Openwork implements Dynamics 365 to tailor its financial advice

Financial advisory network Openwork has adopted a new system to improve its customer experience offering. Provided by cloud-based applications provider Xpedition, Dynamics 365 will provide advisors with more information with which they can tailor products to customer needs.

Openwork hosts a professional community of more than 3,600 financial advisers, with the central organisation offering these advisors the support, services and expert guidance they need to deliver a range of advice services to their clients. In order to offer better account visibility, the firm has collaborated with cloud-computing company Xpedition to install a new self-service system, automating administrative processes and enabling Openwork to take advantage of new emerging technology.

With Xpedition’s support and delivery of the new Microsoft Dynamics 365 platform, each Openwork network member has access to a customised portal along with core customer management and financial advice functions, plus various adaptations to fit their different business models. This enables financial advisers to offer tailored advice to suit their client’s personal needs, whether for investments, pensions, mortgages or financial protection.

Craig Woodhouse, Technical Consultant, Openwork, said, "The Microsoft Dynamics 365 platform provides the flexible and proven functionality that Openwork needs for market-leading customer experiences and robust security and compliance. It includes seamless integration with existing Microsoft office systems, KPI reporting and analysis, and comprehensive data access via its open API which is complemented by Microsoft’s Logic Apps and other Azure services.”

Other issues have been tackled such as securing and segregating centrally held data to avoid complications with firms dealing with the same customer for multiple reasons, and meeting stringent security and compliance needs. The initial roll-out of Dynamics 365 will be across 12 Openwork firms, however this will expand in the next two years to include all 650 advice firms in the network. In this case, a release from the firm states that members will see the benefits of the digital transformation, “supporting more than one million clients” in the process.

Dean Carroll, General Manager, Xpedition, commented, “The combination of an agile development approach, the future-focused Dynamics 365 technology and our team of highly experienced and responsive consultants has delivered the capabilities Openwork need to serve their customers in the digital age.”