Accelerated delivery
Move faster when the conditions support it.
QualifiedAccelerated
RAPID is an accelerated delivery route for Dynamics 365, available when fit, readiness, standardisation and decision velocity make speed responsible rather than risky.
Speed should be earned. Qualification comes before any timeline.
Speed should be earned.
Most delivery problems are not caused by teams working too slowly. They are caused by decisions that arrive late, scope that keeps moving and assumptions that are never tested. Acceleration only works when those conditions are addressed first.
Why acceleration matters
Not every transformation needs to take years.
Some organisations already have a clear requirement, strong platform fit, executive sponsorship and the ability to make decisions quickly. For those organisations, a traditional programme can introduce avoidable delay.
Clear requirement
The required business outcome is already understood.
Strong platform fit
Standard Microsoft capability aligns closely with the need.
Available decision-makers
Important decisions can be made quickly.
Data ownership
The organisation knows who owns the data and can begin preparation early.
Business availability
Key users can participate in validation, testing and adoption.
Willingness to standardise
The organisation is prepared to adopt proven ways of working.
The opportunity is not to skip important work. It is to remove unnecessary complexity, waiting and decision drift.
What RAPID really means
Acceleration with boundaries.
RAPID is
- Qualification before commitment
- Controlled accelerated delivery
- Fit-to-standard where appropriate
- Early validation
- Early data preparation
- Visible decisions
- Clear scope
- Appropriate testing
- Shared accountability
RAPID is not
- A universal 10 / 30 / 90 guarantee
- A shortcut around analysis
- A reason to skip testing
- A way to ignore data
- A one-size-fits-all template
- A licence for uncontrolled customisation
- A reason to rush unresolved decisions
The qualification model
What would need to be true for acceleration to be responsible?
Four dimensions decide whether an accelerated route is appropriate. They are assessed openly with you, before a timeline is discussed.
- How closely does the required process match standard platform capability?
- How much of the requirement is genuinely unique to the organisation?
- Are there regulatory or contractual requirements that force bespoke design?
- Can the first release be delivered without reshaping the operating model?
Four possible outcomes
RAPID Fit
The conditions support acceleration. The route proceeds with a defined first release.
RAPID with conditions
Acceleration is possible once specific gaps are closed, and those conditions are stated openly.
Standard delivery
The work is achievable but the conditions do not support a compressed timeline.
Transformation Assessment
The scope, operating model or readiness needs to be understood before any timeline is credible.
Sometimes the right RAPID decision is not to use RAPID.
An accelerated route that should never have started causes more damage than a realistic timeline agreed at the beginning. If the evidence says the conditions are not there, we will say so and set out the route that is appropriate instead.
Three accelerated routes
RAPID 10, RAPID 30 and RAPID 90.
Each route applies to a different Microsoft platform and a different scale of first release. All three are subject to the same qualification.
Dynamics 365 CRM / Customer Engagement
RAPID 10
An accelerated route to a working customer engagement foundation where the sales or service process is well understood and close to standard.
Ideal when
- Sales or service process already understood
- Small number of users to onboard first
- Limited integration in the first release
- Decisions can be made quickly
Dynamics 365 Business Central
RAPID 30
An accelerated route to a standard finance and operations core for organisations whose processes fit the Business Central model closely.
Ideal when
- Single or simple multi-entity finance model
- Fit-to-standard is genuinely acceptable
- Data available and reasonably clean
- One clear decision-maker per area
Dynamics 365 Finance & Supply Chain
RAPID 90
A structured accelerated route to an enterprise finance and supply chain core where scope is contained and the organisation can sustain the pace.
Ideal when
- Enterprise scale with a contained first release
- Standardisation is an accepted objective
- Programme governance already in place
- Business availability can be protected
At a glance
Which route fits?
RAPID 10
- Platform
- Dynamics 365 CRM / Customer Engagement
- Primary need
- Focused customer process
- Relative complexity
- Focused
- Standardisation expectation
- High
- Qualification emphasis
- Scope clarity and limited first-release complexity
RAPID 30
- Platform
- Dynamics 365 Business Central
- Primary need
- Core finance and operational ERP
- Relative complexity
- Controlled
- Standardisation expectation
- High
- Qualification emphasis
- Process fit, data readiness and operating-model simplicity
RAPID 90
- Platform
- Dynamics 365 Finance & Supply Chain
- Primary need
- Enterprise finance and supply chain
- Relative complexity
- Enterprise but contained
- Standardisation expectation
- High
- Qualification emphasis
- Governance, integration complexity and decision velocity
Routing is decided by platform, complexity and delivery conditions, not by the size of the organisation.
Where RAPID may fit
Some situations naturally create a stronger case for acceleration.
RAPID may be particularly relevant in these situations. They are not automatic qualification criteria.
Carve-out
A defined business or legal entity needs a controlled platform in a compressed timeframe.
Acquisition
A business needs to move toward a standard group platform.
Legacy replacement
The future requirement is already well understood.
Standardisation
The organisation is deliberately moving toward common processes.
New entity
A new business or operation needs core capability quickly.
Focused CRM requirement
A well-defined customer process needs modern CRM capability without a large transformation programme.
Delivery disciplines
What makes acceleration possible.
Speed does not come from working longer hours. It comes from removing the delay, rework and ambiguity that slow ordinary programmes down.
Proven foundation
Delivery starts from a known, repeatedly used platform baseline rather than a blank environment.
Fit-to-standard
Standard capability is the default. Deviation has to earn its place through business value.
Early validation
The business sees working software early and often, so assumptions are corrected while they are cheap.
Early data preparation
Data work begins at the start, not in the weeks before go-live where it usually causes delay.
Early user engagement
The people who will use the system are involved before training, not introduced to it at the end.
Visible decisions
Decisions, owners and dates are recorded and visible, so nothing quietly stalls.
Appropriate testing
Testing is proportionate to risk. Acceleration compresses the timeline, not the assurance.
Clear governance
A single forum with authority to decide, meeting at the cadence the pace requires.
Validate before risk accumulates
See the solution working before assumptions become expensive.
RAPID uses early solution validation to test fit, process and assumptions while there is still time to change direction.
Areas worth validating early
- Representative business processes
- Representative data
- Key users
- Critical scenarios
- Integration assumptions
- Reporting expectations
Data starts early
Data cannot be the workstream everyone leaves until later.
Accelerated delivery depends on early ownership of migration data. Templates, ownership, cleansing and validation need to begin early enough to support the programme rather than become the reason it slows down.
Data owner
Named customer ownership.
Templates
Structure agreed early.
Cleansing
Quality issues surfaced before cutover pressure.
Validation
Representative data used during solution validation.
Data preparation is shared work. We provide the structure, templates and validation approach; the organisation holds the knowledge of what the data means.
Shared responsibility
Acceleration is a shared responsibility.
A partner can bring method, experience and a proven foundation. Pace also depends on what the organisation is able to contribute alongside its day-to-day operation.
- Executive sponsorship with authority to decide
- Named business owners for each process area
- Protected availability for workshops and validation
- Timely decisions held once made
- Access to data and the people who understand it
- Willingness to adopt standard ways of working
- Realistic prioritisation of competing demands
- Engagement with testing and adoption, not just delivery
A partner cannot create decision velocity on behalf of the customer.
Conditions that matter
Acceleration has dependencies.
These conditions do not automatically prevent acceleration. They need to be understood before a timeline becomes a commitment.
- Unclear scope
- High customisation
- Complex integrations
- Poor data
- Unavailable business users
- Slow decisions
- Large process variation
- Regulatory complexity
- Third-party dependencies
- Environment delays
- Major organisational change
Where RAPID sits
RAPID does not replace transformation thinking.
- Transform
- What needs to change?
- RAPID
- Can the delivery responsibly be accelerated?
If the future requirement is not clear enough yet, start with Transform. RAPID becomes relevant when the first release and the delivery conditions are defined well enough to qualify.
Explore TransformCustomer voice
What customers say about the way we deliver.
Customer voices
InteliSense customers
Hear our customers talk about InteliSense
Common questions
Questions leaders ask about accelerated delivery.
Acceleration attracts sensible scepticism. These are the questions we are asked most often before a RAPID route begins.
Before the timeline becomes a commitment
Find out whether acceleration is responsible here.
Qualification looks at fit, readiness, standardisation and decision velocity, and ends with a clear answer rather than an optimistic one.
Not sure a delivery route is the right conversation yet? Start with a Transformation Assessment