Two Perth-based digital transformation specialists, ASG and WithPrecision, have helped transport agency Main Roads Western Australia transition its Microsoft Dynamics CRM system into the cloud.
As one of the first steps in a broader digital transformation effort, the agency’s CONNECT CRM system was shifted to Azure.
Created in 2012, CONNECT was first built to aid the agency in managing customer and stakeholder interactions for its 1200 staff that oversee $50 billion worth of assets.
Through automation and data management, the CRM helped streamline processes and keep information in order.
“Currently we have 25 external contractors using CONNECT to record all their infrastructure delivery stakeholder engagement,” said Main Roads CONNECT customer relationship management system coordinator Angela Irving.
She added that Main Roads “has been working to streamline the process for contractors and stresses the importance of having contractors use the system.”
The system is largely based on out-of-the-box capabilities with some customisation, such as recording calls or emails to the 24/7 support line as either customer activity or a fault report.
Working on the organisation’s initial Dynamics 365 cloud assessment and road map, WithPrecision saw that the benefit that the CRM brought to the organisation made it a priority for cloud migration. It also provided advisory services throughout the project.
As Main Road’s MSP, ASG carried out the development work and project management for the migration project, liaised with the Microsoft Fasttrack team, and assisted with change management.
The parties involved took an Agile approach to the project which, overall, took nine months to complete.
Main Roads ICT Service Delivery Coordinator Sue Muir said, “the platform is being integrated with Main Roads raft of legacy software, including its Oracle-based road data application and its record-keeping systems.”
A Power App was developed to enable bug reporting to DevOps and forum community sessions with live demos were conducted in the name of change management.
Power BI was implemented to track issues on the road network from regional and state views from fault reports received from customers.
Future plans for the cloud systems include a customer portal for engagement and forms, highlighting Indigenous businesses and the service they offer, and an Azure-based data lake.
Irving says users are delighted with the system and new modern interface. “They’re finding it so much easier to navigate to find stakeholders or records,” she says, adding that overall system performance has improved as well. Got a news tip for our journalists? Share it with us anonymously here.