CRN Exclusive: Harmon.ie Offers Its Collage For Dynamics 365 For The Channel
Harmon.ie, a developer of collaboration software that simplifies the use of Microsoft cloud applications, is making its recently launched Collage for Dynamics 365 software available to the channel.
The move creates opportunities for Harmon.ie's VAR and reseller partners to provide their customers with integrated Microsoft application solutions that improve productivity and overcome information overload, Harmon.ie executives said.
"Partners can offer a single, coherent solution instead of a massive integration project," said David Lavenda, a Harmon.ie co-founder and vice president of marketing and product strategy at the Boston-based company. "This is a unique opportunity for channel partners."
Harmon.ie develops software that provides a consistent user experience across Microsoft applications, including SharePoint, Office 365 and other cloud applications, and helps eliminate the problem of data silos across those applications.
The company's Collage technology, for example, allows users to find, view, manage and share documents in SharePoint and Office 365 directly in Outlook without having to first search for and download them. Collage uses machine learning and natural language processing to group information across multiple applications by topics.
"That's where Harmon.ie comes in to tie all the pieces together," Lavenda said.
Harmon.ie was a finalist for Microsoft's Partner of the Year Awards earlier this year, specifically in the category of collaboration and content solutions and services.
Harmon.ie Mobile was a CRN Enterprise App Award winner for enterprise collaboration in 2014.
In August Harmon.ie launched Collage for Dynamics 365: Dynamics 365 is Microsoft's cloud-based ERP and CRM application suite. Collage for Dynamics 365 provides a way to link those applications with Microsoft Office 365, SharePoint and other Microsoft cloud applications, as well as other cloud applications like Zendesk.
As an example of how Collage for Dynamics 365 would work, Lavenda says a law firm that stores legal documents in SharePoint can use the Harmon.ie software to connect SharePoint to the CRM application in Dynamics 365 the firm uses to manage client accounts.
Harmon.ie is turning to the channel to expand its sales reach for Collage for Dynamics 365. Lavenda said solution providers also bring expertise to the table in specific use cases such as in compliance and governance, and generally being able to help businesses and organizations get more value out of the software.
Some partners develop customizations or add-ons for customers, such as adding digital signature workflow capabilities.
Harmon.ie is also targeting the software toward state and local governments and will rely heavily on solution providers with expertise in those realms.
Harmon.ie works with both resellers who generally sell to SMB customers and with strategic solution providers and systems integrators for larger customers. Most of the company's sales in Europe are through the channel as are most sales to SMBs in North America, Lavenda said.
"Many of our sales, even in North America, are through resellers and integrators," he said.
"Harmon.ie gives us the opportunity to work closely with our clients to create a cloud solution that pays almost immediate dividends for them," said Lacy Omsberg, a senior SharePoint consultant at Strategic SaaS, an Austin-based solution provider. "Professionals working in multi-cloud environments no longer need to toggle among disparate apps trying to piece together the big picture. Instead, they see it directly in their email window."
Strategic SaaS, an Office 365 consultant and Microsoft partner, has begun implementing the Collage for Dynamics 365 software for its professional services firm customers.
Cobalt, an Arlington, Va.-based solution provider that works with Microsoft's Dynamics CRM applications, and Orangutech, an Ottawa-based solution provider that specializes in Microsoft's Dynamics CRM and SharePoint applications, are also now working with the Harmon.ie software.
"There's a big opportunity with companies that use SharePoint and are adopting Dynamics 365," Lavenda said.
In addition to making Collage for Dynamics 365 available for current partners, Harmon.ie is recruiting additional solution providers to work with the software. The vendor offers partners a range of sales and marketing resources, including webinars, joint marketing campaigns and co-branded marketing materials, Lavenda said.