Interview with Christine Zmuda, Microsoft, Government Contractor Business Development

PVBS offers the Microsoft alternative for government contractor financial management and project accounting and has seen the number of government contractors that have become customers skyrocket over the past few years. The number of Microsoft Dynamics NAV for Government Contractors from PVBS users has grown significantly as more and more CFOs, COOs, and financial and accounting professionals have been trained on the solution. Many companies that sell products or provide services to the Federal Government are looking at Dynamics NAV from PVBS as their ERP, project accounting and financial management solution.

In part due to this success, Microsoft has marketed the Dynamics solutions aggressively to government contractors. This started in December 2005 when Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer gave a seminal speech to over 500 government contractor executives about Microsoft’s commitment to the market. In the speech, Ballmer said, “Over the course of the last year or so, we've really put together a very focused effort to have a team here in D.C. that's thinking through, understanding the needs of people who are involved in government contracting, and really ask, what do we need to do in our product line to facilitate many of the things that are important? How do we give people the tools to really do a good job of not only prospecting but proposal management, which is absolutely a mission critical exercise?”

This was supported by the creation of the Government Contractor Solutions Circle, a partnership of six companies that offer complementary solutions for government contractors. This consortium of partners serves to address one of the biggest challenges customers have, that is how to get best of breed solutions without having to manage multiple suppliers. These six companies have worked closely together, built trust, which greatly benefits the customer. Said Ballmer, “Here in this market for government contractors, we actually have a set of six partners who have come together to bring what's really just an awesome solution for running a government contracting business together. It's really kind of an innovation thing…we think that when you put their technologies together with our core platform, you have what is easily the most sophisticated solution for government contractors in this area.”

Now, Microsoft is ready to engage the market with its strongest effort to date as it prepares to unveil a powerful marketing outreach campaign this month. The campaign, which features online and offline elements, was designed to let the government contractor marketplace know that the Dynamics product lines, particularly Dynamics NAV, perfectly meet their needs and DCAA requirements.

We interviewed Christine Zmuda, Strategic Engagement Manager at Microsoft, to learn more about Microsoft’s focus on the government contractor space for its Dynamics product line. Ms. Zmuda, who moved into this role in August after serving as a regional sales manager for Microsoft in the Mid-Atlantic region, is currently responsible for Government Contractor vertical strategy for Microsoft. In this role, she is the primary point of contact for small and midmarket government contractor community initiatives. Ms. Zmuda is also the liaison to Microsoft for companies critical to the success of that community such as PVBS that offer solutions specifically for government contractors. She also manages other solution providers that provide additional Microsoft Dynamics financial, accounting, and sales solutions to government contractors, such as Dynamics CRM.

Why is Microsoft excited about the government contractor market for its Dynamics products?

More than any other segment of the local market, high-growth government contractors are a great showcase for Microsoft Dynamics Solutions. We feel very confident when government contractors make an investment in the Microsoft Dynamics platform that that platform is built for the often triple-digit growth that many government contractors experience. It’s exciting for us to see companies reach these milestones as a result of better business decisions driven on real time information. The best news is that these fast growing customers may add a few users as their accounting staff grows, but the core Dynamics solution is robust enough to support added scale. This is something I’m personally very proud of.

Since many government contractors also provide Microsoft technology to their government customers, they feel comfortable using our financial software to manage their business. They also find that their training costs are lower, since most of their employees are familiar with Microsoft technology and can be up and running quickly.

We’ve found that executives at high-growth government contractors need their financial management and project accounting software to help them grow the business by providing more information on existing contracts and their potential. Many organizations spend an inordinate amount of time trying to get their data out of disparate databases and into Excel for analysis purposes. They need the built-in analytics available in the Dynamics product line to help check contract status. With this reporting data which is already integrated with Microsoft Excel and SQL Reporting Services, and accessible over the web, their project leaders can more effectively manage their contracts and make modifications immediately. Older outdated systems do not have integrated business intelligence functionality nor easy ways to provide reports to the field or headquarters-based executives. COOs tell us that they like to ensure that program managers in the field have instantaneous access to contract data so that they are better prepared to report on contract status and respond to issues.

What are the offline elements of the new marketing campaign?

We will be launching an exciting series of advertisements on the top web sites for government contractor executives, such as www.fcw.com, which is the website for Federal Computer Week, and www.washingtontechnology.com, which is the web site for Washington Technology. Both web sites offer information and news content that is of value for people who provide services and sell products to the Federal Government. The online ads will run frequently on both sites and will direct people to an exciting new microsite we’ve developed. On the site, we’ll offer white papers, news, testimonials, and online demos of the Dynamics product line. A number of our customers have asked us to create a community site where they can share information. We are looking into that level of support as well.

The message of the online advertisements will focus on “DCAA Compliant, Seamless, Familiar, and Scalable,” which are all messages our customers tell us are important to them.

What are some of the off-line initiatives you are launching?

We are growing the Government Contractor Solutions Circle. The companies meet monthly and help each other solve problems for their government contractor customers. We have also started a Government Contractor Executive Customer Board which is comprised of some of our top customers. They offer program suggestions and provide counsel on what’s important to them. We feed this information back to our Solutions Circle members which help them build out their marketing and support programs.

One of the immediate results of the Executive Customer Board was the creation of our first Midmarket Government Contractor Summit, which will be held on February 8, 2008. At this event, we will have great presentations on the topics that are critical to government contractor executives. We’ll also provide networking opportunities where we will also share best practice ideas.

As the new lead for this vertical, I’m open to any and all ideas from government contractors in the Midatlantic area, send thoughts or suggestions to me at czmuda@microsoft.com or our community alias at govcon@microsoft.com.

Is there anything else Microsoft offers government contractors?

In our efforts to build greater awareness, we are offering a complimentary Strategy Consultation for interested government contractors who are exploring Microsoft based ERP alternatives or perhaps looking to extend their existing solution with Microsoft CRM to better manage the contract capture process. To take advantage of this offering, government contractors can contact me at 301-467-1412 or at govcon@microsoft.com

In conjunction with our key partners, we frequently offer seminars in our state-of-the-art training center in Reston. Our partners, such as PVBS, offer training at their offices, provide demonstrations on demand, and offer newsletters for their customers.

This is a great time for government contractors to consider Microsoft Dynamics products. The product line is mature, well-supported, and growing in functionality.

About Pleasant Valley Business Solutions (PVBS)

Pleasant Valley Business Solutions (PVBS), a Microsoft Business Solutions President’s Club Member, offers the Microsoft alternative for government contractor ERP, financial management and project accounting. Microsoft offers a better project accounting and financial management solution than what’s been available in the past to high-growth government contractors. Only PVBS offers a Microsoft Dynamics NAV solution that was created specifically for high-growth government contractors, to help these companies better manage and maximize their Federal Government business. PVBS is based in Reston, VA. Visit PBVS at www.pvbs.net.