Microland Digital Warriors

Microland Digital Warriors | 27 © MICROLAND LIMITED 2020. Internal Circulation Only 26 Making the world a better place, one borough at a time How do you ace someone at their own game? Ask Chinmai. He was part of the team that took over the ambitious Microsoft Dynamics 365 deployment for the Ealing Council from guess who? Microsoft themselves! A leap of faith for every member of the team, since what we had now to make digital happen was a complete system – application and infrastructure included. For an infrastructure-soaked team like ours, to take on the application mantle additionally seemed like a thrilling ride to take. “Through the last few years we’ve built the confidence that there’s nothing we cannot do,” says Chinmai, attributing the transition to the steady buildup of confidence. And what a time to do this. As Ealing, one of the largest boroughs in the UK grappled with the challenges of supporting its 342,000 citizens in a COVID-19 world, the sophisticated Microsoft Dynamics application was a savior. With the application, the council could help the needy and elderly on priority. Through this engagement Microland delivered good old e-governance with brand new tech. It was not easy dovetailing close to 40 functions that were working with different legacy systems onto a single CRM platform. The timeline made it even more difficult. But thanks to Chinmai’s expertise in “agile” as a delivery model, the teams worked in fantastic unison, delivering on time and on target. The one thing that constantly stood out in Chinmai’s program management was the way he over-communicated. The absolute transparency on the project progress gave the Ealing team a strong sense of comfort and confidence. With the project Chinmai also effected his own personal transition. Here was an infrastructure expert now at ease with the application side of the equation. Lingo like Scrum, Agile and SDLC had crept into his world as well. There’s a strong “can do” spirit that Chinmai carries. That spirit seemed unabated even in the wake of the long hours that the project demanded. In parallel some hiring had to be done too. The bar was kept so high that Chinmai and his team interviewed over 200 prospects to hire just 8. That’s the demanding quality filter the team applied. And when the client said, “Microland delivered in 2 months what Microsoft would’ve delivered in 2 years”, no one could have asked for more! For an avid theater enthusiast raring to get back to the stage, scripting, directing and acting, his current role in making the world a better place one borough at a time is sans theatrics… Just great work! Chinmai Mahadev This Digital Warrior executed the large-scale transformation of about 220+ public services and key internal business processes for the London Borough of Ealing Council. This omnichannel solution unified several legacy systems under one platform.”