Technical Case Study
IT Insights A service of Microsoft IT Showcase
Microsoft IT Streamlines Disparate Sales
Data into an Easy-to-Use Windows 8.1
Experience
April 2015
Read about the design principles and implementation process Microsoft IT
followed to deliver a solution for Microsoft salespeople and business leaders
that provides a dashboard view into all the information critical to achieving
sales goals and making data-driven decisions.
Situation
Previously, sales people and sales executives at Microsoft had to navigate through up to 80
different tools to track their sales pipelines, manage marketing events, or gather all the data
required to make strategic sales decisions. Each system had its own interface, learning curve, KPIs,
and reports. Time spent working through all these tools not only reduced productivity but also
made it difficult to get a clear, end-to-end understanding of the business.
Solution
Microsoft IT built the Windows Apportal for Sales (Tool), which combines a Windows 8.1
dashboard application and a middle tier for enhanced data manipulation that aggregates data
from multiple data sources into a unified and intuitive user experience.
The Windows Apportal for Sales (Tool) automates five key sales workflows: pipelines, top deals,
KPIs, collaboration, and calendaring. Its ability to surface consistent sales data enables sales teams
to spend less time searching for information and more time working with customers.
Benefits
Single dashboard for field sellers
as well as for executive leadership
Enables self-service business intelligence (BI)
Products and Technologies
Windows 8.1
Microsoft Azure
Microsoft Office 365
Microsoft System Center
Power BI
Microsoft Dynamics CRM Online
Skype
XAML, C#
Simplified, streamlined deployments
Scalable, adaptable framework
Rapid development
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2 | Microsoft IT Streamlines Disparate Sales Data into an Easy-to-Use Windows 8.1 Experience
Situation
In this digital age, enterprise sales organizations need timely access to accurate data that helps them
track individual progress toward sales goals and to provide actionable information to executives that
helps ensure that strategic decisions align with business objectives. However, sales departments’ tools
and systems are typically one-off solutions that are installed as the situation demands and the budget
dictates. The result is a set of independent systems, each with its own user interface, learning curve,
KPIs, and reports. Not only do these siloed tools reduce team member performance, but their lack of
integration increases the risk of redundant data and conflicting reports because they use different
metrics.
In the industry and similarly within Microsoft, IT had to keep up with the demands of employees using
smaller devices and the need of more “snackable” applications to meet the need for quick, nimble,
and easy-to-deploy applications.
The following graphic shows a timeline of devices and applications starting in 2000.
In 2006, the iPhone transformed mobile computing with the kiosk interface—placing applications on
an endlessly scrolling flat screen. The simple, easy-to-use interface was an instant hit.
In 2012, Microsoft introduced Windows 8—ushering in the 3rd Generation of mobile computing. This
evolution allows for ease in both creation and consumption in a single, powerful experience.
In 2013, Microsoft introduced Windows 8.1—ushering in the organization power of the Windows
Apportals. This breakthrough functionality pulls together essential apps and data in a single view—
right from the fabric of Windows 8. Using a revolutionary nested file directory, Windows Apportals
create role-based “mini Start screens.” This interface combines the desktop’s logical folder structure
with the ease of the kiosk’s touch interface.
Like other large enterprise IT organizations, Microsoft IT is responsible for managing all the
company’s technical infrastructure, including sales. The lack of data integration and disparate data
sources in the Sales team’s systems made it challenging for Microsoft IT. Additionally, Sales team
members’ and executives’ productivity was impacted by people working with a number of different
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3 | Microsoft IT Streamlines Disparate Sales Data into an Easy-to-Use Windows 8.1 Experience
tools and interfaces that did not cater to any particular role. One tool tracked their sales pipeline,
another system managed marketing events in a given area, and countless other websites and
resources had to be accessed in a piecemeal fashion to gather all the data needed to make strategic
sales decisions.
Microsoft IT needed to build a new holistic sales solution that would integrate across systems and
aggregate data from multiple data sources into a single, unified environment that surfaced consistent
data. Based on modern design principles, this new solution needed an intuitive interface that field
sales and executives could use to display information from up to 80 different systems as a single
implementation, and—depending on the user’s role and needs—to offer multi-dimensional views into
current sales and business conditions.
Solution
Microsoft IT leveraged the Apportal framework to rapidly design and deploy the Windows Apportal for
Sales (Tool), which integrates, synthesizes, and reports on related but disparate sales data sets.
The Windows Apportal for Sales (Tool)
The Apportal Framework describes a framework for Windows
8.1 applications that leverages modern Windows 8.1
capabilities to provide an integrated portal that includes a
portfolio of self-service BI capabilities. The Apportal enables
Microsoft IT to expose pipeline, performance, and other sales
data through graphical data tiles. This intuitive interface
enables sales personnel to more effectively execute their
business processes and workflows.
As illustrated in Error! Reference source not found., the Windows Apportal for Sales (Tool) includes
two core components:
Figure 1. Windows Apportal for Sales (Tool) core components.
Application layer—Windows 8.1 dashboard application: The inherent flexibility of the Apportal
design facilitates rapid, iterative development. Microsoft IT followed modern design practices
including the Model View View Model (MvvM) to build a dashboard application that can obtain,
bind, and report data from sales data services. Developed using industry-standard XAML and C#
technologies, the Windows Apportal for Sales (Tool) app provides an integrated perspective and
flexible presentation of multiple disparate data sets.
Service layer—Middle tier for enhanced data manipulation: The data service layer obtains and
feeds data from sales data sources to the Windows 8.1 application. Data services (including web
services) are used to analyze data inside the Windows Apportal for Sales (Tool). This middle tier
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4 | Microsoft IT Streamlines Disparate Sales Data into an Easy-to-Use Windows 8.1 Experience
data service layer also facilitates the data manipulation/transformation, consolidation, and
aggregation activities that are needed to satisfy various business rules and to simplify data
consumption.
Implementation
Design Principles
To produce the Windows Apportal for Sales (Tool), Microsoft IT adopted the following design
principles:
Use an agile process for rapid development and engage with business stakeholders.
Microsoft IT used an agile scrum process to define key features and requirements, and then
distilled them into prioritized backlog of user stories. As business needs evolved over time, the
product backlog was adapted. Experimental research and development “spikes” were also utilized
to explore alternatives and to further optimize capabilities.
Adapt and leverage modern Windows 8.1 components to streamline and accelerate
development. Use XAML, C#, and other technologies coupled with selective use of third-party UI
components to move rapidly from prototype to production-caliber solutions. Leveraging
Microsoft technologies enabled developers to respond quickly and to fulfill changing
requirements within very tight time constraints.
Leverage MvvM to obtain, consume, and present data and enable self-service BI. The Model
View View Model pattern provides a useful, flexible framework to adapt functionality over time
and to streamline and accelerate development with modern Windows 8.1 components, including
XAML, C#, and third-party components. Over time, data schema and requirements can change, so
different data sources might need to be bound to different tiles in different ways. MvvM separates
concerns effectively and enables development teams to refactor code effectively as their
requirements evolve.
Utilize ADFS 2.0 pass-through authentication and authorization. This enables developers to
leverage existing security models in the source data systems, which provides more operational
flexibility and reduces development costs. When data providers change access rules, the Apportal
updates to take advantage of these changes without requiring coding changes or intervention.
Single sourcing, point of entry simplifies the challenge, enables scalability: The team focused
on obtaining data from a centralized portfolio of data services. The principle was to leverage the
native security models in those data sources instead of duplicating data, creating additional ETLs,
or replicating security models in a new data warehouse.
Implementation Process
Microsoft IT took a multi-phased approach to define, pilot, refine, and then optimize business
intelligence (BI) capabilities. Initially, there was significant ambiguity and uncertainty about application
requirements. Consequently, Microsoft IT used ITLC LITE to develop a prototype within 10 weeks that
was robust enough to demonstrate core functionality in time for the company’s MGX Global Sales
conference.
After a successful prototype, requirements were refined and prioritized to enable a pilot deployment
in the company’s largest US subsidiary. For international subsidiaries that use different business rules
and processes, Microsoft IT implemented required tool refinements to enable worldwide deployment
in the third deployment phase.
Following global deployment, Microsoft IT shifted attention to driving wide-scale adoption of the tool
and to making continued refinements and optimizations. Microsoft IT is now in its fourth optimization
iteration, focusing on performance and functionality improvements to optimize the user experience.
Details on the major milestones and learnings for each deployment phase are summarized in the
following table.
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5 | Microsoft IT Streamlines Disparate Sales Data into an Easy-to-Use Windows 8.1 Experience
Table 1. Summary of the Windows Apportal for Sales (Tool) deployment process
Phase Milestones Lessons
1. Prototype Developed prototype UI application
and preliminary design.
Integrated live links and dynamic data
into a self-serve reporting portal.
Explored and completed proof of
concepts (POCs) on offline data
storage and access options.
Demonstrated capabilities at the
company’s world-wide Sales
convention.
Rapid prototyping was useful
to overcome ambiguity and to
clarify requirements.
Scrum and backlog
prioritization were used to
define the features roadmap
for implementation in a pilot
U.S. subsidiary.
2. US pilot Deployed production-caliber solution
across one (US) subsidiary.
Refined business rules and reporting
through middle-tier and UI
enhancements.
Refined core capabilities including
authentication, authorization, and
offline data storage.
Offline data access was
determined to be less critical—
less frequently used—than
originally anticipated.
Investing in early UX/UI design
pays dividends by improving
the user experience—which
consequently helps minimize
future rework.
3. Global
expansion
Added unique data sources for
international subsidiaries.
Adapted reporting and data
visualization features.
Deployed production-caliber solution
globally.
Implemented enhanced usage
reporting.
Different business rules and
security models across
subsidiaries created challenges.
Following iterative agile
processes, Microsoft IT
regularly refined functionality
based on user feedback to
improve performance and
usability.
4. Optimization Additional emphasis placed on usage
tracking, evangelism, and leadership
buy-in to accelerate adoption and to
drive broader usage.
Optimized existing capabilities and
performance.
A big spike in adoption
occurred when usage reporting
was implemented and
reviewed with management.
A critical mass of product
champions formed to
evangelize the tool and
accelerate adoption.
Results
Use of the Windows Apportal for Sales (Tool) grew 300 percent during its initial year (from 500
to 1,700 users) and has been adopted by 30 percent of the target user base of 12,000 worldwide
users. In mature markets such as the United States, the Windows Apportal for Sales (Tool) is used
by the majority (52 percent) of target users, and it is used by as many as 90 percent of target users
in some locations.
Windows Apportal for Sales (Tool) performance (as measured by download times and data
delivery throughput) has improved 75 percent since its initial release. The tool has maintained 96
percent uptime.
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6 | Microsoft IT Streamlines Disparate Sales Data into an Easy-to-Use Windows 8.1 Experience
Improved productivity shown as Windows Apportal for Sales (Tool) users reacted positively to
the integration of various data sources together into a common application with a single user
interface. In particular, the tool’s deep linking capability, which enables users to click on a data
record and directly drill into that record in its related ERP/CRM system, was particularly valuable.
Streamlining and short circuiting unnecessary activities also increased productivity.
Offline data access has been valuable, particularly in remote regions with limited alternatives.
However, the demand for this feature was less than Microsoft IT projected. Consequently, the
overall return on investment and benefit of offline access has been modest.
Benefits
By implementing the Windows Apportal for Sales (Tool), the business gains the following benefits:
Improved Ease of Use, Effectiveness
Enables self-service BI. The Windows Apportal for Sales (Tool) provides Microsoft sellers with a
single application that meets most of their needs in determining their sales metrics and then
quickly responding to resolve gaps. Apportals such as the Windows Apportal for Sales (Tool)
provide a light and adaptable yet robust framework to meet core BI analysis needs.
Gives insight to both business and technical leaders. The Windows Apportal for Sales (Tool)
provides value up, down, and across the organization. Field sellers can assess their progress and
the status quo and complete valuable corrective actions through the Apportal. In turn,
management as well as middle and senior leadership can similarly assess the situation at multiple
layers or levels of the organization, using consistent, clear reporting.
Improves productivity. A unified, integrated dashboard and crisp, simplified UX/UI
improvements enable users to quickly assess trends and understand their implications. Where
necessary, users can then more deeply analyze the data in the Apportal or supporting tools like
Power BI and Microsoft Excel Power View.
Provides anywhere access. With the Windows Apportal for Sales (Tool), users can analyze key
data on-demand anywhere, and quickly take corrective action. Offline data access empowers
mobile stakeholders in fresh, relevant ways and can sync to the data sources when connections
become reestablished.
Operational Cost Savings
Rapid development. Developing the app with .NET, C#, and XAML greatly simplifies the
development process. Following an agile development methodology and leveraging Windows 8.1
APIs and the Microsoft stack enabled Microsoft IT to quickly accelerate sprint velocity.
Scalable, adaptable framework. Internal customers can build similar Apportal solutions to solve
their own unique challenges by leveraging their existing investments (such as the data service
layer) to create their own scalable and flexible solutions. Once the initial development investment
is made, Apportals can be easily adapted, tuned, and refined to suit a variety of needs.
Potentially reduced TCO. Apportals provide new ways to integrate new applications with earlier
applications. The Windows Apportal for Sales (Tool) gives users access to a variety of online tools
“We are just like other companies—We (Microsoft IT) are pushing more and more applications,
but at the same time, we were seeing productivity decrease. The Windows Apportal for Sales
Tool allows our sales people to customize their application experience to their unique needs so
they can be more productive in selling.”
Kurt Peterson
Senior Director of Sales IT
Microsoft Corporation
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7 | Microsoft IT Streamlines Disparate Sales Data into an Easy-to-Use Windows 8.1 Experience
from the former system while also capitalizing on new native analytical capabilities within modern
Windows 8.1 applications. The Windows Apportal for Sales (Tool) not only links with older tools
but provides a path forward to new capabilities such as mobile analytics.
Improved Management
Simplified deployments. Apportals leverage the company’s internal enterprise Windows Store
and Windows 8.1 deployment methodologies, which make them relatively easy to implement.
Windows 8.1-caliber applications enable business teams to perform in-place upgrades over time
with little or no user disruption. Leveraging the Windows 8.1 code base enabled Microsoft IT to
simplify deployment and reduce operational costs.
Streamlined upgrade cycles. Windows 8.1 application deployment is faster, not just simpler.
These apps can be deployed quickly via the Windows 8.1 company portal or through System
Center. Building a Windows 8.1 dashboard application enabled Microsoft IT to more quickly
deploy new capabilities and to smoothly migrate between application versions.
Reduced frequency of deployments. By mastering data once and then leveraging the data/data
services multiple times, Apportals enable Microsoft IT to scale and adapt reporting capabilities.
Instead of deploying and customizing multiple middle-tier, back-end data providers, Microsoft IT
can build off existing capabilities and data warehouses.
Aligns with Strategic Goals
Unified experience. By integrating many disparate sales
tools into a single portal that offers a simplified dashboard
for at-a-glance insights into key sales data, the Windows
Apportal for Sales (Tool) supports the company’s One
Microsoft initiative to provide end-to-end views of
business-critical internal processes. This reduces the time
Microsoft Field Sellers spend looking for key data, which in
turn allows them to focus on satisfying customers’ needs.
Demonstrable solution. The Windows Apportal for Sales
(Tool) was reverse-engineered to provide a “demo-able”
solution to customers using sample data to evangelize the
benefits of Windows 8.1-based Apportals to Microsoft
customers.
Best Practices
This section discusses the lessons Microsoft IT learned by implementing the Windows Apportal for
Sales (Tool) and offers technical recommendations and guidelines to streamline similar deployments.
Invest early in UX/UI design. Early investment in user experience/user interface (UX/UI) design
enables more efficient implementation. By engaging with these key team members early in the
development cycle to define the UI framework, Microsoft IT was able to mitigate costly last-minute
design work.
Build features incrementally and assess their value before full development. Confirm user
interest in new features before investing heavily in bringing them to production. As an example,
offline data can be a valuable feature, but it imposes overhead costs, additional development
work, and limitations in terms of security and data transfer. When Microsoft IT provisioned
separate data services for offline and online data sources to accommodate offline data
requirements, actual demand for offline data fell below original projections.
Utilize existing security models. Evaluating security models and requirements early is vital. Users
might opt to use pass-through authentication/authorization and constrained delegation to take
advantage of the security model already present in the data providers that are consumed by the
service layer. Leveraging techniques like constrained delegation and Active Directory
authentication, Microsoft IT retained the ability to control access to data using the native security
models inside the data providers—saving substantial work, duplication, and ongoing operational
headaches.
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8 | Microsoft IT Streamlines Disparate Sales Data into an Easy-to-Use Windows 8.1 Experience
Obtain data from a centralized portfolio of data services. Microsoft IT focused on obtaining
data from a centralized portfolio of data services that, in turn, obtain data from various data
warehouses and SQL data repositories. By leveraging the native security models in each data
source, Microsoft IT was able to avoid duplicating data, creating additional ETLs, or replicating
security models. Smart architectural decisions enabled the team to scale and add data providers.
Help accelerate and drive adoption with usage reporting. Microsoft IT embedded usage
tracking inside the Windows Apportal for Sales (Tool) to help application owners identify where
adoption was robust and where it was limited. Usage tracking also identified key product
champions who regularly used the application. Senior leadership used this data to more effectively
target and evangelize the application to key stakeholders, ultimately driving substantial
improvements in larger, mid-size subsidiaries, and more consistent adoption across other
subsidiaries.
Conclusions By basing this new sales solution on the Apportal Framework, Microsoft IT deployed a strategic
resource that integrates analytical capabilities across 15 different tools and for more than 30
international corporate organizations and subsidiaries—all without the pain and challenges typically
associated with cross-application integration. As a result, Microsoft IT is more agile in delivering
business-critical solutions to its internal customers.
The Windows Apportal for Sales (Tool) delivers additional value to the business by realizing a higher
return on investment of existing sales solutions by improving field sales productivity and by offering
accurate and intuitive reports that the leadership team can use to make informed strategic decisions.
Moreover, the demo-able version of the Windows Apportal for Sales (Tool) has garnered significant
interest from customers—so much so that Microsoft IT developed the Windows App Prototype
Generator. This tool enables field sales personnel to generate a customized industry-specific demo
experience built on top of Apportal within five minutes that speaks directly to the customer’s needs.
The flexibility of the Apportal platform is key to Microsoft IT’s migration strategy. Apportal enables
Microsoft IT to make incremental updates over time to accommodate changes in business processes
(such as retirement of a system or the addition of a modern platform) without any disruption to the
business. This also ensures that the Apportal for Sales (Tool) stays relevant to its users by providing
easy, centralized access to a changing landscape of underlying systems.
Following the success of Windows Apportal for Sales (Tool), Microsoft IT is designing additional
Apportal-based solutions for other internal customers, including Marketing and Finance, that cater to
each team’s unique needs.
Microsoft IT also continues
to work with the Sales team
to refine their Apportal,
incorporating
enhancements such as
profiles that customize the
set of available tools and
resources based on the
user’s role (field sales,
regional sales manager, or
executive).
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9 | Microsoft IT Streamlines Disparate Sales Data into an Easy-to-Use Windows 8.1 Experience
Resources
Microsoft Apportals:
www.microsoft.com/enterprise/apportals
Related Case Studies
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IT Showcase video Using Windows Apportal to Enhance the Sales Experience at Microsoft
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