Microsoft Dynamics 365 Buyers Restrict Automations Expectations After Initial Disappointment

As a result of implementation experience, automation discussions surrounding Microsoft Dynamics 365 solutions are slowly gaining realism. While the idea of achieving efficiency through automated workflows and integrations is still present, many companies are moving towards automation with more restraint after encountering challenges with their initial implementation projects.

Such limitations usually manifest themselves during the process mapping step of the project. Often, departments expecting that their tasks will be fully automated find out that their process relies on approval mechanisms, report dependences or incomplete data records. As a result, the Dynamics 365 project slows down because of the need to investigate how the company's process currently works.

For example, finance professionals are starting to question the level of automation they can achieve. In their desire to speed up their processes, many organizations are now concerned about the lack of control over exceptions and manual interventions in processes. Furthermore, internal audit units now request proof of tracking in automated processes, which adds another limitation to the project.

Customer services also face certain challenges when it comes to automation. Customer service organizations adopting Dynamics 365 tools expected their case management to become significantly quicker. However, issues with data integrity lead to the fact that automation is hampered by fragmented historical information. Thus, agents working in such conditions often feel frustrated as their tasks did not change for the better.

According to implementation providers, buyers now ask about contingency plans in case the new automated process fails. Instead of extending automation everywhere possible, many customers now decide to limit its use to repetitive tasks with well-defined approval mechanisms. This is why Dynamics 365 projects are slowing down because of the need to introduce automation incrementally.

Another limitation that buyers introduce during implementation is related to budget planning. For many, the process of switching to Dynamics 365 becomes divided into two steps – migrating and then automating. Such separation allows customers to stabilize their current environment before making any significant changes through process automation.

Employee training also presents a challenge for many companies moving towards automation. Finance departments need to train their employees to ensure that their process remains operational after the introduction of new automations. Procurement processes and customer account management are no exception – employees responsible for such tasks may require additional training before the implementation.

Although software developers and implementation partners still promote automation as one of the advantages of Dynamics 365 solution, buyers do not share the same enthusiasm anymore. In particular, buyers start to pay attention to process improvements as a result of automation, not replacing manual intervention.

Thus, buyers are evaluating the effectiveness of a project based on how easy or hard it became for an employee to intervene in processes if necessary. Audit and stability now play a crucial role while the number of automated transactions becomes less important.

This approach means that organizations are still trying to achieve automation, but the goal became less ambitious. Companies now see the need to approach the idea of automation slowly in order to minimize mistakes and ensure that all processes remain stable after implementation.

As a result, future implementation projects might include the principle of staged automation in their plan.