InfoStrat's Townsend Report

One of Microsoft's growth engines is the Dynamics family of products.  These are business software applications that include enterprise resource planning (ERP), accounting, finance, operations, human resources, customer relationship management (CRM) and even mixed reality and artificial intelligence. In contrast to operating systems and general purpose applications such as Office 365, Word, PowerPoint, and Teams, Dynamics 365 products are for businesses rather than personal use.  In fact, the Dynamics group was formerly called Microsoft Business Systems. Every week I get questions from customers about Dynamics 365, so I thought some background in a post like this might be helpful for those who are considering Dynamics products.  

Here is Microsoft's list of application categories for Dynamics:


As the figure above illustrates, there are many product categories and Dynamics products, and Microsoft is adding new ones each year. The Dynamics 365 products have evolved as three groups:…

The latest review of Serenic’s comprehensive ERP solution for non-profit organizations, Serenic Navigator for NPO, is featured in CPA Practice Advisor. The review describes the requirements of non-profit organizations, such as accounting, management and administrative needs and how they can meet their needs from a single solution – Serenic Navigator for NPO.  The Serenic Navigator for NPO includes Accounting and Financial Management, Award Management, Budgeting and Expense Tracking, Payroll & Human Resources, and Analytics and Reporting. Optional modules including Deposits and Loans, Field Connect, and Donor Management with DonorDirect are also available. In addition, as an embedded Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central solution, complete integration with Microsoft applications such as Word, Excel and PowerPoint, is available as well. CPA Practice Advisor rated Serenic Navigator for NPO a 5-star rating based on the completeness of its functions, the grant management capability an…

Serenic Software is now offering it NaviPayroll on Microsoft AppSource. NaviPayroll is an integrated payroll and HR solution and the most widely used add-in for businesses using Microsoft Dynamics™ 365 Business Central. By using NaviPayroll as part of Dynamics 365 Business Central, organizations maintain full control of their most sensitive employee data. 
NaviPayroll provides a range of functions for all types of organizations, including: Complete Payroll ProcessingDefine an unlimited number of pay controlsDefine pay cycles to suit the businessSupport multiple business locations and job typesCustomizable earnings distributionsEnter, track and report pay by hour, pay cycle, and sourceCalculate commissions and track and post expenses, automatically calculate taxes, print checksCreate direct deposits and automatically export direct deposit filesAutomatic postings to General Ledger, Accounts PayableMass updates and automatic accrualsTax & Regulatory Updates for U.S. and CanadaHuman Res…

The COVID-19 pandemic has forced people and businesses to adjust to social distancing with new behaviors. 
Many businesses such as retail and restaurants have had their physical locations closed and forced to conduct all their transactions online.  Some of these businesses already had web infrastructure and delivery capabilities in place.  Others scrambled to create new ways to place orders and pay for products and services online.

These challenges have underscored the need for flexibility in your web presence.  For those who are active on social media, these platforms have been valuable to share updates on the status of institutions.  Churches have broadcast online with Facebook, and Twitter is a great source for sharing breaking news.  LinkedIn provides similar capabilities for businesses to maintain contact with customers and suppliers. 
One of the lessons for bricks and mortar companies may be to develop online alternatives to deliver their products and services.  I, for one, may be…

InfoStrat's SAVIN 360 solution provides comprehensive victim notifications for prisons and jails, and that is not all.  The victim and offender data required for victim notification may be used for related solutions, such as victim grants, case work, and more, as part of a wholistic approach to victim offender services.

Victim-offender mediation (VOM) or victim-offender dialogue (VOD) is a process that provides interested victims (primarily those of property crimes and minor assaults) the opportunity to meet their offenders in a safe and structured setting. The goal is to hold offenders directly accountable while providing important support and assistance to victims.

The non-profit Just Alternatives provides an excellent overview of VOD programs https://justalternatives.org/research-project-work/vod-guide-to-best-practices/ showing the steady adoption of VOD/VOM by many states over the last 30 years. The approaches taken by states such as Texas, New York, Iowa, Wisconsin, Louisian…

InfoStrat, a division of Serenic, specializes in government software solutions. Some of these solutions are for applications you may not have thought of, such as victim notification.  The Texas Department of Criminal Justice (TDCJ) Victim Services Division provides notifications to victims of crimes and their supporters about changes in offender custody and status. 
Business Situation TDCJ called for a state of the art information management system to administer accurate, personalized and timely alerts to keep registrants informed of the Department's offender decisions.  In addition, the system needed to provide easy access to client service information in order to demonstrate the fulfillment of grant funding organization requirements.
Solution InfoStrat implemented the SAVIN360 solution based on Microsoft Dynamics 365 (formerly CRM) in conjunction with an integrated portal for alert registration.  TDCJ IVSS uses cloud-based call center services, email notification, text message, text…