It is not uncommon for a consultant to face underdevelopment at some point in their career. To prevent this, we offer personalized training benefits that will empower you to fast track your career. We interviewed Sarika Krishnan to get an understanding of how she has grown her 14-year career at Rand Group from Associate to Vice President. 

At Rand Group, one of our strongest values is quality. We believe in doing things the right way and ensuring our clients achieve lasting business success. We interviewed Jennifer McNamara, Director of Learning & Knowledge Management, to learn how Rand Group's commitment to quality has shaped her career. 

When building your consulting career, it pays to work for a company that believes in training and professional development as much as you do, if not more. At Rand Group, we know how important career advancement is; it’s woven into our work culture and is one of our core values. We interviewed Sarika Krishnan, Vice President of Quality and Process Excellence here at Rand Group to learn more about her journey and the role the company has played in her career growth.

Being a passionate problem solver in the consulting industry typically means working long hours along with an 80% travel expectation. These expectations may not have seemed bothersome when first starting your career, but over time it often cuts into time spent with family and friends. At Rand Group, we know how challenging time away from home can be, and that is why our employees are never expected to travel more than 35%. Everyone has a life outside work, and it can be difficult to maintain a work-life balance if you are always traveling.

Have you wondered whether you are getting the most out of your current financial software?

Have you questioned if you were paying too much?

Have you been concerned your partner chose the right system for your specific business goals?

You are not alone.

Whether you’re searching for a new partner to support your financial software system or confirmation that you are already on the right track, Rand Group has got you covered. Our full-scale assessments of your Customer Relationship Management (CRM) and Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) systems can give you the insight you’re looking for to help you rest assured that your business strategy is intact.

No matter your situation, here are three ways that our assessment package can set you up for success:

A routine health check.

Digital Disruption

It is no surprise that it is becoming increasingly harder to keep up with the pace of change in today's competitive environment. A greater move towards digitization is driving disruption across almost all industries. A report released by the Global Center for Digital Business Transformation found that 4 out of today's top 10 business leaders in each industry will be displaced by digital disruption in the next five years. This disruption takes the form of a vortex, where industries are inevitably moving toward a digital center where business models and offerings are digitized to the maximum extent possible.

The growth of internet of things (IoT), which is the transmission of data through multiple, interconnected computing devices that we use every day, has given businesses access to an avalanche of new information. However, many aren’t equipped to manage this onslaught of information, and solutions are often targeted for a specific device. Getting all your devices on the same page to get an all-encompassing picture of your business can be daunting. But what if there was a tool that could sync all of your devices in real-time?

Microsoft Dynamics NAV is an ERP system designed for small-to-medium sized businesses. It has been a key player in the ERP market for over three decades, offering companies a way to manage their financials, operations, supply chain, manufacturing, sales, and service. It is a customizable software that is often tailored to match companies unique requirements and processes. 

Executives have to ask themselves "Are my numbers accurate?"  more and more every year as financial complexity increases. With an influx of fraud cases, it's no wonder CFOs and CPAs alike are finding it harder and harder to sleep at night.

Microsoft Dynamics AX is an ERP system designed for medium to enterprise-sized companies. Introduced over a decade ago, it is known as a reliable business management software capable of handling robust financial needs. It covers areas such as financial management, inventory management, warehouse management, manufacturing, distribution, service management, human resources, e-commerce, and sales. 

Microsoft's focus in recent years has been directed towards Dynamics 365, their business management suite designed to unify all business areas through connected applications. However, legacy products such as Dynamics GP are still widely used and trusted by many organizations to provide a strong backbone for their financials. Given this shift in focus, it can be hard to understand the current state of affairs for Dynamics GP. This blog post will clear up some of the confusion that surrounds the future of Dynamics GP.

Spreadsheets are the life blood of a small business. Excel’s user-friendly interface combined with basic accounting software are ideal for the first days of a business.  However, as a business grows, there reaches a point where richer visibility and more advanced reporting is needed.  Eventually, the data becomes too complex and wider global integrations along with optimum visibility are imperative.  

Audits can be a stressful time for any company. Getting everything in order beforehand and working with the auditor while they are on site can be time consuming and exhausting. However, what if there was a tool that could make your audit a breeze? A system that could ensure that your financial information is at your fingertips at all times.

Undertaking an enterprise resource planning (ERP) software implementation is a big decision that involves a lot of stakeholders, resources, planning, time, and effort. According to Gartner, nearly 75% of all ERP implementations fail. When considering the enormity of the project and what is at stake, this can translate to substantial business and revenue loss. Companies of all sizes and industries are subject to this risk, especially when attempting to implement an ERP system alone without the assistance of an experienced partner.

Marketing is the perfect marriage of strategy and creativity. Getting this mixture right takes training, experience and old-fashioned trial and error. It is not for the faint of heart and it is definitely not for those with limited time on their hands.

According to a survey by Pew Research Internet, Americans are roughly twice as likely to express worry rather than enthusiasm about a future in which robots and computers are capable of taking jobs that are currently human-driven. However, SAP has done a deep dive into the effects of digitization work force processes in the oil and gas industry and has come up with some promising and exciting outcomes for the future of the human labor force.

What is SAP Business By Design?

HOUSTON, TX – Major League Soccer club Houston Dynamo have selected Rand Group, a multi-platform systems integrator based in Houston, Texas, as their official IT consulting partner, the club and Rand Group announced recently. This partnership will help the club continue to transform their technology operations while creating awareness of Rand Group throughout the local soccer community.

Rand Group has been named to the Bob Scott's Insights Top 100 VARs for 2018.

The Top 100 resellers are chosen from organizations specializing in the sale and implementation of Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) and accounting software.

NetSuite offers a unique modular approach to subscription licensing for customers by providing product configurations designed to fit your business needs. It is generally accepted through any basic internet search that a standard user access is per user, per a month, plus a base licensing for emerging (small) businesses as well as base options for midmarket and enterprise companies. Additional monthly fees are added for advanced modules like manufacturing and eCommerce, plus add-ons for expansions such as warehouse management.

Microsoft is releasing upcoming changes to Azure Service Bus that will affect Microsoft Dynamics AX 2012 Azure connector, email workflow approvals, companion/mobile applications, and vendor portals.

It will also affect any other application or service that uses Access Control Service (ACS).

Microsoft Dynamics 365 for Finance and Operations is a robust ERP solution built entirely in the cloud. It enables businesses to better manage their financials and operations through intelligent applications that are easy to tailor, extend, and integrate. With an intuitive UI, embedded intelligence, and automated processes, Dynamics 365 for Finance and Operations is the ideal solution for fast-growing businesses.

This spring, Microsoft released Dynamics NAV 2018 which takes a big step towards deeper integration with other Microsoft cloud products including Dynamics 365, Office 365, Power BI and several third-party applications which are now seamlessly interfaced, allowing your business to function in the same homogeneous environment. NAV 2018 is fully extensible, enabling clients to customize their current Dynamics NAV solution to fulfill all their business needs.

In 2017, Microsoft released an update for Dynamics 365 for Sales (previously Dynamics CRM) that brought to life one of the most awaited features: Multi Select Option Sets (MSOS). Hearing about this update still fills me with excitement – at the time, it sounded almost too good to be true. Let me explain: previously, the out-of-box Option Set field type in Dynamics CRM only allowed users to select one option from a pick list. This was restricting, and many times clients had requested that the Option Set field have multi select capabilities. To configure multi select functionality, we would have to create a custom entity just for this field, add all of the options as records, and then utilize lookup fields and sub-grids to display multiple options. Otherwise, we would have to create multiple fields to allow users to pick more than one option. Setting these up took more time than it should and sometimes didn’t always meet our clients’ desires.

Every year, NetSuite reveals new versions of its business management suite. As a cloud-based solution, upgrading to the new version is easily and quickly managed, with no lengthy data migrations or software installations needed.