Why a Large-Project Drilling Company Stays Loyal to Dynamics SL

Microsoft Dynamics SL doesn't often get the spotlight at gatherings like Convergence 2012, but at least one user being featured by Microsoft at the session is a loyal SL user that appreciates the application's ongoing enhancements.

Hydro Resources specializes in drilling for water on a large scale for municipalities and large farms, and "is very project oriented," with projects in the hundreds of thousands of dollars to millions of dollars each, says Rebecca Harrington, vice president, finance.  It has annual revenues approaching $100 million.

Hydro Resrouces has been using Dynamics SL since 2003. In 2009, when Harrington joined the company, "We took a good look at the options, and decided to stay with SL."

The company has been successful in getting more of its project managers to use the project budgeting that is SL's strength. "We had decided to put as much information as possible into users' hands."

The benefit is that both the financial people, who do much of the project estimates, and the project managers, "are on the same page and can understand each others' needs," says Harrington. The tendency is for the financial people to estimate costs higher than project managers, who want to please customers, and thus invariably want to help customers reduce costs. "When you are dealing with million-dollar contracts, this is important."

Hydro Resources has begun linking Dynamics CRM with SL. So all the aging of receivables and such is now immediately available to managers in the field, working with customers. "The guy in the field can see what kind of customers they are." Also available to the personnel in the field is information about particular wells, potential repairs, and so forth.

The new linkages have "provided a ...