Node4 helps Jisc

Jisc is a not for profit organisation that provides technology solutions and services for the UK’s education and research sectors. Jisc is best known for its Janet network, which is used by approximately 18 million people across the UK for research and education.

In 2018, Jisc upgraded its core finance system to a solution based on Microsoft Dynamics 365 Finance. “We needed to be able to access more system functionality than our existing configuration allowed,” recalls Anne Marie Gregory, Jisc’s Director of Finance Transformation. “We were unable to access some core solution functionality and had to continue with many manual processes that we thought could be automated. It was a very frustrating time for us as we weren’t where we wanted to be.”

She continues: “But the biggest issue was that our configuration was using a single-entity ledger, even though Jisc is a multi-entity organisation. This fundamental element was key to our decision to reimplement the solution entirely. At that point, we put out a tender, which Node4 won, standing out from the crowd in terms of their detailed, considered response. We were particularly impressed with Node4’s data security knowledge. This was particularly relevant to us, as our security infrastructure is of upmost importance.”

Full integration, empowered employees and greater confidence

As a top priority, Node4 fully integrated Microsoft Dynamics 365 Finance and Operations with one of Jisc’s other IT systems. This enabled the solution to operate—as intended—as a unified platform that can automate operations, enhance decision making and drive growth.

Following the reimplementation, the solution also provides Jisc with the appropriate multi-entity structure to facilitate recording all financial transactions for each legal entity in the group. In addition, it simplifies sales invoicing and payment processes, provides appropriate internal and external visibility of customer account transactions and reduces the need for time-consuming manual searches.

“We can now run automated daily bank reconciliations,” says Anne Marie. “We have reduced our debtor days and can now supply our credit control team with more timely information, empowering them to do their job more effectively. Our month-end reporting is much more efficient, too, as we can report directly from the system rather than depending on third-party generated reports. Overall, we’re much more confident about the accuracy of our automated reports—particularly the most complex inter-company ones.”

A more self-sufficient and tech-savvy team

“Node4 has helped us to fully realise the potential of our Microsoft Dynamics 365 solution,” explains Anne Marie. “Their deep understanding of the solution meant we could meet our goal of using out-of-the-box, non-customised functionality wherever possible. This is a marked shift from the previous installation, which relied heavily on third-party software. It means our department has a stronger and more stable IT base, allowing us to adapt far more easily to future requirements.”

She continues: “The project is a massive credit to everyone involved. It was completed on time and under budget, with limited disruption across the wider business. Having reached this point and spoken to peers about similar implementations, it's only now I realise that we all achieved something remarkable.”

Node4 also offered training, passed on technical knowledge, and provided easy-to-follow documentation throughout the project. As a result, Anne Marie’s team can now start to manage their Microsoft Dynamics 365 solution on a day-to-day basis and plan the roll-out of further reporting functionality. “We’re not experts yet,” she confesses, “But we’re very well-educated.”

Anne Marie concludes: “It’s fair to say that Node4 has done a lot for us, but they’ve enabled us to do a lot too. Many of our team members have been on a huge learning journey that will help us continue to grow and evolve as a team— and a great deal of that is down to Node4’s patience, professionalism and diligence. It’s been much more than a reimplementation; Node4 has put in solid foundations that we’ll be able to build on for years to come.”