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June 18, 2021
What Happened After CRM Went Live? How IT Leaders Can Prevent Post Go-Live Issues
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June 18, 2021
For IT leaders, the work doesn’t stop when a new system goes live—it only shifts focus. The post-go-live phase of a project is a critical period that determines whether the transition to a new system is a true success or a costly challenge. The reality is that many projects face unforeseen issues after go-live, such as performance bottlenecks, system crashes, or user adoption hurdles.
This blog explores the story of XYZ, a US healthcare company, and the challenges it faced after launching its new Microsoft Dynamics CRM. More importantly, it outlines actionable strategies IT leaders can use to prevent post-go-live issues and leverage platforms like AiDOOS for seamless operations.
Customer Background
XYZ, a leading US healthcare company, decided to migrate its customer relationship operations from a legacy CRM system to Microsoft Dynamics CRM. After careful evaluation, XYZ partnered with an implementation vendor to handle the migration.
The project progressed smoothly. The teams followed Agile methodology, conducted daily stand-ups, sprint-based deployments, and user acceptance testing (UAT). The go-live was celebrated as a success.
But within a week, the new system experienced a critical memory leakage issue that brought it to a halt, causing significant disruption to operations.
The Fallout
Extended Downtime: The CRM system’s failure impacted critical customer interactions, leading to escalating frustration among stakeholders.
Inefficient Troubleshooting: Both the internal IT team and the implementation partner struggled to identify the root cause.
Loss of Confidence: Executive leaders grew increasingly concerned about the system’s reliability and the potential impact on business continuity.
XYZ’s experience is not uncommon. Here are some typical issues IT leaders encounter after a system goes live:
Unanticipated Technical Glitches: Memory leaks, integration failures, or performance degradation.
Limited Internal Expertise: Teams may lack the specialized knowledge to diagnose product-level issues quickly.
Delayed Escalation: Without clear escalation frameworks, issues can linger, compounding their impact.
Reactive Monitoring: Many organizations fail to implement proactive system monitoring, leading to delayed issue detection.
Inadequate Vendor Support: Partners often fall short of addressing critical issues promptly, leaving the organization to bear the brunt.
Faced with growing business impact, XYZ turned to AiDOOS for help. Recognizing the complexity of the problem, AiDOOS leveraged its network of product-level Subject Matter Experts (SMEs) with in-depth Microsoft Dynamics CRM expertise.
How AiDOOS Resolved the Issue:
Rapid Task Assignment: The memory leak issue was posted on the AiDOOS platform, and the task was routed to a Microsoft SME who had worked on the CRM product’s development.
Root-Cause Analysis: The SME quickly identified the root cause—an obscure code path that triggered memory retention—and provided a solution.
Quick Turnaround: What had been a week-long struggle was resolved within hours, bringing the system back online.
To ensure seamless post-go-live operations, IT leaders must adopt a proactive approach. Here’s how:
1. Establish a Post Go-Live Readiness Plan
Create a structured plan outlining monitoring, support, and escalation processes for the first 90 days post go-live.
Identify critical dependencies and risk factors during the planning phase.
2. Leverage Expertise On-Demand
Partner with platforms like AiDOOS to access global SMEs who can address niche and product-level issues swiftly.
Reduce dependency on a single vendor for post-go-live support.
3. Implement Proactive Monitoring
Use advanced monitoring tools to track system performance, memory usage, and transaction flows in real-time.
Set up automated alerts to flag anomalies before they escalate.
4. Train and Upskill Teams
Ensure internal teams are trained on the new system to handle common issues and escalate complex ones effectively.
Cross-train staff to reduce reliance on a few key individuals.
5. Encourage Cross-Functional Collaboration
Facilitate open communication between IT, business teams, and implementation partners to resolve issues faster.
Regularly review user feedback to identify pain points early.
After resolving its immediate crisis, XYZ fully onboarded AiDOOS to handle ongoing CRM maintenance. Here’s what they gained:
Cost Efficiency: Reduced CRM maintenance spend by over 40% by paying only for tasks completed.
Access to Expertise: Gained access to a global pool of product-level experts without long-term commitments.
Improved Focus: Freed internal teams to focus on strategic initiatives rather than firefighting.
The Virtual Delivery Center (VDC) model provided by AiDOOS is a game-changer for IT leaders managing post-go-live operations:
Centralized Task Management: The VDC consolidates all tasks, making it easy to track progress and ensure accountability.
Seamless Scalability: IT leaders can scale resources up or down based on workload without worrying about hiring or training.
Integrated Insights: Built-in analytics tools offer deep visibility into system performance and task status, enabling data-driven decision-making.
Post go-live issues are inevitable, but their impact can be minimized with the right strategy and tools. For IT leaders, platforms like AiDOOS offer a proactive, cost-efficient, and expertise-driven solution to keep systems running smoothly and businesses thriving.
Call to Action
Take control of your post-go-live operations with AiDOOS. Sign up now and experience the power of on-demand expertise!
