenges that organizations faced during Azure implementation
36%
34%
32%
27%
| User adoption challenges | 25% |
| Customization challenges | 25% |
| The business was not ready for the change | 22% |
| Integrating Microsoft Azure with another system(s) | 19% |
| Lack of support documentation | 19% |
| Difficulties dealing with partners | 17% |
| User adoption challenges | 25% |
| Customization challenges | 25% |
| The business was not ready for the change | 22% |
| Integrating Microsoft Azure with another system(s) | 19% |
| Lack of support documentation | 19% |
| Difficulties dealing with partners | 17% |
Our data suggests that a lack of Microsoft-related skills in the industry is still a major barrier to adoption, with 36% of organizations encountering difficulties implementing Azure due to a lack of in-house expertise—the biggest challenge reported by respondents.
How long do migrations to Azure take?
Our respondents tell us their migration took, on average, 9 months and 2 weeks to complete.
While the majority of Azure migrations took 4-6 months, implementation times varied significantly across our range of respondents. This emphasizes the need to engage with an experienced Microsoft professional if you lack the skills internally, as they can help assess your business needs and provide a more accurate timeline for the move based on your organization’s unique requirements.
View our database of professionals that could help you migrate to Azure
Azure go-live delays
More than a quarter (27%) of organizations experienced a delay to their scheduled Azure go-live.
How long were these delays?
What factors caused the delay?
56%
44%
38%
| Poor project management | 38% |
| Staff shortage | 31% |
| Poor planning prior to implementation | 31% |
| Budget shortage | 25% |
| Data migration issues | 19% |
| Issues with testing | 19% |
| Delay in training staff | 13% |
| Issues dealing with partner/consultancy | 13% |
