Few people know exactly what they want to do before they finish college, but for Saad Ali, the decision to follow in his mother’s footsteps was easy. He hasn’t looked back since, and now Ali is Boyer’s newest Microsoft ERP consultant.
“This is what I’ve been doing since I graduated, and I’ve enjoyed it,” he said.
As a college student, Ali already knew that ERP consulting interested him. When an internship opened up at the same company where his mother worked as a Microsoft Dynamics NAV consultant, he jumped at the chance.
Those early days at Netherlands-based Dysel consisted of part-time work while he finished up his degree in management information systems from the University of Houston. He learned a lot about Microsoft’s world-renowned ERP solution.
He went on to get his master’s degree in business administration — all the while continuing to work as a consultant. When Microsoft unveiled a cloud solution based on Dynamics NAV, Ali made the transition to the cloud as well. Ali said the cloud version, Dynamics 365 Business Central, is easier to navigate and much faster to set up because it doesn’t require additional server setup.
“It’s Microsoft so they’re always making improvements,” he added. “It keeps us on our toes to constantly learn new things, and this is a field where you always have to keep learning.”
His mom, Waheeda, is still a Microsoft ERP consultant as well. Both have migrated from consulting on Microsoft Dynamics NAV to supporting its cloud counterpart, Dynamics 365 Business Central.
Ali enjoys the fact that with consulting, as he said, “Every day is different.” While ERP software implementations might follow a similar formula, each client’s operations and requirements are unique. This adds variety to each project.
“I kind of like that unknown factor … It’s a variety of things you get to explore,” he said.
Early in his career, he had the chance to go onsite for a client in the oil and gas business. He was fascinated with their facility and manufacturing operations. Getting to see firsthand how they operated helped him visualize exactly what they needed from their ERP solution. He dabbled in other manufacturing projects as well, but his expertise is more within the finance and ecommerce industries.
Ali has worked for a few different Microsoft partners over the past 10 years, forced to switch gears several times due to management changes.
“I couldn’t find a home … I want to be somewhere where I can be comfortable and enjoy my work and be there for long term,” he said.
Searching for just the right fit partner, Ali came across the Boyer website and was impressed with the company’s culture and team mentality.
He applied the old-school way, sending in his resume and an email. He half expected to hear nothing back since so many companies rely on networking to fill empty positions. When he did get the job as a Microsoft ERP consultant for Boyer, Ali was pleasantly surprised. He’s especially thrilled to be a part of a company with several experienced consultants.
“All these people on the team have such good experience so I’m just trying to soak in as much knowledge as I can,” he said.
Ali and his wife, Rida, live in the Houston, Texas, area. They just bought their first house and welcomed their first child, Musa, in March. His parents and younger sister live a short 10 minutes away.
When he’s not busy with work, Ali enjoys spending time with his family and staying active. He hopes to get back into going to the gym and playing basketball in 2023.
