Omneon Video Networks: A Picture of Success on Dynamics NAV

International Media Server Solutions Company Streamlines Operations on Dynamics NAV 

Established in 1998, Omneon Video Networks is the leading provider of cost-effective, flexible networked media servers for broadcast and video. With offices in the US, UK, Singapore and Tokyo, Omneon capitalizes on its vast video and computer network experience, as well as its understanding of how media, storage and facility operations interrelate, to develop products for companies that produce and distribute audio and video content for television and the Internet.

Like many start-up, high-growth companies, Omneon was running a piecemeal system – adding applications as the company grew and new needs arose. In addition to being inefficient, it was clear that this would hinder future growth. “We were operating on six different systems,” remarked John Turk, Vice President of Operations at Omneon. “We had different databases and applications for financials, manufacturing, service, sales and support – and none of them talked to each other. And, of course, this meant a lot of double and triple entry, if not more.”

As an international company, operating their financials on QuickBooks with no foreign currency exchange or reporting capabilities was unacceptable. “Our previous system with all of its components was problematic for audit and growth requirements,” stated John. So, when the going got tough, Omneon went shopping. 

“Topping on our list of requirements for the new system were ease of implementation, support and flexibility, not to mention cost – both purchase and implementation costs,” said John. “And technically speaking, we didn’t want to invest in a dinosaur – something that wouldn’t scale and grow with our future requirements,” he added.

Discussions with several Tier 1 vendors ruled them out right off the bat. “We realized they would not fit our requirements,” said John. “So, we evaluated several mid-range applications such as NetSuite, Syspro and Great Plains. Dynamics NAV was selected because it was the one solution that met all of our needs.”

“I have been involved in a lot of ERP implementations and when you needed to make any changes, it was always a painstaking process. The most unique feature about Dynamics NAV is its flexibility and ease of customization. This was the biggest driver for us in the selection process,” explained John, “followed by the system’s speed and simplicity of the backend. Basically, it touched all the areas we needed help with. It was a complete solution,” John concluded.

The implementation went very smoothly. Omneon went live with core ERP functionality within 30 days of engaging with SCS. “From an IT perspective, it was simple to implement,” reported Steve Berg, Omneon IT

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Manager. “Our implementation was quick and took far less hardware than we expected.”

And Omneon is experiencing the power of the Microsoft stack of applications – the synergy of using products within the Microsoft suite. “It was a pretty easy implementation. We were already using a Microsoft SQL database, so we based our Dynamics NAV solution on that, which allowed us to leverage the knowledge we already had in-house.” 

Now Omneon’s six different systems are rolled up into one, realizing true value in the reduction labor and real-time feedback that has allowed errors to be caught and handled right away, as opposed to when the books close. “We have virtually eliminated shipping errors and time required to reconcile data across systems as part of the close process," remarked John. Steve Berg added, “Now we have real-time visibility into financial data and can find information and present it on demand.”  

“We have continued to grow by leaps and bounds without a hiccup,” stated John Turk. “The system scaled great. It has continued to support our rapid growth without necessarily needing to add resources, which really adds to the overall value of the system for us.”

Other benefits that Omneon is experiencing with their Dynamics NAV solution include the Microsoft Outlook look and feel. “I am involved in getting users up and running and they are comfortable with it from the beginning because of the familiar user interface,” remarked Steve Berg. The familiar, intuitive layout has made training new users a less daunting task.

In speaking of the role that SCS played, Steve Berg noted “SCS Project Manager Mike Stallmann was great. He proved to be very knowledgeable, for example, in designing our security setup and establishing permissions in a way that maximizes both usability and security, which was one of our biggest challenges. He was very involved and accessible, which was very reassuring in an implementation like this.”

“We are a complex growing company that has big-company type needs and concerns. It was important for us to have a partner who could get their hands around our business. SCS was able to come in and do that. To their credit, we had no business interruption at all, which was very big for us,” remarked John.

And the Omneon-SCS partnership will continue. “There is no such thing as a static ERP system. You implement, operate and fine tune – an ongoing process,” remarked John. Omneon and SCS will be rolling out CRM next month, which will add 50 users to the system and bring the entire company onto Dynamics NAV.