How bluefort’s End-to-End Subscription Management Platform Applies to Entire Microsoft Stack, Reduces Complexities for Users
In this Special Report, Dynamics Communities Editor Cam Sessinger speaks with U.S. Senior Business Development Manager of bluefort, Edward (EJ) Harof. The two discuss bluefort’s subscription management platform and its differentiating capabilities, how the platform addresses business challenges, the recently announced partnership with Queue Associates, and customer success stories.
Highlights
00:59 — bluefort was founded in 2014, and the company is made up of various employees who previously worked for large Dynamics developers. The founders identified an exploding industry segment — the subscription management industry for products and services — and found a way to take what’s inside Dynamics and build upon that across the entire Microsoft stack.
“Basically, it covers the gamut from lead, to order, to payments, and data analytics and everything in between,” adds EJ.
03:39 — A key differentiator of bluefort and its solutions is that the bluefort subscription management platform is the first end-to-end solution in the entire stack, adding value to users without the need for customizations and increasing the return on investment (ROI).
05:43 — EJ shares insights on the companies and industries that bluefort serves.
“When we talk about subscriptions, the first one’s to embrace it are obviously SaaS [companies]. So, that’s a big market.”
In addition to SaaS companies, bluefort also works with Microsoft partners, ISVs, and professional services organizations. EJ references partners such as Columbus who sell Dynamics, and Avanade, a professional services organization. Other industries include telecommunications, retail, automotive, and hotel.
07:54 — In working with various customers, bluefort has developed a learning library, and the company is “just as focused on the technical aspect of what they bring to Dynamics as they are about evangelizing the industry.” Within the learning library, users can find resources relating to:
In addition, users can also review various case studies.
08:55 — Who in a company has the most pain with subscription management? There are three key roles, notes EJ:
- The Chief Financial Officer (CFO)
- The Chief Revenue Officer (CRO)
- The Chief Operating Officer (COO)
In order to reduce the painpoints for these three roles at the company EcoOnline, bluefort combined its sales, finance, and operations solutions into one platform, LISA BusinessPro. LISA BusinessPro is the license and subscription application, and LISA is the main component, responsible for managing the execution of sales, customer service, billing, and automation. With LISA and LISA BusinessPro, “the entire lifecycle of a subscription is much faster,” explains EJ.
11:02 — Another company, IBEXA, had a subscription management platform, but outgrew it. Working with bluefort, IBEXA enhanced its subscription automation capabilities, ultimately reducing the time spent on manual processes and entries. Who does this impact? The CFO, explains EJ.
“They’re chasing payments, and it’s costing them tons of effort and rework for small numbers. And it becomes just unmanageable.”
15:41 — As it relates to scalability, “that’s where the architecture is a big plus. The fact that we’re leveraging Dynamics architecture, it [the platform] scales with it.” Depdending on what type of subscription management solution a company needs, users can compare various options and complete a survey to determine the best-fitting solution. Following the Microsoft architecture, there is no limit to the amount of transactions bluefort’s platform can handle.
18:32 — Speaking to the integration capabilities of bluefort’s platform, EJ explains how the solutions integrate seamlessly with Dynamics 365 products, which is nearly 95% of customers across the globe, but the solution also integrates with systems outside of the Dynamics stack.
“We haven’t really come to a situation where Dynamics couldn’t cover the gamut as far as integrations, because you’ve got your Power [Apps], you got your Dataverse, and have the Power Platform functions and features to be able to do the connectivity. We can do it or the partner can do it, the customer can do it,” which speaks to the beauty of Dynamics architecture — users have the capability to do this in-house.
20:41 — Recently, bluefort announced its partnership with Queue Associates, a leading Microsoft Dynamcics 365 consultancy with over 30 years of experience. EJ explains how Queue Associates is an example of a company that “needs subscription internally, but also understand the benefits of brining it to the market.” As such, Queue Associates will be distributing the bluefort subscription management platform, but training its employees to collaborate with bluefort employees, too. This partnership represents the importance of community, which has become a central theme across the entire space.
Speaking to the partnership more specifically, EJ explains how “we’re [bluefort] in subscription. So that was their [Queue Associates] business model. I mean, you couldn’t ask for anything better. It’s one thing to have great ISV solutions and another to really understand the nuances of putting that into the ERP and managing and working and knowing the manual. Okay, now, ‘let me show you how it really works.’ That sort of technique, I think, is going to prove very valuable for the marketplace.”
25:29 — Dynamics 365 has “come roaring” in the last several years, a lot of this having to do with its AI capabilities, but also its partner-inclusive atmosphere, which was a popular sentiment expressed at Community Summit North America 2023, notes EJ.
“What I took from the show was, it’s really a great time to be getting into this industry. And there’s so much out [there] for you, the users. There’s so much opportunity.”
28:02 — Lastly, EJ shares some insights on what’s on the horizon for bluefort. The company is looking to leverage AI technology within the subscription management industry. “We’ll be diligently working on that. [A] couple areas that jump out is prediction, prevention, billing, revenue optimization, customer personalization, data analytics.” Regular updates will be coming out in the bluefort newsletter.
32:32 — bluefort is the leader in Dynamics end-to-end subscription management platforms with a global presence and over 1,000 lightyears of combined experience. Anyone curious to learn more about the company and its offerings, or speaking with a consultant, should book a demo or reach out to EJ.
