REC – Azure Migration and Dynamics 365 Transformation

Sector

Membership Organisation

Location

London, United Kingdom

Revenues

–

About

The REC

Azure Migration and Dynamics 365 Transformation at REC

The Recruitment & Employment Confederation (REC) is the professional body representing the UK’s recruitment industry. With thousands of agency and in‑house members, REC plays a central role in supporting labour market standards, offering compliance guidance, providing training and events, and advocating for the value of professional recruitment across the UK economy. As a membership organisation operating in a fast‑moving sector, REC relies heavily on digital systems to run campaigns, manage members, drive new business and deliver a consistently high‑quality experience.

Outcome



Modern Azure environment established, enabling scalable, secure hosting and reducing annual infrastructure costs by an estimated £50,000

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Dynamics 365 Sales re‑implemented on standard capabilities, eliminating legacy technical debt and manual workarounds

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AI‑enabled lead generation through Leadoo integrated directly into Dynamics 365, supporting a projected 5–7% uplift in lead conversion

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Interim IT leadership and a clear IT operating model put in place, creating stability and improving governance

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Multi‑year roadmap co‑developed to guide case management, identity and access management, data insights, and member portal transformation

Executive Summary

REC approached the Technology Transformation Group (TTG) at a pivotal moment. The organisation recognised the need to modernise its member experience, grow revenue and increase internal efficiency, but its legacy technology ecosystem was preventing change. With critical systems tied to an inflexible hosting provider and Dynamics 365 heavily customised to the point of dysfunction, staff were dependent on spreadsheets, manual processes and costly external support. TTG provided stabilisation, leadership and technical transformation across cloud infrastructure, CRM, data and digital operations. Through a phased Azure migration and a reset of Dynamics 365 Sales, supported by new AI‑enabled lead capture, REC is now positioned for sustainable growth, improved sales performance and a significantly enhanced member experience.

The Challange

Over‑customised Dynamics 365 leading to broken features and manual workarounds

The Recruitment & Employment Confederation found itself constrained by a technology environment that had evolved in fragments over several years. Its CRM platform, Dynamics 365, had originally been implemented with extensive custom code and non‑standard workflows. Over time, these customisations not only made upgrades difficult but also broke core features that would otherwise have supported day‑to‑day operations. Sales teams could not rely on the system to track leads, accounts or opportunities effectively; they were forced to maintain parallel spreadsheets to manage pipelines, forecasting and customer information. This created duplication, inconsistency and delays in responding to member needs.

Infrastructure constraints compounded the issue. REC’s core systems were hosted by a third‑party provider, making even small changes slow and expensive. The hosting model limited the organisation’s ability to scale, modernise or adopt new services. Costs were rising, and infrastructure performance frequently hindered staff productivity. Internally, REC’s IT capacity was stretched thin. With limited resources and high operational demand, the team had little time for strategic work, data analysis or digital innovation. The absence of strong architectural governance meant new systems or enhancements were often delivered in isolation, without a cohesive long‑term plan.

At the same time, member expectations were increasing. REC wanted to deliver a more seamless and personalised experience for its corporate clients and individual members. Achieving this required modern identity management, clearer data structures, improved integration between systems and a CRM capable of supporting automated workflows. Without these foundational capabilities, REC risked missing opportunities to grow its membership base and provide a contemporary digital experience.

REC approached TTG seeking immediate stabilisation and a partner to help set a clear path forward. They needed expertise spanning cloud infrastructure, Dynamics 365, IT leadership and data strategy – all delivered in a pragmatic, cost‑effective way that would allow them to continue business operations while preparing for the future.

The Solution

Phased Azure migration and new cloud environment design

TTG began by establishing stability. We introduced an interim IT and data operating model, stepping in to provide Microsoft 365 support, desktop assistance, CRM expertise and programme delivery while REC recruited a permanent IT leader. This ensured continuity across the organisation and created the capacity needed for transformation to proceed safely and effectively.

A key part of TTG’s work was reshaping REC’s infrastructure. TTG designed a phased migration plan to move the organisation away from its restrictive hosting provider and into a secure, scalable Azure environment. We created a new Azure landing zone aligned with best practice, deployed virtual machines and began preparation for migrating financial systems, PTX/BACS processing and other business‑critical workloads. This approach deliberately reduced risk by separating stabilisation from full migration. It also established the foundation for long‑term operational savings and improved security posture.

In parallel, TTG led a comprehensive reset of Dynamics 365 Sales. The first phase focused on restoring functionality: replacing heavily customised components with standard features, rebuilding the sales pipeline and automating the creation of opportunities, accounts and contacts. By removing unnecessary code and configuration, TTG simplified the environment, improved reliability and made future enhancements far easier to deliver.

The second phase extended into environment health and data quality. We undertook a structured cleanup of sales and marketing records, resolving duplication and improving consistency. Roles and permissions were redesigned to reflect REC’s operating model, enabling clearer governance and reducing administrative overhead. TTG also designed a live integration between Dynamics 365 and REC’s Leadoo chatbot, enabling qualified leads captured by AI‑driven interactions on the website to flow directly into the CRM. This replaced manual processes and allowed sales teams to act on leads faster and with better context.

Strategic planning ran throughout the engagement. Working alongside REC stakeholders, TTG developed a multi‑year roadmap covering improvements in case management, identity and access management using Azure B2C, a new personalised member portal, and data‑driven insight delivered through Power BI. This roadmap aligned technology investment to REC’s organisational goals and set clear priorities for future phases of transformation.

The combined effect of stabilisation, infrastructure redesign, CRM reset and strategic planning provided REC with both immediate benefits and a robust plan for ongoing modernisation.

The Success

Modern Azure platform with projected £50,000 annual savings

The Azure migration and Dynamics 365 transformation delivered by TTG has already resulted in meaningful improvements across REC’s operations. The organisation now has a modern, scalable Azure platform that eliminates many of the constraints imposed by the previous hosting arrangement. With annual savings estimated at £50,000, REC can redirect funds previously absorbed by infrastructure costs into member‑focused initiatives, digital enhancements and new services.

Dynamics 365 Sales is now an asset rather than an obstacle. The platform runs on standard, supportable configurations that align with Microsoft’s best practice and product roadmap. Staff no longer rely on spreadsheets or workaround processes and can track leads, forecast accurately and manage corporate membership conversations with far greater confidence. The integration with Leadoo introduces intelligent, AI‑driven lead capture, providing a richer flow of qualified leads. REC anticipates a 5–7% increase in corporate conversion, driven not by additional marketing spend but by better systems and processes.

Operationally, the introduction of an interim IT operating model brought stability and clarity. With TTG providing leadership and essential support, internal teams experienced fewer incidents, improved responsiveness and more space to focus on long‑term improvements. This structure ensured REC could continue to deliver value to members while preparing for the next stage of its digital evolution.

The work also had a strategic impact. REC now has a clearly defined technology roadmap covering critical areas such as identity management, personalised member experiences and advanced reporting. This roadmap ensures that IT investment is tightly aligned with organisational objectives and supports REC’s mission to champion high standards and strong performance across the UK recruitment and employment sector.

Importantly, the foundation for future innovation is now firmly in place. With Azure providing scalable infrastructure and Dynamics 365 operating as a reliable system of record, REC can confidently pursue enhancements in automation, self‑service, event management, learning delivery and data‑driven insight. This creates the conditions for a more engaging and personalised experience for members, as well as more efficient internal operations.

In summary, the Azure migration and Dynamics 365 transformation delivered by TTG have repositioned REC for sustained growth, improved digital capability and a more modern member experience. By addressing legacy issues and creating a clear path forward, REC now has the systems, leadership and strategic direction required to deliver on its long‑term objectives. The work ensures technology is no longer a barrier but a key enabler in achieving the organisation’s mission.