The Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) is a global professional body that promotes and enforces the highest international standards in the valuation, management and development of land, real estate, construction and infrastructure.
Making sure those standards can be trusted is a core part of its mission, which extends to the technology that supports the organisation day to day. RICS had upgraded to Microsoft Dynamics 365 Finance, however over time it became clear the platform wasn’t performing as expected.
This was largely due to a lack of proactive operational support and optimisation after go-live which limited the organisation’s ability to realise the full value of the solution. In addition, delays in key processes and increasing operational risk were making it harder for both finance and digital teams to rely on the platform.
RICS partnered with Columbus to provide application management services (AMS) focusing on solution support, release and test management, and environment management. Bringing in experienced external support would help stabilise the platform and restore confidence in the digital and finance teams that it could support operations globally.
Challenges facing RICS
Together, RICS and Columbus identified several areas where additional support would help improve how Dynamics 365 Finance was being managed and used across the organisation:
- Core finance processes weren’t as efficient as they needed to be, causing delays and increasing operational risk
- Internal expertise in Dynamics 365 Finance was limited, with no dedicated capability to manage and support complex environments
- Ownership of the platform wasn’t clearly defined, making it harder to maintain accountability and consistency
- Visibility across the platform’s environment was limited, making it difficult to plan and manage releases, upgrades and changes effectively
- Additional support was needed in understanding how to maintain best practices, governance and compliance
- Knowledge of the platform was limited across the digital and finance teams, increasing reliance on a small number of individuals
- Cloud Services
- Managed Services
- United Kingdom
- Case
Summary
RICS partnered with Columbus to stabilise and strengthen its Dynamics 365 Finance platform. Through application management services (AMS), the company has improved performance, built internal capability and reduced operational risk, restoring confidence across finance and digital teams.
About RICS
- The Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) is a leading professional body working in the public interest to advance knowledge, uphold standards, and inspire current and future professionals
- Headquartered in London, United Kingdom, RICS has a heritage of more than 150 years and sets professional standards for over 130,000 members and candidates
- Its members help to shape and protect built and natural environments that are sustainable, resilient and inclusive
“Reducing operational risk was one of the key business case drivers for us,” said Shamrose Durrani, Head of Enterprise Services at RICS. “We wanted to accelerate delivery and stabilise critical finance systems and processes, while rebuilding confidence across the organisation. It was important that the finance team trusted the digital function and that we could consistently deliver the right level of service.”
Establishing AMS with Columbus
The decision to partner with Columbus for AMS was shaped by several factors that supported a strong working partnership:
- Depth of experience in D365 Finance – Columbus’ expertise would enable RICS to bridge gaps in internal knowledge and access specialist support where needed
- A collaborative and consultative approach – both teams invested time upfront to build a shared understanding of RICS’ environment and challenges
- Proven delivery capability – Columbus’ professionalism, clear communication and deep subject matter knowledge gave RICS confidence in their ability to support complex environments
Through this partnership, RICS was able to establish clearer structures, best practices and governance around how its platform should be configured, managed and supported. “That journey helped us recognise the level of support we still needed,” explained Shamrose. “There were gaps in how we were able to support Finance and Operations internally.”
Having that specialist support has made a significant difference in several areas, particularly when performing platform upgrades. “The upgrades we’ve completed this year compared to last have been very different,” said Shamrose. “Last year with our previous partner, we took upgrades without any testing which caused us issues. This time around, with Columbus there as our support partner, the upgrades went ahead smoothly, with minimal disruption to the business.”
Outcomes
Since getting AMS support for its D365 Finance platform, RICS has seen clear improvements in stability, reliability and performance.
Key outcomes include:
- Improved platform stability and performance – RICS' environment is now more stable, with upgrades planned and managed in advance. This ensures core business processes operate as intended, enabling teams to reliably support members and deliver services without disruption. The company also has greater visibility of its environments and a clearer understanding of how to manage them going forward, reducing disruption and uncertainty
- More reliable finance operations – critical finance processes now run more consistently, giving finance teams greater confidence in the system and reducing the risk of issues impacting day-to-day operations
- Improved release and environment management – upgrades are supported by structured release management and extensive testing. Finance teams are actively involved in user acceptance testing (UAT), giving RICS better control and visibility when changes go live
- Faster issue resolution and reduced downtime – support tickets are resolved in hours rather than days, reducing disruption and helping the business return to normal operations sooner
- High system availability – the platform is currently achieving 99.99% availability, providing a reliable foundation for finance operations
- More time for higher-value work – with Columbus providing day-to-day support, internal teams can now focus on more strategic initiatives that move the business forward
- Improved compliance and audit readiness – audit cycles can be completed significantly quicker, helping the business build stronger governance and oversight
- Better support for ISVs and third-party solutions – RICS now has a more structured approach to ISVs, with Columbus being seen as a single point of contact for managing third party software should an issue arise or updates be required. This, for example, allows more control over updates to its treasury automation system as Columbus include associated ISVs within their change control processes
- Clearer ownership and accountability – key finance and platform processes are now documented and owned within the business, giving teams a better understanding of how the platform runs and supporting more consistent ways of working
“We’ve now got a clear, structured timeline in place for release management. That level of forward planning and due diligence is what most organisations need, and I’m glad we’ve reached that maturity,” said Shamrose.
Looking ahead
With stable operations now in place, RICS has freed up capacity to focus on higher-value improvements and innovation. This shift enables the organisation to explore how the platform can further support its business and members. As the partnership with Columbus continues to mature, RICS is focusing on the following areas:
- Increased automation in release management – RICS’ goal is to move towards fully automated releases, with built-in test scenarios allowing updates to run with minimal manual effort
- Enhanced reporting and analytics – improvements in reporting and data visibility are expected to create better insight across finance operations
- Greater automation in finance processes – further opportunities exist to streamline finance processes to improve efficiency and reduce effort for finance teams
- Further reductions in operational risk – with the platform now stabilised, RICS intends to continue reducing risk across core finance processes
“The longer the engagement goes on, the more trust we’ll have and the more understanding Columbus will have of our configuration,” explained Shamrose. “We know Columbus has deep expertise within the wider Microsoft Technology Stack, and we’ve already discussed how they could support us in that area. There are still several opportunities for improvement.”
Working with Columbus
RICS describes the partnership with Columbus as highly collaborative and one built on trust. Columbus quickly understood RICS’ challenges and brought expert knowledge in Dynamics 365 Finance, helping stabilise the platform and restore confidence across finance and digital teams.
“The Columbus team has been professional, collaborative and highly knowledgeable throughout the engagement,” said Shamrose Durrani, Head of Enterprise Services at RICS. “We’re delivering tangible improvements in stability, governance and efficiency.”
Communication has been transparent and consistent, with issues raised and resolved promptly, and regular service reviews helping maintain alignment between teams. “Columbus haven’t just delivered technical support; they’ve also provided strategic guidance, established clear governance and helped us build knowledge internally. That’s something I really value,” added Shamrose.
