Business Applications

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Whether you’re looking to streamline business and financial processes, strengthen customer relationships or manage data to improve intelligence and reporting, TSG will identify the most appropriate business applications to help you increase efficiency and improve productivity. We pride ourselves on seamless implementation; the result of working with thousands of SME customers that also allows us to share best practice.

By Appointment to Her Majesty The Queen

Information Technology Services Technology Services Group

Newcastle upon Tyne

OCNNERMicrosoft Dynamics CRM

Case Study

The Customer

OCN North East Region (OCNNER) is an Awarding Organisation and registered Charity, recognised by the Qualification Regulator in England (Ofqual), offering high quality, flexible, credit-based qualifications.

The Awarding Organisation’s primary objective is simple - they are passionate about widening participation and promoting lifetime learning for all.

Both independently and in partnership with the National Open College Network (NOCN) the Awarding Organisation develops, quality assures and certificates nationally recognised qualifications that are flexible and inclusive. For nearly 20 years they have been offering a seamless learning accreditation service that’s second to none.

The Customer Objectives

OCNNER has changed considerably over the years, to meet increasing demand and meet new regulatory obligations. Over time, the organisation realised that it needed to replace its current system and implement a solution that provided an improved user experience in order to keep up with new technologies.

Rowena Harrison, Operations Manager at OCNNER explains, “The project brief was to assist in replacing the current legacy systems for Centre management and compliance which needed to integrate with the new Quartz system and ultimately SharePoint.”

The foundations of the new system also had to be built with expansion in mind, and the flexibility to be added to by OCNNER staff without the reliance of an IT company.

The TSG Solution

After getting a full breakdown of what the business currently used and an understanding of their requirements and expectations for new software, TSG recommended Microsoft Dynamics CRM.

Microsoft Dynamics CRM offers a rich set of functionality for nearly all areas of a business including Sales, Marketing, Customer Support and Resource Scheduling. OCNNER needed a central management system and an easy-to-use system with the flexibility to adapt to changing needs - Microsoft Dynamics CRM was seen as the perfect fit due to its development with ease of use in mind, and has always aimed to work the way its users do.

The Benefits to OCNNER

When asked how the new CRM system has helped OCNNER, Rowena comments, “The project has fulfilled all our objectives. It has allowed us to collate previously disparate information into one place that is now visible by everyone, thus facilitating transparency across all processes. We can tweak and add to the system without using additional resources, and the actual use of the system has allowed staff to develop and implement new skills. When considering new business developments or procedures, everyone’s first thought is now ‘can we do this on CRM’, and the answer is usually ‘yes’.”

TSG has provided the expertise and support necessary to enable us to plan, prepare and implement a system which has proved its worth immediately.”

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Rowena has also been impressed with CRM’s ease of use, as she continues, “Staff have very quickly embraced CRM as they immediately see the benefits of having one coherent system with so much information in one place. Being able to access the system remotely, with no loss of functionality, is a major advantage too.”

The Future for TSG and OCNNER

As OCNNER continues to thrive, undoubtedly TSG will work with the Awarding Organisation on other IT projects. Rowena sees the relationship between OCNNER and TSG as solid, rating the service from the TSG team as excellent.

When asked if she would recommend TSG to other businesses, Rowena confirms, “Without hesitation. TSG is a one-stop-shop for all your IT needs, whether they are basic, complicated, or extremely specialised – they have staff with the knowledge and expertise to be able to help.”