Microsoft has released Dynamics 365 Business Central, an all-in-one solution aimed at empowering UAE’s fast-growing SME segment, to streamline their financial and business processes, improve customer interactions and make better decisions with integrated intelligence.
Business Central is tailor-made for the small-to-midsized business that have outgrown its basic accounting software and is ready to connect its business across functions, processes and disciplines.
Business Central is an all-in-one business management solution that easily and seamlessly connects back-office systems with business processes. It allows business owners to standardise and integrate their entire organisation’s business processes, including sales, finance, human resources, operations, logistics and marketing to function as one.
Unlike traditional ERP solutions, Dynamics 365 Business Central is also deeply integrated with Office 365, and includes built-in intelligence, so it is easy to use and helps innovators to make smarter business decisions, leading to a competitive edge and accelerated growth.
As the UAE government continues its ambitious economic reform programmes, SMEs play an increasingly important role in national growth. For example, as of August 2017, more than 94% of companies operating in the UAE were SMEs, employing around 86% of the private-sector workforce, according to the UAE Ministry of Economy. In Dubai alone, smaller businesses account for almost 95% of companies, employing 42% of the workforce and contributing around 40% of the emirate’s GDP.
As small businesses progress from start-up to midsized enterprise, they often waste valuable time wrestling with standalone systems that are not connected to other important aspects of day-to-day operations. And changing those systems often disrupts workflow. A common side-effect of such scattered architectures is heterogeneous data that stifles decisions and wastes further time to create and configure reports, leading to incomplete or blurred pictures of cash flow, inventory and customer behaviour.
“SMEs operating in the country and the wider region often find themselves in a fiercely competitive climate, where digital culture is driving the emergence of new service expectations,” said Maureen Mansour-Khoury, Senior Product Marketing Manager, Dynamics 365, Microsoft Middle East and Africa.
“Legacy systems for growing businesses often can’t keep up with markets that are in continual flux. Configuration and upgrade to existing suites can be expensive, so SMEs really need a flexible solution that can meet the requirements of the here and now, but allow turnkey access to extensions as the business evolves. Dynamics 365 Business Central brings people, processes and data together, so you can manage your business end to end.”
By connecting data across accounting, sales, purchasing, inventory, and customer interactions, Business Central allows SMEs to get a holistic view of the business and chart financial performance in real time with built-in Power BI dashboards. Financial closes and reporting are accelerated; accounts receivables and payables are streamlined; and reconciliations of accounts are quicker, more accurate, more automated and compliant. And Business Central enables the refinement of financial forecasts by modelling and analysing data across multiple dimensions, even allowing the customisation of reports through seamless Microsoft Excel integration.
SMEs will now be able to automate and secure their supply chains and optimise inventory levels, by using Business Central’s built-in intelligence to predict when and what to replenish. Sales teams can sell smarter and improve customer service, delivering value at each touch point. Business Central’s advanced analytics capabilities allows more effective prioritisation of sales leads based on revenue potential and monitors all customer interactions to deliver guidance on the best upsell, cross-sell and renewal opportunities throughout the sales cycle.
“Microsoft’s mission is to help every individual and organisation on the planet to achieve more,” added Mansour-Khoury. “For an SME operating in the intensely demanding Gulf market, Business Central can form the hub of a Digital Transformation strategy that will set you apart from your peers, allowing you to engage customers, empower employees, optimise operations and reinvent your entire business model.”