Natural Sciences and Engineering Council of Canada (NSERC)

A tightly integrated Microsoft Dynamics CRM Solution improves client experience and reduces operating costs.

Overview

The Councils searched for a way to address program administration inefficiencies, antiquated application submission tools, obsolete backend systems, high IT operating costs, a lack of auditing and policy compliancy capabilities.

MNP, a Microsoft Certified Partner and Microsoft Dynamics CRM solution specialist, was engaged to implement a joint-Council, state-of-the-art grants management solution.

Working with MNP to integrate Microsoft Dynamics CRM with existing technology platforms enabled the Councils to enhance functionality, better manage risk, reduce operating costs and ultimately serve the community better.

Services

ASP.NET Web Portal
Microsoft Dynamics CRM
Microsoft SQL Server
Microsoft SharePoint
Portal Integration Component
ERP Integration Component
Data Synchronization Component
Document Management Integration Component

The Challenge

The Natural Sciences and Engineering Council of Canada (NSERC) and the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada (SSHRC) were proud of their respective organizations’ reputation for excellence -excellence in the research they support, the programs they manage, and the quality of service they offer researchers and Canadian-based universities and colleges. To ensure NSERC/SSHRC could provide their community of researchers with the best experience, the Councils searched for a way to address program administration inefficiencies, antiquated application submission tools, obsolete backend systems, high IT operating costs, a lack of auditing and policy compliancy capabilities.

The Approach

MNP, a Microsoft Certified Partner and Microsoft Dynamics CRM solution specialist, was engaged to implement a joint-Council, state-of-the-art grants management solution. Implementation included requirements definition, fit-gap analysis, business case development, solution architecture, configuration of Microsoft Dynamics CRM and deployment of Microsoft xRM framework components, training and change management. MNP’s large-scale data migration, consolidating data from multiple legacy systems, and integration to financial and document management systems, further enhanced application efficiency and lowered support and operating costs. This case management software solution, when integrated with the Council’s Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG)-compliant ASP.NET web portal based on the Web Experience Toolkit (WET) and existing Microsoft SharePoint Server deployment, provided internal and external users with a familiar Microsoft user interface and seamless, high-performance experience.

The Result

Improved client experience with new registration and application submission/tracking functionality, a high performance, secure integration layer, and real-time updates to a single database
Increased administrative efficiencies with state-of-the-art configurable data views, workflows, rules engine and integration with financial and document management systems of record
Reduced operating costs and significant increase in system availability and reliability within clustered web, database, and e-mail server environments
Ability to rapidly search large quantities of data with optimized data views and queries in Microsoft Dynamics CRM

“Working [with MNP] to integrate Microsoft Dynamics CRM with our existing technology platforms has enabled the Council to enhance functionality, better manage risk, reduce our operating costs and ultimately serve our community better.”-Bruce Langevin, Director General and CIO, NSERC/SSHRC

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