When implementing
a new software system, savings and improvements will not be attributable
by just exchanging the current software with a 'newer' package.
The way that savings will be achieved is by the supply of a package
that can improve the operational aspects of the business as well
as being, from a financial/accounting perspective, "functionally
rich". All our products allow both, being fully featured mature
products whilst being leaders in the use of technology in their
own fields.
In the excitement and deadlines that usually
accompany the selection of a new system, proper project planning
is often not completed. However this initial planning stage is arguably
the most critical stage of the project. Incorrect decisions taken
at this point could result in expensive changes of direction later
in the project, or worse - a system being implemented that does
not meet its objectives.
To ensure proper planning occurs, Gyrosoft provides
a planning approach called an Implementation Planning Study (IPS),
which is outlined below.
The IPS is a process that Gyrosoft and the client
engage in to establish the exact scope and nature of the implementation
of the recommended solution. Typically it occurs after the order
has been placed, but before the software installation commences.
This IPS is required for a number of reasons:
Many organisations have not developed a detailed
specification of their requirements
Both parties often require information so they
can complete a fuller evaluation that is not available from the
normal sales process. After demonstrations the client is often
still not sure of all the details of the solution, neither is
the vendor likely to have the needed level of in-depth knowledge
of their requirements.
Expectations of both parties will invariably differ
and need to be synchronised.
Expectations even within the respective organisations
may need to be synchronised
The implementation process requires careful planning
to ensure minimal disruptions
It is critical that the end users have a sense
of ownership at the initial planning stages of the system. This
sense of ownership is fostered by the participative approach that
the IPS employs
Often more than one option will exist in terms
of meeting a requirement. These need to be analysed as to the
optimal choice
To ensure that all parties receive a complete
picture of the requirements, solution and proposed project approach
it is important that communication take place at all levels. Working
from documentation available at this initial stage Gyrosoft works
with the client to develop a comprehensive set of planning documents
and deliverables as outlined below. Through initial information collecting
meetings with the different stakeholders in the system, individuals
have the opportunity to contribute their views and "buy in"
to the process.
Project Management A
Project Manager will be responsible for project management of our
team and will be the main liaison point within Gyrosoft.We would suggest
that you appoint your own Project Manager, likely to be a senior member
of your staff, who will take on the responsibility for ensuring that
activities are completed by your project team.At the outset, the Project
Manager assigned to your account by Gyrosoft will undertake an Implementation
Planning Study (IPS) with your Project Manager. The Project Manager
will work with you to co-ordinate the project and monitor progress
of activities and individuals with implementation responsibilities.We
anticipate the need for regular project meetings to maximise the efficiency
of the implementation process and to ensure that the agreed milestones
are met.
Prototyping If suitable, we can develop
a prototype of the proposed set up required to meet your specific
business requirements. This will enable you to confirm the feasibility
of the proposed solution at a low cost, as well as provide valuable
input to the business analysis stage.
Installation
Our installation services utilise specialist expertise across all
aspects of your project to configure the software for optimal and
trouble free performance. The software is installed by our consultants
to fully utilise the underlying operating and database architecture
offered by Microsoft, whether it be SQL Server or Foxpro. Because
your accounting system is a mission critical system it is imperative
that the installation process be performed correctly. Requirements
regarding the system structure would also be implemented at this point. Integration A
wide range of Integration toolsets are available. If Integration is
required to your existing legacy systems, a detailed analysis of the
relevant applications will be undertaken. However, the software provides
standard integration tools that have been designed to allow data to
be brought into, and produced from, the application without the need
for excessive consulting effort. System set-up All our
products are designed to be easy to use and are exceptionally flexible.
This flexibility is based on the use of a considerable number of parameters.
These need to be set up at the implementation stage. Our consultants
will explain these set up options to you during the early stages of
the implementation process. User training We
train on-site on a one-to-one basis or in small groups. In some situations,
workshops are used to discuss and agree business processes. We focus
the training effort on key individuals who can pass on this knowledge
to other members of staff. Your training requirements are assessed
both with regard to existing skills of your staff and your business
requirements and a training approach is then tailored to address these
requirements. For example if some staff are not Windows literate then
we could provide general Windows training prior to them attending
a product specific course. Class size is generally limited to five
attendees to ensure effectiveness of learning. The amount of time
required for implementation and training will vary subject to your
requirements and the agreed training plan. We will train your staff
in the report-writers - our approach is to train key members of staff
while designing some of the key reports identified during the implementation
study. Data conversion
Usually the most underestimated and single most time consuming task
in a project is that of data conversion. Utilising the experience
and skills of our programmers and consultants we can advise on the
most efficient process to transfer data from your legacy system to
your new software. We have a number of software tools that can considerably
automate this process. The amount of effort to convert existing data
can only be estimated after detailed examination of your sources of
data. The quality and completeness of the data as well as the degree
to which it maps to the new software's data structures will need to
be assessed. Report Writing and Customisation
All our products offer a large range of standard reports to satisfy
most organisations' basic reporting requirements. But the software
also offers completely open access to the business data using any
one of the many report writers available on the market today. Use
of a report writer will provide you with reports customised to your
exact specifications. While users can be productive with these report
writers with one to two days training often organisations will elect
to utilise our report writing services to quickly provide them with
a set of critical customised reports. We have consultants who have
formal training and experience in using report writers such as the
old favourite, Crystal Reports, or via our new Vision Excel add in,
and can offer help and assistance in this field. All of the customer
and supplier related documents produced by the accounting solutions,
such as invoices, statements, remittances, cheques and so on, can
be designed in accordance with your own stationery layouts. The stationery
can be designed to fit on pre-printed continuous stationery, or we
can offer increased flexibility by scanning in your logo and creating
the layouts directly in the software for printing onto A4 laser paper. Customisation
All the products offer customisation capabilities at several levels,
to make relatively simple changes to screens for example, and more
complex customisation changes at a programming level using the individual
development languages. This customisation capability enables us to
accommodate special business requirements without compromising the
underlying benefits of a technology leading "off-the-shelf"
business solution. This customisation capability can provide you with
confidence that you can not only have a system which offers a high
degree of fit now, but one that can in all likelihood expand to meet
your changing business requirements in the future. To achieve maximum
system efficiency it is important that an organisation's systems be
as integrated as soon as possible. Our development skills, combined
with the outstanding connectivity capability of the software means
that tight integration can be achieved with many external systems. Go live hand-holding
As the implementation reaches its conclusion and the go live date
gets nearer and nearer, the realisation will start to creep in that
the "point of no return" is about to be reached. The final
job before go live is to convert the outstanding transactions from
your legacy package, reconcile the two systems, agree the figures
and then start processing on your new live system. This can be a tricky
time for some organisations and so we offer a "Go Live Hand Holding"
service to help on the first one or two days of the go live point.
These days tend to pick up and resolve any outstanding setup, training
or data issues, thereby ensuring that the final transition to your
new implementation runs as smoothly as possible. Annual Software Maintenance
To maintain the value of your investment in your new software, it
is important to receive software upgrades. Each product includes software
maintenance which provides software updates - everything from major
feature additions to minor software refinements. By keeping your software
current with the latest in software features and technology, the value
of your software investment increases. The software maintenance is
required as mandatory by all software providers in the first year.
The fee is based on the list price of the software and is payable
annually in advance. You must be enrolled in a software maintenance
program to purchase a support plan or additional modules, or to add
more users after your initial solution purchase. Customer Source - Dynamics GP Only A major benefit of the Enhancement Program is having
unlimited access to Customer Source, our web-based support and information
tool. Customer Source is a secure area of our web site designed specifically
for our customers and provides technical information and support 24
hours a day, seven days a week. Use Customer Source to:
Find self help tools
Download product updates
Search Microsoft Business Solutions' technical
question & answer database
Participate in online training
Share ideas with other customers through discussion
forums
Read an online version of the Microsoft Business
Solutions customer newsletter
Participate in Interact sessions, which are live
question & answer sessions with Microsoft Business Solutions
team members on timely topics.
In addition to providing a vast amount of information
and solutions at your fingertips, Customer Source reduces your support
costs and increases productivity by allowing you to resolve your own
issues quickly. Telephone Support
The on going provision of services after the implementation of the
system is necessary to provide continual user satisfaction and maintain
the performance system at an optimal level. At Gyrosoft we utilise
our support team based in London to provide a telephone support service
to our customers, to help with day-to day advice and to solve problems
as they arise. This area along with Gyrosoft's consultancy and training
services will make or break the success of the installation. Most
problems can be solved over the telephone. We offer high levels of
support where we are constantly working with our customers to provide
the best in business computing. We provide the services for you to
get the best out of your computer, and we want you to utilise those
services to your advantage. For instance, typical incidents for telephone
support would include operational questions, trouble-shooting assistance,
mission-critical help and general how-to questions. Telephone support
requires technical experts to be available to assist customers throughout
the day. Our support team log all calls and we aim to clear these
immediately if possible. Consultants manning the support team have
access to the latest technical support information in databases updated
overnight by Microsoft Business Solutions and Pegasus, as well as
our own comprehensive technical database. The majority of support
calls are cleared without our needing to refer to the software authors.
Where we do need to refer to these authors, we have full access to
technical support desks at Microsoft UK & USA, and Pegasus in
Kettering. Our standard level support and maintenance agreement covers:
Software upgrades
Standard level help-desk support provided from
our London office between the hours of 09:00 and 17:00 on normal
working days. Outside of these hours, support requests can be
made via email (support@gyrosoft.co.uk)
or by leaving a voicemail message on our help-desk number.
E-mail Support E-mail
Support is ideal for how-to questions and non-emergency situations.
It can also help clarify additional questions you may have about information
you've found in Customer Source. For support situations such as diagnosing
error messages or resolving system-down or other critical and complex
situations, Telephone Support is recommended. Online Support
Online support is included in the Software maintenance contract. The
customer follows the support link from the Support page on our web
site and the request is automatically picked up by our Helpdesk consultants. Account Management
On-going Account Management is part of our comprehensive support service
and applies beyond the initial implementation period. Your Account
Manager from Gyrosoft will be your main contact point for further
services and advice, keeping you and your system updated with the
latest releases and information. It is our aim for your Account Manager
to understand your organisation's business objectives and strategies
and to align your business systems to those ambitions. Technical Services
The Technical Services Team ensures the smooth running of the underlying
infrastructure relating to your Business Solutions implementation.
This expertise covers areas such as:
Installation and Upgrades of Windows NT, 2000,
2003, SBS & SQL
Configuration of e-Commerce modules using IIS
Hardware Capacity Planning
Trouble Shooting, Systems Tuning and Performance
Measurement
System Health checks - for more information see
below
We are able to undertake regular system health-checks
for existing and new clients alike. This would cover a review of hardware,
network set-up, database integrity including SQL testing, communications
issues, backup and other procedures, to identify areas of risk and
system bottlenecks. A written report will be provided to highlight
suggested action steps to improve system performance and to minimise
the likelihood of any downtime.
