NIC’s IT structure was relatively modest in comparison to its huge name and strong presence in the UAE investment sphere. Consequently, it was not able to experience the efficiency and superiority of having daily operations and tasks automated and upheld by enterprise software solutions. Specifically in the areas of finance, capital inventory, human resources and enterprise reporting, NIC required a solution that would add value to its operations and help it maintain an edge.
As a pioneer and an innovative market driver in the IT field, ITQAN was the ideal choice to help NIC employees manage and streamline finances and automate processes of its service units. Microsoft Dynamics Great Plains was deemed the optimum solution for NIC’s needs, in addition to eKawader, which is an HR and payroll solution developed by ITQAN on top of Microsoft Dynamics Great Plains. Both solutions operated as one seamlessly integrated framework that would ultimately bring about a positive change to NIC’s operations.

 

NIC is a key investment corporation in Abu Dhabi, and had its reputable name in construction. This IT applications' renovation helped solidify this image and support NIC’s daily operations and transactions.  The core need of this implementation was to eliminate the burden of the previous archaic and manual nature of financial processing, and hence create more productivity and increase the output of employees.  

“As a market leader in the field of investment in Abu Dhabi, it was only apt for NIC to have an ERP software that facilitates how we manage all our finances and operations. We were looking for a solution that would allow reduction in administrative tasks and other unproductive repetitiveness, and at the same time is user-friendly and comprehensive so it gets the support from users in order to make full use of the system,” explains Abdullah Al-Saadi, NIC Managing Director. 

A challenge NIC faced prior to MS Dynamics implementation was the lack of a controlled and single source of updated information. There had to be a single point of access where users can easily get hold of financial data and track it on a regular basis. Furthermore, there was inadequate access to data related to operations, in addition to very low visibility on project staging and inappropriate tracking of assets from a project perspective. Employees needed to be continuously in the loop in order to monitor and keep an eye on the progress and developments of projects. In a more technical sense, there was inadequate mapping of the right skills at the right time with accordance to NIC’s operations and projects.

Along with an ERP solution NIC also needed a human resources and payroll software that would enable the HR department to automate and streamline all its processes such as leave management, recruitment, time attendance, payroll, ticketing, etc. However, a limitation of many of the HR solutions currently available is their non-compliancy issues that act as a huge impediment for local organizations.

“The business objective of this whole project is to basically elevate NIC employees’ performance by allowing them to focus on the essentials of their jobs. We aim to have an IT solution that will help us achieve that by increasing productivity and creating overall efficiency” said Sherif Tohami, NIC IT Manager.

 

ITQAN mapped Microsoft Dynamics Great Plains and eKawader as the ideal solutions for their needs. Microsoft Great Plains is part of Microsoft Dynamics, a line of integrated, adaptable business management solutions that enables making business decisions with greater confidence. Microsoft Dynamics works like familiar Microsoft software such as Microsoft Office, which means more familiarity for users and less of an effort to train people to get adapted to it.

Microsoft Great Plains will allow NIC to perform all core accounting and business management functions, including financial analysis and reporting, assets management and other business processes. Microsoft Great Plains allows easy customization for different currencies, languages, and regulations.
The modules include the following:
1. General Ledger
2. Accounts Payables and Receivables
3. Forecast and Budgeting
4. Fixed Assets and Multi Currency
5. Bank Reconciliation
6. Purchase Processing
7. Enterprise Reporting
8. Business Portal

“ITQAN’s edge has always been in its software solutions and implementations, and our Microsoft implementations in specific made us an expert in this field. We have been recognized by Microsoft numerous times in this regard, and just recently received an award for the same at the Microsoft World Partner Conference,” asserted ITQAN’s General Manager, Feras Al-Jabi.

Working hand in hand with the ERP solution will be eKawader, a payroll and HR solution developed and configured by ITQAN, and is based on Microsoft Dynamics. eKawader was configured to operate in the UAE market and comply with the local labor laws, in order to eliminate any non-compliancy obstacles. eKawader is Arabic enabled and fully supported by ITQAN for current and future Microsoft Dynamics releases. eKawader’s main modules are:

1.  Recruitment Module
2.  Employee Master and Relations Module
3.  Training Module
4.  Housing Module
5.  Ticketing Module
6.  Performance and Appraisals Module
7.  Time Attendance Module
8.  Leave Management Module
9.  Payroll Management Module
10. End of Service Module
11. AP Integration

 

With the implementation of Microsoft Dynamics Great Plains and eKawader, NIC experienced key benefits that inevitably resulted in greater efficiency and a worthy return on their investment. Expectedly, the completion of business processes witnessed an apparent improvement and upgrade. There was no longer any duplicity of information but instead a smooth flow of information as per defined and set processes that eventually helped NIC generate better control on the business priorities.

A fundamental advantage of any software solution is cost-cutting, and accordingly personnel costs and IT maintenance expenses were significantly rationalized and cut down after the deployment of MS Great Plains and eKawader. GP automated and accelerated the creation of reports, processing of orders, data entry, and various clerical tasks performed by users in different departments. As a result, NIC became able to manage controlling the headcount internally. In parallel, the automation of typically time consuming and tedious administrative tasks increased the productivity of employees in the supply chain and other departments by enabling them to run reports, exchange data with vendors, and perform other functions in less time. As a matter of fact, it is estimated that fortnightly/month-end procedures were approximately reduced from nine days to two days. In addition, the deployment of these software solutions allowed improved utilization of skilled resources where key staff members were reassigned to positions that make their work more effective and meaningful. Similarly, employees started utilizing their time more efficiently since the time and effort they were formerly losing because of the downtime associated with the legacy system crashes became eventually saved.

“The benefits of Microsoft Great Plains are endless, especially when it’s implemented by an expert such as ITQAN who is technically proficient to deploy all modules successfully and even provide additional customization,” said Al-Jabi.
More technically, the ability to constantly track the finances also resulted in the reduction of outstanding account receivables, whereby the solution paved the way for better control and timely follow-up. NIC also experienced better controlled fixed assets maintenance and appropriate depreciation calculation, and hence was not only able to track the capital inventory, but save costs with proper evaluations and estimations. Furthermore, the business portal module in MS Dynamics provided a single source of consolidated and updated information. Hence, users could easily and instantly access financial data, making it easier to take appropriate decisions and in the process improve the customer and partner relations.

The added value of eKawader was remarkably apparent as employees are now able to make use of a solution that is compliant and meeting the requirements of UAE labor laws. Furthermore, eKawader’s seamless integration and common user interface with other Microsoft Great Plains modules such as General Ledger, Payables Management and Receivables Management give it a strong edge since it provides users with greater flexibility and stronger management control.

“We are satisfied with the turnout of this project, and are confident that the solutions will benefit NIC and bring about a higher ROI on the long run,” added Tohami.