iCatalyst scales from 3 to 60-plus staff with Microsoft 365 and Dynamics 365

iCatalyst built a Microsoft-first consultancy from the ground up and became its own best case study

iCatalyst and Microsoft worked together from day one to prove that a single, modular platform could support best-practice security, fast growth, delivery excellence, and continuous innovation across every part of a modern consultancy.

iCatalyst is a Microsoft Solutions Partner with a difference. The company doesn’t just implement Microsoft solutions for customers, it runs its entire business on them.

When iCatalyst launched in 2021, its three founders had a clear goal. They would build a consultancy entirely on Microsoft. They had worked with the platform for years and knew it could support the business from day one without the need for expensive infrastructure or disconnected tools. Starting with only what was essential, they created a strong foundation that could grow without unnecessary complexity or capital investment.

The team knew they wouldn’t need to look beyond Microsoft as the business grew. The platform was built to scale, with all the core capabilities for finance, sales, service, and collaboration available in a modular, cloud-first model. They could add functionality without starting over or changing their approach as new needs came up.

The continuous innovation of Microsoft gave them added confidence. The platform introduced new tools and improvements across automation, reporting, security, and collaboration with each Wave release. This helped iCatalyst stay up to date without needing to invest in separate technologies.

“We know that, by using Microsoft, we’re always building on best practice,” said Dennis Chan, Director at iCatalyst. “We don’t have to go searching for the latest innovation. It arrives in the platform ready to use and already trusted.”

The team deployed Dynamics 365 Business Central for finance, subscription, and project billing, Dynamics 365 Customer Insights for sales and service, and Microsoft 365 and SharePoint for collaboration. These cloud-based systems gave iCatalyst full functionality without technical debt or upfront hardware costs. Chan recalled, “On day one, we already had a fully functioning set of business systems underneath us.”

With the Microsoft modular ecosystem, iCatalyst could expand its toolkit gradually while maintaining best-practice security from the beginning. As the business evolved, iCatalyst added comprehensive reporting, customer portals, and marketing capability, all built within the environment the team already trusted. This structure helped the company move quickly, operate efficiently, and deliver consistently.

The platform offered ready-made solutions for finance, collaboration, sales, reporting, and customer service, which iCatalyst could switch on as needed. That breadth meant the team never had to stitch together tools from different vendors or deal with integration headaches; everything was already part of the same modular foundation.

As a small business, iCatalyst needed systems that worked across roles, not silos. Every team member wore multiple hats, making it essential to access the same data and collaborate in real time, regardless of function. As the company expanded across Australia, the Microsoft cloud-first model supported seamless remote work, giving employees the same experience whether they were in the office or on the road.

iCatalyst used Microsoft tools across every part of the business, which helped it launch fast, scale with control, and build a reputation for delivering proven, tested solutions.

Delivering value with lived experience

That reputation came from more than project outcomes. It came from credibility. In early customer meetings, the team would demonstrate its live Microsoft environment to show how the platform worked across the business. 

“We were literally showing people how we used it,” said iCatalyst Director Andrew Devitt. “That was more powerful than any slide deck.” 

The iCatalyst team didn’t talk about what Microsoft could do; they showed it in real time. The systems on display weren’t examples or templates; they were the actual tools the team uses every day to run the business. This approach gave customers confidence, and proved the solution works, has been tested, and is trusted by the same people recommending it. That level of transparency is rare in the market and has helped iCatalyst stand out.

With a team of highly specialised senior experts, iCatalyst optimised Microsoft tools to suit its business needs, enhancing the solution to boost efficiency. One example is the use of Microsoft Teams Phone integrated with Dynamics 365 Customer Service, which routes all incoming support and reception calls through a shared group in Teams. This setup means multiple team members receive the call simultaneously and can respond quickly. It’s a simple approach that improves customer responsiveness significantly and ensures no call goes unanswered. Everyone works within the same cohesive Microsoft environment, from receptionists handling frontline enquiries to architects planning deployments in Dynamics 365 Project Operations using Azure DevOps.

iCatalyst also built automated flows between Dynamics 365, SharePoint, and Microsoft Teams to streamline collaboration. When a new opportunity is created in Dynamics 365 Sales, a Power Automate cloud flow sets up a dedicated customer channel in Teams, along with a standardised SharePoint folder structure. This centralises all customer documentation across sales, projects, and support, making it accessible from Microsoft Teams, SharePoint, and Dynamics 365. The approach improves transparency and ensures the team works from consistent, up-to-date information. New customers also receive an onboarding form that populates billing data directly into Business Central, reducing admin and helping the team stay focused on delivery.

Another example of iCatalyst’s ability to streamline and automate operations using Microsoft technology was the deployment of a new customer portal for its managed services customers. Previously, reporting was a manual and time-consuming process; the team would extract data from the backend, manipulate it in Excel, create graphs, count support tickets, and take screenshots of active cases. Each report could take up to two hours per customer, every month.

Now, that same information is self-serve. Built on Power Pages and integrated with Dynamics 365, the new portal gives customers real-time access to their ticket usage, a central knowledge base, and an easy way to raise new requests. The shift has reduced manual effort and improved transparency, while also showcasing what Microsoft tools can do. "As our managed services customer base grew, we recognised the need for a feature rich, self-service customer portal integrated with our existing Dynamics 365 applications,” said Justin Martin, Director at iCatalyst. "Given we were already using Microsoft’s Power Pages to improve our customer onboarding experience for customers and our operations team, Power Pages was the obvious solution and a great way to showcase the platform to our customers."

The business scaled quickly but never lost focus. In less than four years, iCatalyst grew from three people to more than 60, with offices in Sydney and Melbourne, as well as representation in Brisbane. Because all systems were cloud-based and connected from the start, that growth didn’t require a technology overhaul. Each new hire, project, and customer integrated into the same platform seamlessly.

The team kept finding more value and functionality within the platform as the business grew. As new needs emerged, iCatalyst used Microsoft tools that were already in place, from reporting and analytics to advanced security. Power BI dashboards tracked project performance, resource allocation, and customer metrics. More than 70% of revenue came from time-based work, so visibility into hours and outcomes was essential. “I’ll come up with a custom metric, and the team can build it in hours,” said Devitt. “The data is already there. We just use it.”

These insights helped shape internal delivery. iCatalyst introduced lead and lag indicators to track progress and spot potential issues early. Risks were addressed quickly, and lessons were built into new systems and processes. Internal maturity became part of every customer engagement.

What truly set iCatalyst apart was its delivery model. Every solution offered to customers had already been used internally, and the team didn’t sell what they hadn’t worked with themselves. “We don’t just hire and sell,” said Chan. “We build the capability inside the business first, then take it to market.”

Scaling maturity and building for the future

This approach helped the company grow its reputation and its partnership with Microsoft. Within nine months of launching, iCatalyst achieved Solutions Partner status. Microsoft now introduces iCatalyst to new opportunities based on its expertise and track record. “Microsoft backed us as individuals early on,” said Devitt. “Now they’re backing iCatalyst as a whole.”

As the business expanded, so did the scale of its work. Average deal sizes grew from $100,000 to $350,000, with multi-million-dollar engagements now part of the company’s delivery model. Many project customers moved into long-term managed services, working with the same team that helped them get started. Security also became part of the internal journey as Microsoft Defender was rolled out across the business to support its own cyber maturity. The iCatalyst team now speaks confidently in enterprise security conversations, not because of theory, but because of experience. “While we’re not selling security services,” said Chan, “we know how the platform works and can help guide our customers because we use it ourselves.”

iCatalyst continues to evolve strategically. Microsoft Purview is on the roadmap, with plans to build internal capability before offering it externally. AI tools are already being tested to improve productivity and search, with a focus on real outcomes, not speculation.

Everyone at iCatalyst works within the same Microsoft environment. Training, delivery, and operations are fully aligned, and there is no disconnect between what the business runs on and what it delivers to customers. iCatalyst remains confident that it can find whatever capability it needs next, from compliance tools to AI, within the Microsoft stack. That long-term flexibility gives the team room to grow without limits or compromises.

“We believe in Microsoft because we’ve built our business on it,” said Devitt. “We know it works because we use it every day.”