Proof of concept for Dynamics CRM integration

Description

Summary of the work We are seeking a partner to provide a 'proof of concept' for some integration work on our on-premise Dynamics CRM. Latest start date Monday 1 July 2019 Budget Range Up to £10K Why the Work is Being Done Valleys To Coast (Social Housing Organisation) is in the process of decommissioning a legacy housing management system. Part of this work will require modifying our Dynamics based CRM so that it points at our current housing management system (Castleton Housing) instead of the legacy Housing Management System (Northgate). Problem to Be Solved Our colleagues in customer services can only access customer and tenancy related data that is stored in our legacy housing management system via the CRM. We would like to reconfigure our CRM so that it's pointing at our current housing management system which is largely operational. Who Are the Users As a customer services colleague, I need to access customer related information so that I can efficiently deal with queries and requests based on information that the organisation holds. Early Market Engagement We have had a 'Statement of Work' from our current Microsoft Dynamics development partner. Work Already Done We have had some development work done by a previous supplier in 2016 that created integrations between the CRM and Northgate (Oracle based Housing Management System) and Total Repairs (SQL based repairs system). Existing Team There is an existing IT team. The team consists of Project managers, Business Analysts and Developers. Current Phase Not applicable Skills & Experience • A portfolio of successful Microsoft Dynamics implementations • Demonstrate experience of SQL development in the context of integrations • Demonstrate experience of working with Scribe/Oracle Nice to Haves • Previous experience of working with social housing organisations. • Previous experience of working with Castleton Housing Management system • Previous experience of working with Northgate Housing Management system Work Location Valleys To Coast is based in Bridgend, Wales. Working Arrangments We would like our teams to be involved in the implementation of the solution so they are involved in key decisions and have input into the design of the proof of concept. Arrangements for this will be agreed jointly with the appointed supplier. No. of Suppliers to Evaluate 3 Proposal Criteria • Proof of concept • Approach and methodology • Value for money Cultural Fit Criteria • Work as a team with our organisation and other suppliers • Be transparent and collaborative when making decisions • Share knowledge and experience with other team members Payment Approach Fixed price Evaluation Weighting Technical competence 70% Cultural fit 10% Price 20% Questions from Suppliers 1. Would it be possible to share the current SoW? As a general rule of thumb we won’t directly share information that’s been created by suppliers. However, I can confirm that the SoW is pretty much as described in the requirements. Presently there’s no more detail than that. 2. You mention "a 'Statement of Work' from our current Microsoft Dynamics development partner". Are they unable/unwilling to carry the work out? Our procurement guidelines have recently tightened up, so we are seeking to cast the net a bit wider on the basis of value for money. 3. Is the SOW for the proof of concept only, or for the complete project? The SOW is for the proof of concept only and is pretty much as described in the requirements. 4. Is there an incumbent supplier, and if yes who is it? There is, but I don't think specifying them adds any value to this process. 5. Do you know if the Castleton Housing application has been integrated with Microsoft Dynamics before (with other clients) and if so do you know if an API Framework exists? I'm aware of at least one other organisation that has completed this integration. In that particular case I believe scribe was used.There is an API available. Here's a quote from the suppliers entry on G-Cloud.."External users and systems are able to perform any action that the standard front-end can perform using the APIs.In addition to this, a suite of specific external APIs are available for each product and module that are specifically designed for transferring, retrieving and updating all major datasets (e.g. property details, repair information etc.)" 6. "Previous supplier in 2016 that created integrations between the CRM and Northgate" - Can you please provide more details around this integration?What type of integration is applied ? Is it real time? Or Is it used in ssis? Direct sql integration? The previous integration was done via Scribe to an Oracle database. My understanding is that it's a daily push from Northgate to the CRM. The only data written back the other way is contact information which is real-time.