Packaged business software has a been a major benefit for swathes of industry, especially mid-market businesses, that have been able to take advantage of sophisticated systems capability at a cost that could only have been dreamt of around three decades ago. But although software has become branded, packaged and commoditised the complete opposite is true of the way it is configured and delivered. Despite great strides in ‘ease of use’, integration and standardisation of technology platforms, business knowledge and understanding remain at the heart of successful projects.
This is familiar territory for Cambridge Online, a Microsoft Gold Certified Partner that specialises in delivering Microsoft Dynamics to mid-market businesses and larger entities in the UK and in Europe. Although it is to all intents and purposes a modern business situated in the heart of the Cambridge Science Park it is steeped in the tradition of delivering quality IT services going back more than 30 years. It is these values, such as the critical need to understand and fulfil customer needs rather than offering technology for its own sake that drives the business today.
“We started in 1978 delivering time sharing solutions for companies and progressed to developing bespoke systems on mini-computers,” says Ray Olds, a Director and co-founder of Cambridge Online.
“Our business is still about producing bespoke systems except we start with a packaged product such as Microsoft Dynamics NAV or Microsoft Dynamics CRM and set parameters rather than writing the solution from scratch. But the principle is the same; we are striving to meet the customer’s business needs exactly,” he adds.
That’s not as straightforward as it sounds. “It is about understanding the business problem that the customer is trying to solve rather than their version of the solution,” he adds.
It means that each new situation has to be approached with an open mind and Cambridge Online positions itself very much as a business partner working collaboratively with its customers to understand its business aspirations, processes and deep seated requirements before attempting to develop any solutions. It occasionally means that to get the best overall solution for the customer that Cambridge Online has to look beyond its home grown talent and capability. For example, for a Pan-European roll out it might engage with Microsoft resellers abroad who can provide local country teams, with the blend of language skills and cultural background to help ensure a suitable level of hand-holding and support.
But Cambridge Online’s heritage of 32 years in the IT industry ensures that for most situations it has the appropriate skills on tap. Unlike many resellers in the fast moving IT software and services industry Cambridge Online has an enviable track record of staff retention which means that it can draw on a deep store of business and IT experience.
“Our average time in service is 11 years and this year we will award our tenth gold watch to an employee for 25 years service – and all 10 of them still work with us,” enthuses Ray Olds.
This breadth of capability extends well beyond the traditional Microsoft VAR (Value Added Reseller). Cambridge Online is just as comfortable working with hardware, communications, storage systems, networking and cabling infrastructure as it is with accounting, CRM and document management systems. For its customers it means that it has the skills to leverage what is already there; rather than necessarily starting from scratch. Furthermore, as one of Microsoft’s foremost resellers in the UK it has the whole Microsoft technology stack at its disposal to help businesses take advantage of leading edge technologies, such as SharePoint to improve business productivity and competitiveness.
In fact the ability to integrate technologies and graft on solutions to existing infrastructures is becoming more critical as businesses seek to maximise the return on their investment in more challenging economic times.
Cambridge Online recognises that timely and relevant information is key to managing through a period of uncertainty which is why it invests in research to understand its customers’ changing pain points and to develop innovative seminars, reporting and business intelligence solutions to help them take advantage of technologies that can give them an edge.
“A surprising number of businesses are still struggling to maintain control of margins, match stock levels with demand or integrate their E-commerce applications with their underlying accounting. Others simply don’t have visibility of business performance so that decision making becomes very difficult,” says Ray Olds.
“In many instances we have been able to develop simple solutions and reports that have transformed the situation, improving reporting accuracy, decision making and even compliance,” he adds.
One industry that has benefited significantly from the Cambridge Online ‘touch’ is the heavily regulated aircraft maintenance sector. Maintenance record keeping has to be beyond reproach in an industry where safety is of paramount concern. Its product NAVAIR provides specialised capability based on the Microsoft Dynamics NAV business software platform and illustrates how Cambridge Online can develop intricate and complex requirements cost-effectively to meet a customer’s exact needs based on a popular accounting system. The result is an enduring solution which can be more readily supported than a completely bespoke solution.
But Cambridge Online can also turn its hands to other specialised industries such as financial services to streamline processes, improve workflows and productivity. One customer, Suffolk Life Group, is positively effusive about the benefits. "With Microsoft Dynamics we have demonstrable productivity gains (clearing backlogs and handling considerably larger volumes of business without additional staff deployment) and the ability to share data amongst diverse users," it says.
Cambridge Online’s approach clearly works and as a mid-market business itself it can readily empathise with the mid-sized businesses it serves. With ambitions to grow steadily and still in the hands of its founders the business exudes a feeling of dependability.
“In a sense we are still doing what we have always done,” says Ray Olds. “We are providing turnkey solutions to help our customers prosper. What has changed in 32 years is the wealth of experience in the business and the vast technical capability at our disposal which means that we can tackle most business challenges very effectively. What hasn’t changed is our commitment to working alongside customers to solve their business problems.”
